Was Nyle DiMarco’s Interpreter, Ramon Norrod, Seriously Injured Before The ‘DWTS’ Finals?

Many Nyle DiMarco fans noticed that the deaf America’s Next Top Model winner had a different sign language interpreter during last night’s Dancing with the Stars finals. There were reports that Ramon Norrod, the man who usually gives voice to Nyle’s words, was unable to attend the event because he was involved in a serious accident over the weekend. But is that the real reason Ramon wasn’t there?

Ahead of Monday night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars, Radar Online reported that Nyle DiMarco’s interpreter would not be there to root on Nyle because he “had a really bad accident over the weekend and was rushed to the hospital.” An unnamed source claimed that Ramon Norrod was in “very, very serious condition” and had to undergo surgery Monday afternoon. The source didn’t reveal what kind of accident Ramon was involved in, nor did he or she share any specific details about Ramon’s injuries. However, many fans assumed that Ramon was hurt in a car accident.

@Voguerista @puredwts I had read that Nyle’s interpreter was in a car accident and undergoing surgery??

— NurseRatchet (@NurseRatchetM6K) May 24, 2016

The Radar source claimed that Nyle was “horrified and very distraught for Ramon” and that the DWTS competitor would dedicate Monday night’s performance to his interpreter. However, Nyle never mentioned his friend during the show.

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An on-set source later gave Radar an update on Ramon Norrod, saying that the interpreter was “in stable condition” and was going to be okay. However, after last night’s show, Nyle DiMarco claimed that the reason Ramon had to miss the Dancing with the Stars finals wasn’t quite as serious as the reports by Radar made it out to be. Nyle told Glamour that Ramon was simply sick, and the Mirrorball Trophy hopeful didn’t seem too concerned about his friend’s condition; he was reportedly joking about Ramon’s absence and the new interpreter who temporarily filled in for him.

In a recent Facebook post, Ramon Norrod revealed the details of how he ended up in the hospital. His trip to the ER did involve an injury, but it wasn’t caused by a serious car accident. However, he wasn’t just sick like Nyle said; his bladder was damaged and urine was leaking into his abdominal cavity.

“I was not in a car accident but I am, currently, recovering in the hospital,” Ramon wrote. “On Saturday I had an awkward fall onto my groin and damaged my urethra. I had to get a colostomy bag. I went back to work the next day but that night my bag wasn’t filling up and my abdomen was sore and distended. I decided to go back to the ER and after tests found out they nicked my bladder while doing the bag and urine was filling my abdominal cavity.”

Ramon was also Nyle DiMarco’s sign language interpreter on America’s Next Top Model, and Nyle has described him as the best interpreter he’s ever had. Last September, Nyle tweeted that he and Ramon had turned their great working relationship into a friendship. Ramon talks about meeting Nyle for the first time in the video below.

Because Ramon’s injuries weren’t too serious, Nyle DiMarco was able to spend last night celebrating his extremely successful freestyle routine to Disturbed’s version of “The Sound of Silence” instead of worrying about his close friend. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba said that Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd’s dance was the best she’s seen in the entire 22 seasons of Dancing with the Stars, and her comments had Nyle on Cloud Nine.

“It really touched me,” Nyle told Glamour.

“I don’t mean to use the deaf card often, but as a deaf guy, [the fact that] I was able to produce the best dance in 22 seasons [is incredible]. I think that’s really what makes it the best and more personal.”

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Unfortunately for Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd, their freestyle routine didn’t help them pull away from the competition. The judges gave all three of the remaining couples perfect scores for their freestyles, and the 27 points Nyle and Peta scored for their quickstep routine left them in third place. However, when last night’s scores are combined with last week’s scores, Nyle and Peta’s 114 leaves them tied for second place with Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy. Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas top the leaderboard with a total score of 118.

Ginger and Nyle will get one more chance to catch up with Paige tonight when they perform their 24-hour fusion routines. The remaining celebrities only had one day to rehearse routines that combine two different dance styles, so the star who is the quickest learner may have an advantage over his or her competition. According to PureDWTS, Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd will perform a tango/cha cha to “Summer” by Calvin Harris; Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy will dance an Argentine tango/foxtrot to “Just Like Fire” by Pink; and Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas will perform a salsa/jive to “Little Bitty Pretty One” by Thurston Harris.

Do you think Nyle DiMarco will take home the Mirrorball Trophy during tonight’s Dancing with the Stars finale?

[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]