Adriana Chechik had to end her pregnancy after TwitchCon Incident

Adriana Chechik, the streamer and adult performer who broke her back in two places after she jumped into a foam pit exhibit at TwitchCon this month, revealed that she was pregnant at the time of her injury. She said she Saturday had to terminate the pregnancy to undergo surgery.

Chechik was rushed into emergency spinal surgery after she jump into the Lenovo Intel exhibit at the streaming convention, which had participants knock each other off raised platforms and into a shallow pit filled with foam cubes. Multiple participants were injured after they jumped off the platforms and into the cubes, which concealed the pit’s concrete base.

On Saturday, in her first livestream since her injury, Chechik revealed that she found out that she was pregnant at the hospital.

“I was pregnant, and I didn’t know until I was in the hospital,” she said during her stream. “So I also have, like, crazy hormones. I’m not pregnant anymore because of the surgery. I couldn’t keep it. But my hormones are also through the [expletive] roof because of that.”

She also showed viewers the surgery scar on her back, crediting the healing to “great surgeons” and “green juice with vitamins.”

Chechik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

She has updated followers throughout her recovery. She shared a video this month taking her first steps after surgery.

Last week, she said she was able to take a five-minute walk.

At the time of Chechik’s injury, a spokesperson for Twitch referred NBC News to Lenovo’s PR team for comment. A Lenovo spokesperson said the company was “aware of the incidents of TwitchCon visitors who sustained injuries” at its booth.

Chechik did not mention taking action against Twitch or Lenovo in her comeback stream. She has asked fans on social media to respect her privacy and allow her to recover instead of tagging her in callout posts for both companies.

“Guys, please respect my healing at this time any talk of what I should do to these companies or who I need to be mad at is not apart of how I want to heal currently pls if you must talk don’t tag me. I am human and I do see this and I am currently pushing hard to heal!” she tweeted over the weekend.

In a follow-up tweet, she said she is taking medication for anxiety.

“Social media is something I don’t want to eliminate but if u can’t stop being angry and tagging I’ll lose this to!” she continued. “Please I’m human!”

Two of the doctors we spoke to stated that it was possible Chechik suffered a compression fracture, which is what happens when one vertebral body compresses on another one. The force involved can cause weakness, breakage, or fracture in the bone. However, they also pointed out that she could have suffered a burst fracture, a more severe injury that involves fractures on the front and back halves of the vertebral body.

Dr. Oren Gottfried, a full professor of neurosurgery and spine at Duke University School of Medicine, told Gizmodo that the way Chechik fell into the foam pit suggests there was a significant axial load on her lumbar spine, which could have fractured the one or two vertebral bodies. Gottfried is of the opinion that the streamer likely experienced a burst fracture.

“Think about the injury resulting in compressing the spine together like an accordion, but the bones are firm and stiff, and they break apart from the contact of hitting each other,” Gottfried, said in an email. “Typically, this kind of injury can also fracture other surrounding bones, and sometimes bone fragments can compress on nerves. It is a very painful and serious injury.”

Gottfried explained that the fact that Chechik had surgery means she likely developed some spinal instability as a result of the fall. A lengthy surgery like hers aims to restore stability and support with instrumentation, such as screws and rods. Even with surgery, Gottfried pointed out, many people wear a restrictive brace for three months. He added that the pain from this type of injury can be very intense and hard to deal with, although it usually gets better over the first six weeks. The pain from surgery can be quite intense as well, Gottfried said.

After surgery, Chechik will likely require physical therapy in order to maximize recovery of her strength, range of motion, and mobility, according to Dr. Jonathan Stieber, a spine surgeon in New York City.

Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Yang, a neurosurgeon with subspecialty training in spine surgery at the University of Calgary, said the streamer’s post-surgery treatment will depend on the condition in which she emerged from surgery. Yang pointed out that since it appears Chechik has bladder dysfunction—she has stated on social media that she needs a catheter to pee—that will require rehabilitation. Furthermore, if she has problems with motor strength in her legs, she will need physical and possibly hospital rehabilitation.