Gloria Estefan’s near-fatal tour bus accident led to a $42 million quest to cure paralysis

Nearly 35 years ago, Gloria Estefan was nearly killed in a freak accident when a semi-truck collided with her tour bus in Pennsylvania.

The then 32-year-old Grammy-winning artist was thrown to the floor of the bus, leaving him temporarily paralyzed and with a broken back.

Estefan was warned that she might never walk again, but with the help of doctors and her own determination, the “Conga” singer returned to the stage almost a year later. Since then, she has been a vocal advocate for paralysis research and has donated more than $42 million to support spinal cord injury research.

GLORIA ESTEFAN RECALLS SHARING IN A BUS ACCIDENT IN 1990

Estefan recalled being told how severe her injuries were after the 1990 accident.

“You always have to present the worst-case scenario, and I was paralyzed by this accident,” she said on CBS Mornings. “I was reunited at the Joint Hospital here in New York.”

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Estefan said her father was in a wheelchair, so she understands what “families go through.” However, one of her biggest fears was being in a wheelchair.

“They always have to give you the worst-case scenario, and I was paralyzed by that accident.”

–Gloria Estefan

Estefan was 32 years old when she was involved in the tour bus accident. (Getty Images)

“We put an elevator in our house because one day I felt like I was going to need it… and thank God I did because I used it for a long time,” she said.

Estefan worked with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, run by former Miami Dolphins player Nick Buoniconti and Dr. Barth Green was co-founded. She said the foundation had made “amazing progress” in research projects and “175 people are working to find a cure.”

When asked if a cure for paralysis was on the horizon, Estefan remained optimistic.

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“I think that will be the case, you have to. Look at how many things have been healed,” she said. “I know when I was a kid, if you were told the ‘C’ word – cancer – that was the end, and now there are so many cancer treatments.”

“We put an elevator in our house because one day I felt like I was going to need it… and thank God I did because I used it for a long time.”

–Gloria Estefan

Gloria and husband Emilo Estefan have been married since 1978 and the couple have daughter Emily (pictured) and son Nayib. (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

“And this will also have a lot of great things for diseases like Alzheimer’s, MS, which my father suffered from after Agent Orange poisoning, and Parkinson’s, because they’re all neurological diseases and this research is really important for that. “

Estefan remembered how slow her recovery felt, but her achievements felt great regardless of the size.

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“Six months after the accident I was able to put on my own underwear. I wanted to throw a party,” Estefan said.

“And then I started to even think about getting back on stage and showing people, ‘Hey, you can go through difficult things depending on how you deal with them.’ But I was only back on stage for 20 days a year. It took me three years to really feel good.