Escapologist Jonathan Goodwin was paralyzed after a stunt went wrong during rehearsals for "America's Got Talent: Extreme," his fiancée Amanda Abbington has revealed.
For his stunt, Goodwin was meant to escape from a straitjacket while hanging from his feet 70 feet in the air, then drop between two swinging cars suspended in the air and land on an air mattress.
However, he was crushed by the cars, which exploded in flames. He then plummeted to the ground and reportedly hit his head. Production on the show was halted and Goodwin, who was said to have been critically injured at the time, dominated the headlines in the ensuing weeks late last year.
However, he was forgotten once the hype died down. Now his story has reemerged as Abbington speaks out.
"He fell 30 feet and lost a kidney, broke both shoulder blades, shattered both legs," she said during an appearance on Jay Rayner's "Out To Lunch" podcast, according to BBC. "Third-degree burns, broke his spine and severed his spinal cord and nearly died. And then on the operating table, he nearly died again."
Abbington explained that unless there was some form of stem cell surgery, "or that thing that Elon Musk is designing with the little chip, he'll be like that forever."
Goodwin remains "upbeat, and so strong," she added.
"His courage and his strength is something that I just aspire to be like. He's just incredible, honestly, like so happy, just like a very happy, positive human being, just liquid sunshine. He's amazing."
Shortly after his accident, Goodwin broke his silence to thank his fans for their support.
"You can't say you don't get out what you put in. I've tried my hardest over the years to be kind, thoughtful, honest supportive and good," he captioned a photo of himself lying in a hospital bed. "A couple of days ago my life took a complete left turn … and the out pouring of love from all the corners of the world; from people I didn't even think would know or remember me … has just been astonishing."
In his Instagram post, Goodwin, who had to be airlifted to hospital, wrote that he was protected by the love of Abbington.
"Love is all you need, so make sure you get some, cos its good s**t," he said. "To death I say nananana boo boo … and to the rest of you … watch this space. There is a long road to recovery and that won't look like what it did … I may leave the daft s**t alone for a while, but I have a lot left to do in this world. Maybe we can make something good together?"
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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