Batwoman Star Ruby Rose Details Emergency Surgery to Prevent Paralysis After Stunt Injuries

Actress Ruby Rose, star of The CW’s Batwoman and Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, made it public she’s been dealing with a severe neck injury that left her at risk for paralysis. The injury arose from doing her own stunts on film sets and could have severed her spinal cord.

Rose shared details in an Instagram post on Thursday which included video of the procedure, cut together like a documentary short, complete with music. All the incisions down to the bone and clearing away of calcification by doctors are on full display, as you can see below.

Warning: the footage is graphic and comes with a sensitive content notice.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B25wG_PJlno/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

In her caption, Rose wrote:

“To everyone asking about my new Pez dispenser scar on my neck… A couple of months ago I was told I needed an emergency surgery or I was risking becoming paralyzed.”

She reported she had two herniated discs — when the inner soft portion of the cervical spine pushes through a rupture, often pressing against a nerve — and “was in chronic pain and yet couldn’t feel my arms,” a symptom commonly described by sufferers such as athletes and sports entertainers. Weakness in limbs is another.

After a successful operation, Rose thanked her doctor for fixing her neck and keeping her in the game:

“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.”

As for why she let it be filmed, Rose said — probably revealing a favorite show of hers in the process — it was partially a precaution so nothing was left inside her (a medical mishap many going under the knife fear), and another part curiosity:

“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?? Also I wanted to see what happens when we go under.”

Rose has starred in action-packed and physically demanding movies from The Meg to John Wick: Chapter 2. She plays the lead of Kate Kane, Bruce Wayne’s crusading maternal cousin, in Batwoman, The CW’s first lesbian superhero. (Related: Rotten Tomatoes Score for Ruby Rose’s Batwoman on The CW Revealed)

A part of the Arrowverse, Batwoman appeared in last year’s Elseworlds crossover alongside Green Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl. (Related: Ruby Rose Quits Twitter After Batwoman Casting)

The series premiere is Oct. 6th.

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