All the DCC members who suffered life changing injuries because of the rigorous routines
They're heartbreaking
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are considered the gold standard of cheerleading squads in the NFL. On America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders we’ve had an inside look into the rigorous and demanding routines, dances, and preparations that go into being on the squad. We’ve rounded up a list of all of the DCC members who have suffered life changing injuries because of DCC.
Tessa David-Burns
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While trying out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading squad, she had a massive stroke at 28-years-old. She was paralysed in bed for 36 hours before a welfare check was called, and the police showed up. Tessa had suffered a massive, near-fatal stroke. “Everything was perfect. And then I had a stroke,” she told the Indianapolis Star.
Before the auditions, Tessa was an Indianapolis Colts cheerleader for five seasons and then moved to Dallas for the DCC squad. After taking a shower, she her vision became blurry and her right arm went numb. She developed a horrible headache then crawled to her bed and passed out naked. At once point, her roommate just thought she was resting and covered her with a blanket. But Tessa couldn’t speak or ask for help. Eventually when she didn’t respond to her family, friends, or co-workers, the police showed up for a welfare check.
She then spent 12 days in the ICU while the doctors tried to reduce the swelling in her brain. When she came out of the ICU, she was partially paralysed and couldn’t speak. Tessa then spent two months in the hospital and then went to rehab where she relearned how to walk and talk. However, she’s no longer able to read or write or dance. Like any Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader though, she’s remained resilient and has persevered through her recovery.
Lisa Mills
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In 2021, Lisa was forced to drop out of her third training camp due to a spine injury, which resulted in surgery, she’s said on Instagram. “Without surgery, I was risking loss of feeling in my extremities or paralysis.” She tried all other options like physical therapy, medications, injections, epidurals, and more to treat her injury before resulting to surgery.
Four years after she dropped out, she was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, which was caused “by or in conjunction with my spine injury years ago.” For over four years she’s dealt with chronic never pain, other injuries, and three other surgeries. Despite this, she’s still determined to achieve her goal of a pain-free life. “I’m thankful to be breathing, walking, working out, dancing, and teaching,” she said.
Zhenya Kolpakova
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Her then-fiancé and now-husband, Preston Wood, announced in a Facebook post in August 2022, that Zhenya made it onto the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. After making it through the first round of auditions in May, she was involved in a “horrific accident that caused second and third degree burns on her face, neck. hands, and legs.”
She was rushed to the hospital and then transported to a critical burn unit overnight to Dallas. Zhenya was in the unit for 10 days. The next round of tryouts were 21 days later, exactly one months after she was burned. “She progressed enough to slowly start dancing at home and eventually enough to learn the dances,” he said. “It was truly a miracle.”
Zhenya made it to tryouts with leg wraps on, singed hair, and “barely any eyebrows” and she made it through to finals. From there, she continued the audition process and was eventually selected to be on the DCC.
Caroline Sundvold
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Featured on America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Caroline joined the DCC squad but had to retire in 2023 due to an injury. During her last season, she needed hip reconstruction surgery but postponed it so she could continue cheering for the Dallas Cowboys’ final game. She needed the surgery after four seasons of jump-splitting her joints into a permanently injured state, she shared on the show. “A hip surgery like that is a good three to six months recovery. I was like, ‘I really want to do one more year of cheerleading.’ I just wanted to push through,” she said.
Caroline also had surgery on her left foot, forcing her to wear a boot on it while she was helping her younger sister, Anna, prepare for DCC auditions.
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