‘It’s heartbreaking’: S Club 7’s Jo O’Meara fears she will never dance again after being unable to walk after four surgeries for a back injury
S Club 7’s Jo O’Meara fears she may never be able to dance again after a horrific back injury left her unable to walk.
The 43-year-old singer injured her back during the band’s heyday in 2002 when surgeons wanted to operate at the time – but Jo refused while she was on tour.
However, last year the agonizing injury flared up, forcing Jo to undergo four surgeries to remove part of a herniated disc in her back.
Setback: S Club 7’s Jo O’Meara fears she may never be able to dance again after a horrific back injury left her unable to walk.
Jo performed on the trampoline during a health kick in September and believes the jerky movement caused her back to spasm as four bulging discs rubbed on her sciatic nerve.
Doctors were operating at the time but had to perform multiple surgeries, their last in November after Jo woke up in the middle of the night screaming and shaking in pain.
Now two months later, Jo has given a health update stating she now requires regular physical therapy and has permanent damage to her right leg.
Starring: The 43-year-old singer injured her back during the band’s heyday in 2002 when surgeons wanted to operate at the time – but Jo refused while she was on tour (pictured in 2018)
Terrifying: Last year, however, the agonizing injury flared up, forcing Jo to undergo four surgeries to remove part of a herniated disc in her back
“It was like someone shot me in the butt, my whole body was in shock. I thought I had a cramp. The very first thing I did was call an ambulance,” she told The Sun.
“Back surgery is so complex and every time they go in they just weaken my back. I was absolutely petrified.
“The surgeons said there was a very good chance the legs would be permanently damaged and that I might never dance again. I thought, ‘Well, that’s it for me then, because getting up on stage and singing Reach is kind of impossible if you can’t move.’
S Club: The lead singer said the injury occurred more than 20 years ago (LR Paul Cattermole, Tina Barrett, Bradley McIntosh, Jo, Rachel Stevens, Hannah Spearritt and Jon Lee)
Jo said she found it heartbreaking to be told by doctors that there was a risk of permanently impairing her mobility but that she had to have the surgery because “the alternative was even worse”.
The lead singer said the injury occurred more than 20 years ago, at which time doctors determined she had two herniated discs.
While the medics were keen to operate, Jo felt she couldn’t make the time for the surgery, so steroids were put on to help her through the fast-paced routines.
After the band broke up, the singer said her back was fine, but now she believes it’s a “ticking time bomb.” A surgeon who originally saw her said he knew he would see her again when she went to the hospital 20 years later.
Jo is afraid that a fake cough or sneeze could send her back to the hospital.
The singer takes things day by day and appreciates the little things in life like now she can walk her dogs.
Scary: Jo is afraid that a fake cough or sneeze could land her back in the hospital. The singer takes things day by day and appreciates the little things in life l