Former Miss Universe Jamaica, Dr. Gabrielle Henry, has opened up about a tragic fall she endured whilst on stage.
As reported by People, she was on stage in Thailand as a part of a beauty pageant competition. But then, she fell as she was walking up stairs on the stage. Falling forward, she ended up being taken to hospital on a stretcher.
Months after the incident happened, the Miss Universe Organization explained she had suffered an "intracranial hemorrhage with loss of consciousness, a fracture, facial lacerations and other significant injuries".
And now, she has opened up about her terrifying experience.
"As a woman, I've always wanted to showcase and embrace the power of the feminine. For me, pageantry has never been restricted to fancy gowns or makeup, despite its outward appearances.
"I've always viewed it as an opportunity to highlight matters of greater importance, to spotlight causes that are often overlooked and ignored. It is a platform. One that empowers women and men to speak out about causes that they truly believe they can change."
"That is what pageantry symbolized for me — a goal whose pursuit would hopefully lift others up along the way. Little did I know that, along the way to that goal, I'd encounter an entirely different test of my limits."
Videos by Wide Open Country
The Miss Universe Contestant Explained Her Injuries
The Miss Universe contestant went on to explain her injuries. "Recovery from a traumatic brain injury is difficult to describe. It feels as though you've had an out-of-body experience and returned to one that is not your own. You wonder where you went for those few moments, those 20 or 30 minutes of lost consciousness.
"You come back knowing something within you has become misaligned, out of place, and you try to wrap your head around exactly what it is. Your thoughts lag behind time, and certain memories become hard to grasp."
"Instead of rigorous physical preparation for pageant events, my new daily workout became breathing in as forcefully as I could with an incentive spirometer, a small handheld device that measures lung capacity, to remind myself and my lungs of their true capacity before they collapsed on themselves and filled with fluid.
"I celebrated when even one of the three balls elevated momentarily while I held my breath. It was as if I had just been born and was learning my basic bodily functions for the very first time."
