Batwoman star, Ruby Rose, recently shared a graphic, three-minute-long video on Instagram, revealing how performing stunts nearly left her at risk of becoming paralyzed. She was then a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , where she opened up even more about her experience.
While Ruby was promoting her brand new TV series, “Batwoman”, in which she plays the leading role, a scar on the back of her neck began to raise questions from fans.
And last weekend she let fans know exactly how she got the scar, by sharing a graphic, three-minute video on Instagram .
Turns out, the scar was from an emergency surgery she underwent after accidentally herniating “two disks” in her spine, performing stunts on the set of “Batwoman”.
“To everyone asking about my new Pez dispenser scar on my neck…,” she captioned the video .
“A couple of months ago I was told I needed an emergency surgery or I was risking becoming paralyzed…”
“I had herniated two discs doing stunts, and they were close to severing my spinal chord.”
“I was in chronic pain and yet couldn’t feel my arms…,” she continued.
“Thank you Dr Bray for everything you did and for allowing me to keep working and doing what I love. “
“I am forever in your debt. And to anyone asking why I let them video it..”
“Did you not watch that Greys anatomy episode where they left a towel in a patient??,” she joked.
“Also I wanted to see what happens when we go under,” she concluded.
But for fans that still have a million questions, you’re in luck, because while visiting The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night, Ruby got much more candid about it.
“I broke my beck basically, on the show [“Batwoman”],” she began.
“So, I did a stunt — uh, for a very extended amount of time — like, seven hours,” she continued.
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“We thought that I broke a rib, or just like, fractured a rib”.
“And that was like, six to 12 weeks of like, healing. So, then I had six to 12 weeks of chronic pain,” she went on.
“Sort of just kept assuming that that was what it was.”
“Until I kept seeing these doctors and they were like, ‘it’s your neck, it’s your neck,'” she explained.
“It just like, radiates into these places cause of nerve endings.”
“So, I finally got an MRI, and I had to get it in Romania in the middle of a film — where I was also doing stunts,” she revealed.
“Basically he [the doctor] called and he was like, ‘you could become paraplegic.'”
“‘This is your spine, two of your disks have herniated, and they’ve broken all the protective layers, you have like, this tiny amount that your spine has not severed, and if you don’t come back you could become paraplegic.'”
“Even just sleeping wrong, or you know, moving my head in a strange direction,” she said. “It was really, really terrifying.”
“And then, you know, I was like, ‘at least I don’t have an option.'”
“You know what I mean? It’s like, I have to do it. So, I did the surgery,” she said.
“Also, I couldn’t feel my arms for a long time — you just get used to weird things like that. It was only like, when I would pick things up and then I would drop them, and I was like ‘uh, that’s strange,” she explained.
“I wasn’t paying attention to my body, I wasn’t listening. I was in such a hurry to get everything done,” she said.
“That was the world’s way of saying, you’re going to have to pay attention and you’re going to have to slow down. And you’re not actually a superhero.”
Thankfully, Ruby seems to be back in good health since her surgery, and was able to resume filming “Batwoman” without a hitch.
The show premieres on October 6th, p.m. ET!
Watch the full interview here:
