BLACK-ISH STAR JENIFER LEWIS RECOUNTS 6-DAY ICU STAY AT A NAIROBI HOSPITAL

Hollywood actress Jenifer Lewis recently shared a harrowing experience from her trip to the Serengeti in Tanzania. She recounted a terrifying fall that left her immobilised and fearing for her life.

In an interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, Lewis planned a trip around the world after the popular TV series Black-ish wrapped. In 2022, she and her friend Laurie had travelled from South Africa to Rwanda, where she went to see the mountain gorillas. “It was scary but it does give you a sense of fearlessness and courage. We’re having a good time, we’re feeling a lot. We’re going where the real people are,” said Lewis.

From Rwanda, she went to the Serengeti in Tanzania to see the wildebeest migration. The two checked into a hotel at the end of her first day. “When the sun sets in the Serengeti, there are no street lights. It’s pitch black. I was escorted to the lodge and to my room, but I wasn’t given a tour. I should have been given a tour.“

Jennifer decided to take a walk around her pool and fell 10 feet to the ground. Describing it as a frightening experience, “There was a space that was not sectioned off and no sign that said caution. My right hip took the impact. My shoulder went up against the stone. A lightning bolt went through my mind’s eye. In pitch black, I didn’t know I was falling. nothing would move. So I laid there and said, ‘Move your body, baby. Come on Jenny, move your body.”

Lewis then called for her friend Laurie. “It was hard even to take a big breath to scream. When Laurie ran to get help, I heard a lion roar. My last thought, because I’m Jenifer Lewis, was ‘What a headline! The king ate the Queen: Pieces of Jenifer Lewis’ body is being flown back to the States.'”

She said she was rescued by the Doctors Without Borders and airlifted to Nairobi. “In an air ambulance I was flown to Nairobi, Kenya. My acetabular was fractured. When I was wheeled into my surgery they didn’t know if I was going to make it. I did my last will and testament.

The actress had 10 hours of surgery, three blood transfusions and six days in an intensive care unit (ICU). “The Nairobians were a beautiful, sweet people. They took such good care of me. Black-ish is very popular over there, some little girls would come to my room and they say, ‘Its Ruby.’”Lewis recalled.

After recovering Jennifer was escorted back to the U.S. and went to Cedar Sinai for evaluation and later put in a rehabilitation centre.