Charity Lawson Suffers Injury That Sends Her to the Hospital in an Ambulance Before “DWTS” Finale: 'I'm Scared'
"Nothing's going to stop me from bringing home the Mirrorball," the 'Bachelorette' alum said on Tuesday's 'Dancing with the Stars' finale
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Charity Lawson dancing her freestyle on 'DWTS'Charity Lawson nearly didn't make it to the Dancing with the Stars finale.
The Bachelorette alum revealed on Tuesday's episode of the ABC dancing competition series that an injury nearly took her out of the competition after falling while practicing her freestyle cheerleading routine over the week.
"I'm scared I'm not going to open my mouth," she said in footage following the accident, which happened moments after Lawson was thrown in the air. "I'm scared."
Lawson's professional partner, Artem Chigvintsev, explained that the 27-year-old reality star hurt her jaw in the collapse. "Charity fell pretty badly on her jaw and she's in pain," the Russian dancer, 41, said. "She can't open the jaw right now."
"This is the thing: when you go epic with the big tricks, things like that can happen," he added. "I'm just praying that she's okay."
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Charity Lawson during her cheerleading-themed freestyle dance in the finale of 'Dancing with the Stars'Related: Taylor Swift! J.Lo! Beyoncé x2! Find Out the DWTS Finalists' Next Songs and Styles (Exclusive)
An ambulance took Lawson away, the sirens blazing in the night. But luckily, Lawson was able to return the next day.
"I'm a cheerleader and this is the risk that it takes to pull off a show-stopping performance," said Lawson. "Thank God nothing's broken, so we're good. The show will go on."
"Yes, it's scary having an injury knowing I have to go back and do that exact move with total confidence," she added. "But nothing's going to stop me from bringing home the Mirrorball [trophy]."
abc
Charity Lawson's cheerleading-themed freestyle routine on 'Dancing with the Stars'Prior to her accident, Lawson said she wanted to do this freestyle routine to show off her background in competitive cheerleading. "My freestyle is going to incorporate some tricks and I hope that it leaves everyone truly speechless," she said. " I am among the best of the best so I have to do something extra to stand out."
And stand-out she did. Lawson's routine earned 10s across the board from the judges, an impressive feat, considering both her injury and the fact that she hadn't practiced the sport in "almost 7, 8 years."
"I don't think we've ever seen anything like that ever on the history of Dancing with the Stars," said judge Derek Hough, while Bruno Tonioli called it "insane."
ABC/Andrew Eccles
Artem Chigvintsev and Charity LawsonNever miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Viewers will have to wait to see whether Lawson takes home the Mirrorball, which has now been renamed in honor of late DWTS judge and ballroom legend Len Goodman. She's in the finals with Ariana Madix, Jason Mraz, Alyson Hannigan and Xochitl Gomez.
Dancing with the Stars is airing on ABC and can be streamed on Disney+.
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