Already have an account?
Get back to the

Biggest Loser’s Sam Poueu: How I Cheated Death After 54-Foot Fall

The last thing The Biggest Loser's Sam Poueu remembers about the night of September 3, 2011 was a dinner party. "I had flown to San Francisco for a friend's birthday," he tells the new issue of Us Weekly. "We had sushi and sake."

Related: PHOTOS: Amazing Biggest Loser makeovers!

Shortly after that meal, he suffered a devastating 54-foot fall and woke up in a hospital with a tube down his throat, suffering from a punctured lung, a severed kidney, a shattered pelvis, multiple facial fractures, a fractured tibia and a traumatic brain injury.

From what Poueu's fiancee, fellow Biggest Loser contestant Stephanie Anderson, can piece together, he went onto a friend's roof deck after dinner and upon realizing he was locked out, attempted to climb down the fire escape before falling four stories.

Related: VIDEO: Sam and Stephanie's incredible love story

"When he hit the ground, his brain shifted," she tells Us in an exclusive interview. "He hemorrhaged and had a stroke."

Says Poueu, who spent three months in bed before learning to walk again: "Sometimes I try to remember the accident. But every time I go there, it gets dark and kind of eerie. I'd rather let it be and live."

For more on how Poueu leaned on Anderson during his hospital stay — and how his desire to dance at their spring wedding serves as incentive to recover — watch the emotional video above!

In this article

Got a Tip form close button
Got a tip for US?
We're All Ears for Celebrity Buzz!