Alfonso Ribeiro’s daughter Ava Sue, four, has a long recovery ahead of her following her scooter accident, but the Dancing with the Stars host maintains she is doing “great.”
Back in May, just one day before her fourth birthday, little Ava had to go through emergency surgery after falling off of her sit-down scooter, which left her with serious injuries.
Alfonso, 51, wrote in an Instagram post at the time: “Not the kind of day you want the day before turning 4. Just want to give a heartfelt thank you to @kareskinmd for the emergency service and procedure to help lessen the likelihood of scarring. So proud of how brave my baby girl was during the surgery.”
Now, giving a hopeful update to People, Alfonso said: “My daughter is doing great,” adding that despite the “scary times, scary moments,” Ava is “recovering wonderfully.”
“She’ll be here this weekend and so she’s doing wonderful,” he said ahead of a Fourth of July event in Washington D.C., adding: “The progress is coming along as we expected. It’s a long, long process. But she’s doing wonderful.”
Recalling the May incident, he told the outlet: “I wasn’t standing there when it happened,” and explained: “Our nanny was there so we missed that, but she came in and – obviously – it was immediate that I knew that we were taking her to a doctor.”
Alfonso shares Ava with his second wife, Angela Unkrich, who he married in 2012. They also share sons Alfonso “AJ” Lincoln, nine, and Anders Reyn, eight; he also has a 20-year-old daughter, Sienna, with ex-wife Robin Stapler.
The father-of-four went on to praise his little girl’s perseverance, ahead of what he said will be a months-long recovery.
“She’s still moving around,” he said, adding: “It’s technically healed, but it’s a big old scar so you want that to slowly work its way away and that’s what we’re working on.”
He further noted: “It’s just on its exterior. So it’s nothing that serious – but to your baby it’s a big deal to you.”
At the time of Ava’s accident, her mom Angela wrote on Instagram: “My poor baby. I woke up and had a vision/motherly intuition of Ava ending up in the ER today,” before explaining: “I announced to the fam, kids, sitter & friends helping out getting ready for Ava’s birthday party that ‘we are not doing anything crazy or dangerous today that could potentially end up with an ER visit.’ I literally made everyone lock eyes [with] me when I said these words.”
She continued: “Sadly, my words were soon forgotten and long story short, this poor girl crashed off a sit-down scooter… the day before her bday.
“Not a fun way to spend your last day as a three-year-old, but she was a trooper. Giving this sweet girl some extra cuddles tonight,” Angela concluded.
