UPDATE [10/21/2024]: PEOPLE Magazine reports that Sam Poueu has been moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation center, where he will be doing physical, occupational and speech therapy. “Tough days are still ahead – but, like always, he is working hard towards a full recovery,” his family said in a statement, which also expressed gratitude for Sam’s “wonderful medical team.”
UPDATE [9/27/2024]: Sam Poueu is making a steady recovery and his condition is significantly improved. “We are excited to sha
re that Sam is out of ICU and is currently in stable condition,” his family said in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE Magazine. “He still has a long road of recovery ahead of him, but we are so encouraged by the progress he continues to make daily.”
For the past two weeks Twitter and Facebook have been filled with prayer requests for Sam Poueu, a Biggest Loser 9 contestant. The reasons for the prayers were purposely vague, only making clear that Sam had suffered an accident that put him in ICU. Today, the family spoke out via PEOPLE Magazine and shared what they, and Sam, have been enduring.
According to the article the accident happened on September 3 in San Francisco, California. Sam had spent the night celebrating a friend’s birthday when the party moved to an apartment rooftop, where the crew was locked out. Sam then “attempted to climb down the fire escape ladder to drop down into the fourth floor balcony and slipped,” the families say in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE. “The San Francisco Fire Department responded within minutes thanks to a neighbor’s immediate call.”
That statement to PEOPLE also explains the extent of Sam’s injuries. He “suffered many serious internal injuries and a trauma to the right side of his head. Sam has made positive and encouraging strides since his accident. Since being admitted to the hospital, Sam has stayed strong through three surgeries. To date, many of his internal injuries are on the healing mend.”
DietsInReview.com has been a long-time friend of the Biggest Loser family, and our thoughts have been with Sam and his family since we first learned of the accident during Labor Day weekend. Having shaken hands, hugged, talked, and laughed with Sam on multiple occasions I can personally attest that this young man is a bright star whose light is far from fading. No doubt with his loving family by his side, including his fiancee and fellow season nine contestant Stephanie Anderson, Sam will have the support he needs for, what the family is calling, “a long road ahead.”
“We are thankful for the miracles we have already witnessed in his recovery and are thankful for the dedicated medical personnel attending to him,” said the families’ statement.
Sam has been working in Malibu, California at the Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge as a trainer. He and Stephanie have been planning for a spring 2024 wedding.
The couple’s families are asking for well-wishes and cards to be sent to:
Poueu Family, PO Box 214, Cotati, CA 94931
A trust fund has been created to help Sam’s recovery effort, the details of which can be found here on Stephanie’s Facebook.
Sam… we continue to keep you in our thoughts and prayers and wish you a speedy recovery.