Recovery was expected to take about a year but in a rapid process that the actor called unheard of, she managed to take her first steps in just four months since the accident.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 2, 2021. It has since been updated.
In February 2021, actor Ashley Judd shattered her leg in four places after a hiking accident, causing her to undergo surgery and rehabilitation. The 53-year-old actor, who has regularly been sharing updates of her progress with her fans, recently posted that after almost six months since the accident, she "walked again."
"Dear Friends, It is with reverence and quiet awe I offer this update. Today, five months and three weeks after the accident in the Congolese rainforest, I walked again, and in what fashion! I hiked in the #SwissNationalPark," Judd wrote on Instagram on August 1, 2021, along with a series of videos and photos of her experience. "Stepping in, I felt in my ease, my natural garment of self, at home in my spirit. My leg and foot worked beautifully," she continued, per PEOPLE.
"I walked uphill on uneven surfaces for an hour confidently and came down carefully and easily. I rested in a meadow on God's fecund earth for hours."
Judd said that she still has a lot of "stamina I have to rebuild," but she is definitely looking forward to "the road ahead." Finally, Judd shared that she has "so many people to thank for helping to make my recovery possible."
Back in February, the High Crimes actor tripped over a fallen tree in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She was there to research the Bonobos, an endangered ape species when the accident occurred. She shared pictures of her "grueling 55-hour odyssey," where she was carried by six men to the nearest healthcare facility, according to USA Today. From there, she was flown to a hospital in South Africa, where she had to undergo an eight-hour surgery.
"Without my Congolese brothers and sisters, my internal bleeding would have likely killed me, and I would have lost my leg," she wrote on Instagram at the time.
With that kind of injury, it was expected that the actor would need at least a year to be able to walk properly. But, with her perseverance and determination, she managed to get it moving, in a rapid process she called "unheard of."
"In four months to the day, she went [and] blew us all away. Now, after crying while trying to spell the ABCs with a paralyzed foot….well, you see!" Judd added. "My leg will never be the same. She is a new leg. And I love her. We are buddies. We have come a long way and we have a fabulous life ahead."
Surely, it wouldn't have been an easy road to recovery for the Twisted actor, but to be able to walk on her own feet after a major accident in such a short span of time is such a commendable feat!
Resources:
https://people.com/health/ashley-judd-walking-again-after-shattering-leg-hiking-video/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Duane Prokop
