COWELL 1CM FROM BEING PARALYSED
6-hr op after fall nearly severed his spinal cord
SIMON Cowell was nearly paralysed in a bike fall that broke his back.
He missed snapping his spinal cord “by a centimetre” and had six hours of surgery.
SURGEONS used a metal rod to repair Simon Cowell’s broken back in an operation that lasted six hours.
But the X Factor boss was lucky to escape paralysis after falling from an electric bike as the fractures were just a centimetre from his spinal cord. As Cowell, 60, was last night recovering in hospital a source said: “I spoke to him before the surgery and he was in incredible, ridiculous amounts of pain and also in shock. His back was broke in several places, but he is actually very lucky.
“He fell flat on his back and the doctors say the impact missed his spinal cord by about a centimetre and it could have been a lot, lot more serious.
“He was in surgery for six hours and they had to put a metal rod in his back and fix a number of things. He is recovering in hospital now and we expect him to be there for a few days and then he will take things from there. It is too early to say when he will be back on TV.”
Cowell’s spokesman added: “Simon has broken his back in a number of places in a fall from his bike whilst testing a new electric bike in the courtyard of his home in Malibu with his family. He was taken to hospital where they operated overnight, he’s under observation and is doing fine.”
Cowell had been due to start filming the first live America’s Got
Talent show tomorrow at Universal Studios but will now be resting for the foreseeable future, first in hospital, and then at home.
He had been at home with his six-year-old son Eric and his partner Lauren Silverman when he fell off the bike on Saturday.
The music mogul started cycling to improve his fitness after a previous fall at his London home three years ago which also put him in hospital.
He vowed to take up exercise and embark on a healthier lifestyle. Cowell said the accident was a “wake-up call” that made him change his ways from staying up working all night. He added: “They think I fainted because I had low blood pressure and so I have got to take really good care of myself to sort that out.
“I’m OK now. It wasn’t the end of the world, but a bit embarrassing.” After making a full recovery, Cowell was seen whizzing around Los Angeles on one of the two 28mph battery powered bikes he purchased to kick-start his fitness regime.
He splashed out £2,000 on each machine, leaving one in London and taking the other to the US. Cowell was also spotted out bike riding in lockdown with Lauren and Eric.
The talent show supremo has been showing signs of slowing down his hectic lifestyle in recent months, concentrating on his TV commitments and less on music.
Last month, it emerged Cowell has bought Sony Music Entertainment’s stake in TV programmes including Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor.
It gave him ownership of all the global versions of The X Factor and Got Talent programmes. The former airs in 76 markets and the latter in more than 130 territories.
Sony Music’s share of the venture has transferred to Cowell’s Syco Entertainment.
Filming on the next stage of this year’s Britain’s Got Talent has been postponed due to the coronavirus crisis but ITV plans to continue the series in the autumn schedule.
It could have been a lot, lot worse. He was in surgery for six hours, they put a rod in his back
SOURCE ON INJURY COWELL SUSTAINED IN FALL FROM HIS NEW ELECTRIC BIKE
SIMON Cowell will be heartened by all the kind wishes after breaking his back in a fall from an electric bike in California.
Seeking a healthier lifestyle is not without risk and let’s hope the pop mogul behind BGT and X Factor makes a full and speedy recovery to get back on his feet – and on two wheels.