Medical Fund for Eva ~ Let's help her walk again!

"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
– Winston S. Churchill

 

 

I WILL WALK AGAIN: LONG RECOVERY FROM A WICKED PITBULL INJURY
Eva Jenickova, U.S. / Czech Republic Actress, Choreographer, Dancer, Coach, Model

 

On February 18, 2018, our friend of the screen, stage, dance, and strength/flexibility master Eva Jenickova's life took a drastic and unexpected turn.

 

While walking an empty Venice, CA playfield with her pup Gioia, out-of-nowhere, two large pitbulls running at full speed while wrestling suddenly rammed into her from behind. "One pinned my left leg as the other launched me in the air where I spun and landed on my right hip with my left leg folded under my right leg,” Eva recalls.

 

In a stunning move, the dog owners and their friends left her lying on the ground and quickly disappeared with the dogs. Shell-shocked, in tears, and slowly moving while limping, she never anticipated what the impact and torque of the position would ultimately cause her – severe damage! A month later, she was still limping, and it was worsening.

 

For two years, her injury went misdiagnosed. After her first MRI in 2018, her doctors were baffled by the amount of fluid produced. They were also recommending a hip replacement. “It was a horrible feeling since I didn’t understand why it would be needed suddenly like that,” she said. “But mainly, I felt they were wrong.” Because besides being an actor since the age of 12, Eva is an immensely experienced mover/performer and sought-after strength and advanced flexibility coach (she developed her system – Já-Create Yourself). This insight is coupled with an established dancing career, where even the renowned Alvin Ailey sought her out. Her instincts were correct.

 

To put her accident and personal fitness awareness in context, it’s also worth noting that her extraordinary talent in dance first brought her to the U.S. from her native Czech Republic, where she achieved celebrity status. The documentary, How  Eva Jenickova Danced Her Way to America, was also produced for Czech TV. She has received numerous awards for her acting and choreography, among others.

 

Since her accident, she’s been through extensive therapy. Then finally found the right doctor and endured a 3.5 hour-long surgery and 12 weeks of complete rest with very minimal movement in the second part with no disability provided or unemployment support.

 

 

 

“I had four completely torn muscles in my right pelvis-hip,” she shared. “The gluteus medius muscle, which is a main body weight supporter, was completely ripped off and atrophied, and the surgeon had to use a donor tendon to reattach it. All three hamstrings in the back of my leg were torn off, connected literally with just a tiny thread to the bottom of the pelvis.” Her doctor told her that she’d been “walking on nothing for two years.” To put this in perspective, she later learned that the usual recovery for just a torn gluteus medius is two years. Her doctor and surgeon also told her that this injury was equivalent to a bad car accident, but luckily without metal or concrete.

 

During those first two years, when trying to figure out what was going on, she did intensive physical therapy on four muscles that were torn off. Her CBD medication helped lower the inflammation, and the right doctor finally found the tears. He also said that if she had proceeded with the hip replacement, she’d have ended up in a wheelchair.

 

As a result of not being able to carry her total body weight, other major compensation issues surfaced in her sacrum and leg, as well as a slipped lumbar disc, to name a few. Due to such significant pre-op degradation and atrophy, she cannot bear her total body weight yet. She’s working hard in physical therapy, using the NASA-developed Alter G Treadmill that compensates body weight to strengthen the muscles.

 

While her pride and ‘can-do’ Wonder Woman spirit prevail, the personal and financial toll she’s already endured continues to escalate, and she can use our help!

 

“I’ve always felt like I have to be completely self-reliant,” shares Eva, “but this has taught me that with injuries and illnesses, it’s not always possible, especially with one of this scope. Because it does take a village to help, it teaches you humility and makes you SO, SO grateful for people who care about you, understand, and help in any way. I so appreciate and love my tribe and my family and friends.”

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP EVA …

 

Eva still faces a medical road ahead as she needs more therapies such as hyperbaric chamber treatments, which can run up to over $20,000 for starters. She has had to deplete her savings to manage, has acquired more debt, and is still unable to support herself financially fully. While she’s been teaching online and searching for additional work, there is only so much she can do with limited mobility, fatigue, and pain.

 

Any amount is greatly appreciated! Together we can help Eva walk … and run … and dance ... once again! Please join us! Thank you so very much for any help. Your kindness is immensely treasured and cherished!

 

With much love and appreciation,

TEAM EVA & GIOIA

 

 

Photo Captions, Courtesy of Eva Jenickova: