Circus performer recovering well after 10 meter fall in Amsterdam show

Acrobat Kristina Vorobeva has been transferred to a rehabilitation center and continues to recover well after she fell 10 meters in the Amsterdam theater Carre during a circus performance in January. She can now move her legs slightly and hopes to be able to walk again. She credits her recovery to her husband, Rustem Osmanov. "Without him I would not have made it," she said in an interview with the Telegraaf.

Vorobeva and Osmanov perform together. Their act is called the Sky Angels and consists of acrobatic stunts performed high in the air, swinging on belts held in hands or teeth, with no safety net. During the World Christmas Circus performance in Amsterdam early in January, Osmanov broke a tooth while he was holding himself and his wife up with a bit. The two fell 10 meters.

Vorobeva was seriously hurt and was left unable to feel her legs. She has since undergone three surgeries. A titanium plate that was placed in her neck has since been replaced by a bone from her hip. She was transferred to a rehabilitation center earlier this week and can now move her legs a bit.

"I can do this thanks to my husband. That really is his credit. He even gets up at night to massage my legs and hands. If he didn't do that, I would now be a statue," she said to the Telegraaf. Osmanov is carrying both their lives while she recovers, she said. "Without him I would not have made it. Not mentally, not physically. He not only holds my hand, but he gives himself completely."

Vorobeva continues to surprise the doctors with her progress, she said. "The first thing the doctors said was: 'You will never walk again.' Then that was adjusted to: 'It will take at least two years.' Then it was said: 'Count on a year.' In the meantime, they have stopped speculating because I keep catching up with the forecasts."