Simon Cowell has been pictured back on his bike 12 months after a horror cycling accident almost left him paralysed. The telly mogul fell off a powerful electric bicycle last August and needed surgery and months of treatment to get him back on his feet
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Simon Cowell has been pictured back on a bike 12 months after he was almost paralysed in a terrifying cycling accident.
The telly mogul fell off his powerful electric bicycle last August and was rushed to hospital, where he underwent six hours of emergency surgery to repair his broken back.
Simon, 61, underwent months of rehab treatment and made a full recovery and he’s now proved he’s not going to let the accident put him off his bike rides.
He was pictured riding around Malibu, California on Friday with his partner Lauren Silverman in Malibu.
The couple were seen making a stop at a sunglasses store at the Cross Creek Mall before continuing on their ride.
Simon even managed a thumbs up for the cameras as he celebrated being back on two wheels again.
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Last year, an insider told the Mirror that Simon was extremely lucky to have been able to walk again following the accident, which happened at his home in Malibu,
A close friend told us that although his back was broken in several places and it was very serious, he narrowly missed breaking his spinal cord “by a centimetre” which would may have meant he was unable to walk again.
A source close to Cowell 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.
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“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.”
Simon had been at home with his six-year-old son Eric and his partner Lauren Silverman when the accident happened.
He started cycling to improve his fitness after he ended up in hospital following a previous fall at home three years ago.
He spent several days in hospital after the back surgery but was later discharged to continue his recovery at home.
It meant he had to miss the 2020 series of Britain’s Got Talent as the accident left him unable to fly back to the UK.
However, Simon has since recovered well and returned to work.
He opened up about the accident in an interview with his ex Terri Seymour on US TV show Extram saying: “It could have been a lot worse.
“When I saw the X-ray, I really nearly could have smashed my spine to pieces, so I literally wouldn’t have been able to walk.
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“I knew I’d broken my back the minute I landed. it was really, really kind of sudden and it hurt.
He added: “The hardest thing was, and I said this to Lauren when I came out of the hospital…
“I was so embarrassed about coming home looking about 100 because I couldn’t walk, and I have these metal rods in my back and these screws…
“I said, ‘Lauren, I just don’t know how to explain it to [Eric].’ She obviously said something to him because he came in… and I was lying in bed and he said, ‘Daddy, you’re like Ironman,’ and I thought that was the sweetest thing and it meant a lot.”
