Tom Selleck's Daughter Hannah Was Almost Paralyzed After A Terrifying Accident
Hannah Selleck, daughter of Tom Selleck, might've grown up to be gorgeous, but she's also an accomplished equestrian. The California native was born in 1988 to Tom and his wife and fellow Hollywood star Jillie Mack. While her father is known as a legendary actor, being one of the many celebs to get their start on "The Young and the Restless," Hannah has been riding horseback since she was four and competing since she was 10.
In this way, the young Selleck has had many tumbles throughout her career. However, one fall stands out against the rest, as the accident nearly left her paralyzed. While competing at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Canada, in 2018, the equestrian shattered her tibia and fibula. The accident occurred when her horse refused a jump, causing Hannah's foot to be caught in a malfunctioning magnetic stirrup.
"I had several falls, injuries, and broken bones before," she told Wellington International. "But this was the first time I got hurt and realized it is one thing if I am not able to ride again but another if I am not able to live my day-to-day life as I had always imagined and taken for granted." The accident required intensive surgery and rehabilitation, but she was able to make a full recovery and return to the saddle less than a year after her injury.
Hannah Selleck opened up about her recovery
Hannah Selleck's traumatic 2018 fall, which shattered two of the bones in her leg, required rigorous physical therapy after 6 hours of surgery. "Rehab took a lot of grit and determination," she told Wellington International. After she returned to horse riding, only seven months after her fall, she decided to remove the hardware from her leg, which led to her diagnosis of a nerve disease known as CRPS.
"I was in unbearable pain and was not able to touch my foot; it felt as if you were burning it with a hot iron. I couldn't put weight on the leg, and sleep was impossible," Selleck shared. "I was depressed and very scared I would struggle to walk the rest of my life. I was able to get the CRPS into remission with Relief injections from Dr. Abhinav Gautam. It saved me."
In addition to traditional therapy, Selleck also incorporated holistic practices into her recovery, which especially came in handy when faced with the resulting trauma of her fall. "I worked with an energy healer, and we worked on a lot of guided meditations and visualizations," she said to Modern Luxury Palm Beach, noting that the visualization helped her return to competition.
Time out of the saddle led to other horse ventures
While temporarily not being able to ride was a big adjustment for Hannah Selleck, it actually gave her the opportunity to explore another aspect of the horse world. The experienced rider opened up Descanso farm, inspired by her family's Rancho de Descanso, to begin training and breeding her own horses.
"It is something I probably would have never done if I had not been totally sidelined," she told Modern Luxury. "At the time I got hurt, I was riding for a training barn. Now, I am focusing on my sale business." While she has since made it back into the saddle, her horse venture has become an important part of her life, with the horse lover telling Palm Beach Illustrated that she hopes to see all of her steeds compete in the big leagues.
Selleck's potentially life-altering injury and its necessary rehabilitation were no doubt traumatic for the equestrian, but she's been able to view her forced hiatus through a positive lens. "For the first time, I feel like it's given me more balance in life," she said. "As [athletes], we always have goals, and sometimes we forget to enjoy life."