Actress Jenifer Lewis who starred in the American hit series Black-ish has recounted how a 9-hour surgery in Kenya saved her life after suffering a severe injury from a fall.
The actress made the revelation while speaking on March 13, 2024, on “TMZ Live” where she recounted her frightening fall while in Africa.
Lewis said that the incident happened when she was at the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania for a vacation in late 2022.
It was meant to be a good time as she narrates because they had wrapped up production of Season 8 of the show.
According to her, the unexpected happened when she walked out onto a deck at her luxurious accommodation, explaining that she did not see a huge gap in the deck between her and the infinity pool because it was pitch black outside.
She suddenly plummeted down 10 feet and slammed to the ground rendering her unable to move, prompting her scream for help.
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“My right hip took the impact. My shoulder went up against the stone. A lightning bolt went through my mind’s eye. In pitch black, I didn’t know I was falling, nothing would move,” she recalled.
Upon the wailing, her travel companion reacted swiftly and came to her aid while she called for medical assistance.
Jeniffer lauded the care and service received in Kenya noting that she was well taken care of despite being immobile.
“Let me just talk about the people in Nairobi guys, they took such good care of me, I mean, I was in pampers, they picked me up like I was a baby, they had to wash me. I could not move or walk for 8months after this,” she narrated.
Jenifer Airlifted to Kenya
“While I was down there, I had some scary encounters with wild animals, before a Doctors Without Borders team airlifted me to Nairobi, Kenya,” she said.
The popular actress suffered through a 9-hour surgery at a Kenyan hospital before spending the next 6 days after her accident in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
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This fall kickstarted her long medical journey which has seen her go through a long stretch in a hospital bed.
Jenifer added that she spent the better part of 2023 recovering from her injury but revealed that she was ready to talk about it.
While speaking in the interview, she emphasized the importance of getting up after suffering such a catastrophic crash as she revealed using her nearly deadly fall in Africa to teach life lessons.
In addition, the actress had a ton of kind words for the people who took care of her when she couldn’t walk or go to the bathroom by herself.
The actress is one of Hollywood’s most familiar faces, with more than 300 appearances in television and film.
She is widely known for her role as a star actress on ABC’s popular Situation Comedy (Sitcom) show Black-ish where her hilarious portrayal of Ruby Johnson earned her numerous nominations.
