MRI shows dancer injured back, spine

Relatives of injured dancer Andrea Roach are fervently hoping for a miracle that would put her back on her feet after an MRI scan showed she had sustained serious injuries to her back resulting in paralysis.

Andrea Roach
Andrea Roach

According to Roach’s grandmother Muriel Moe, the MRI scan which was conducted on the girl shows that her C5 and C6 joints are dislocated and that her spine has been ‘pinched.’

The girl’s mother Karen Jennings told Stabroek News yesterday afternoon that her condition has hardly improved. She said Andrea cannot feel her body from the shoulders down.

She cannot move her fingers, toes or any other body part though she is fully conscious and recognizes her family. The girl communicates by blinking or with slight movements of her mouth since her speech is impaired by tubes in her mouth. Jennings said that she hopes to speak to the doctor about her daughter’s condition this morning. 

Roach popularly known as “Stacy”, a dancer with the X-Factor Dance group, sustained her injuries while practising dance moves on the stage at the National Park after the Emancipation show.

According to reports, during a particular routine a male dancer threw her into the air but did not catch her and she fell onto her neck. Roach was admitted to Ward ‘C’ at the city hospital but transferred to the ICU after her condition worsened. Saline and oxygen are being administered to her and she is attached to a life support machine.