Brooke Shields recovering from broken leg after gym accident
American actress and model Brooke Shields shared a series of throwback photos of herself while recovering from a horrifying gym accident earlier this year.
In two of the photos, the 'Suddenly Susan' and 'The Blue Lagoon' star can be seen with bandages wrapped around her arm and right leg.
And in the two other photos, she can be seen seated in the hospital with chest monitors attached to her and a walker in front of her.
Throwback photo of Brooke Shields while recovering in the hospital earlier this year / Source: @brookeshields (IG)
Brooke first shared a video of herself trying to walk with the help of crutches back in February 22.
She captioned it with: “Broke my femur. Beginning to mend. No matter what your challenge is, make a positive choice, for yourself, to move forward. #BeginningisNow”
At the time, Brooke didn't reveal exactly how she broke her leg. But in a recent exclusive interview with People, she finally recounts her horrifying injury and battle with severe bacterial infection, as well as her road to recovery.
It turns out, the 55-year-old actress had a terrifying accident at a New York City gym in late January.
Brooke Shields with a bandage on her arm after horrific gym accident in late January / Source: @brookeshields (IG)
The 'Pretty Baby' star told People that she fell off the balance board she was using.
She flew in the air and unfortunately landed on her femur, the longest bone in the human body located within the thigh.
This ultimately caused her femur to break, and she said she was so afraid that she was paralyzed.
"It felt like it was all in slow motion. And then I just started screaming," Brooke recounts. "Sounds came out that I've never heard before. The pain was so excruciating."
Brooke was then taken to the hospital by an ambulance and immediately underwent surgery.
She initially had two metal rods placed near her hip. Then a second surgery was performed to hold in place a broken part of her right femur that popped out. Five more rods and a metal plate were used during this second surgery.
Photo of Broke Shields's broken right leg / Source: @@brookeshields (IG)
Brooke was discharged from the hospital after two and a half weeks, but her ordeal didn't end there.
She eventually developed a severe staph infection and went back to the hospital, where an emergency surgery and three blood infusions were done.
“At first they feared it might be MRSA [a type of bacteria resistant to antibiotics]," Brooke revealed. "Thank God it wasn't. If it had been, my doctor said it would have been a race against time. That's how you can become septic. It seemed unthinkable."
After dealing with the staph infection, Brooke is now on her road to recovery as she recently began physical therapy to help her relearn how to walk.
Though there might be a long road ahead of Brooke in her recovery journey, she believes that her previous battle with postpartum depression and career struggles have prepared her for it,
“I'm the only one that's going to be able to get through this.
"My career has actually been like that as well. One door gets slammed in my face and I search for another.
“It's not unlike how I felt when I wrote about postpartum depression in 2005.
“This is my journey, and if it took me breaking the largest bone in my body, then recovery is something I want to share.
“We have to believe in ourselves and encourage one another. There's no other way to get through life, period."
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You might also want to read about 'Hunger Games' star Ashley Judd's harrowing experience after breaking her leg in Congo.