Aerialist's Return After Dramatic Three-Story Fall

Feb. 4, 2010 -- During a dramatic three-story fall, aerialist Sarah Romanowsky said instinct kicked in and helped her survive a plummet to the ground after she lost her grip on a metal ring while hanging upside down during a live performance.

"I remember being lifted up. I remember being very focused, feeling very strong. And everything felt completely normal, nothing felt out of the ordinary. And suddenly I went from being inside the hoop to underneath it and then blackness," Romanowsky, 26, said on "Good Morning America" today.

Romanowsky said she does not remember the November fall. Her body turned in a way that prevented serious injury to her head and spine.

"I am walking two months later, and I am healed from a pelvis broken in four places and six broken ribs and a shattered wrist, but it could have been so much worse," she said.

Romanowsky said she was impressed with the singer Pink's acrobatic performance during the Grammy awards. She was suspended above the audience by a wire.

"She did great. What she did wasn't that difficult, but she was singing live and wet and that is just incredible. She was so strong and she seemed really well trained for it. And I really give her props," Romanowsky said.

Aerialist Determined to Come Back Strong

Romanowsky was part of a show called "Hunky Santa and the Candy Cane Girls," meant to entertain holiday shoppers at the Beverly Center in Beverly Hills, Calif. She chose to perform her air acrobatics routine without a safety harness or net. She said she believed strongly as an artist that harnesses inhibited movement and rought their own safety hazards.

"They can wrap around arms and legs. You know, I thought I didn't need it," Romanowsky said.

Click here to see the video of Romanowsky's fall.

While the frightening fall might have discouraged other aerialists, Romanowsky said she is determined to return to performing, and has already begun to practice.

"It felt really good, it felt right. I knew the whole time that I had to get back. I knew I couldn't let fear keep me from returning," Romanowsky said. "I'm not quite as flexible as I was before. But I am convinced it will all come back."

Air Acrobat Survives 3-Story Fall

It's an impressive return, especially given that on her first day of physical therapy she could not even sit on the edge of her bed.

Click here to see the video of Romanowsky's fall.

"I really have just tried to stay as positive as possible throughout this entire ordeal. And I really also just tried to keep moving as much as possible and movement has helped me from experiencing very much pain," Romanowsky said.

Click here to return to the "Good Morning America" Web site.