Love Island's Adam Collard rushed to hospital in an ambulance after excruciating injury and ‘losing control of his leg'
The reality star, 29, shared how the terrifying ordeal left him unable to walk or even feel his right leg after months of pain.
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Adam, who now runs Sculpt gym in Ashington, opened up about the ordeal in a brutally honest post saying the pain left him 'biting and screaming into a pillow'.
His panicked girlfriend Laura, 37, a TNT Sports presenter, called 999.
Adam, who recently became a dad with Laura, said: 'Last Wednesday I was driving home for 30 minutes after a full day at work, and by the time I got home I could barely walk into the house.
'The pain was unbearable to the point I was biting and screaming into my pillow. I couldn't find comfort and after an hour I lost the feeling in my right leg all the way down to my toes.
'Not able to lift it from the hip. Which was scary and Laura had to ring an ambulance.'
The gym boss revealed he'd battled a 'yo-yo' of agonising symptoms, including stabbing pain in his glute, a shaking knee, and sciatica that left him unable to sit and drive.
The injury had been building for months but he pushed through the pain.
He told fans: 'Too long ago I got a tweak that sent another level of pain and discomfort. A stabbing sensation in my right glute and my knee would shake uncontrollably in extension.'
After working with physios and osteopaths, Adam was told it was likely a disc issue causing sciatica.
He went on: 'The plan was to go back to basics, remove stress and strengthen weak points… but I saw no progress. This was extremely depressing — I couldn't sit in a chair without pain.'
But things got so bad the fitness pro couldn't even help Laura with night feeds for their newborn, Leo.
He said: 'Driving was a solid 9/10 pain. Even feeding Leo in bed was unbearable because of the slump position of the lumbar spine.'
After trying everything from rehab to nerve blocker injections, Adam had an MRI and was told his disc had ruptured and was compressing his sciatic nerve.
He underwent urgent lumbar decompression and discectomy surgery and says he's now on the road to recovery.
'The surgeon said once he cut in, he realised the discs were very bad. One of them had cracked and was pushing into my sciatic nerve.'
Adam admitted the ordeal had taken a toll both physically and mentally.
He added: 'It got to me mentally as well. I was trying to be a new dad, work in the gym, and couldn't even get my socks on.'
He also shared some pre and post-surgery snaps of himself in a hospital gown.
Adam found fame on Love Island in 2018 and returned again in 2022, but now spends his time running his North East gym and supporting Laura with her high-profile presenting gigs across TNT Sports and ITV.
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