Ashley Judd is continuing to speak on her “harrowing” rescue mission following a fall in the rainforest while in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a few weeks ago. In a new Instagram post Tuesday, the actress expressed “deepest and most vulnerable thanks” to her healthcare providers around the world. After breaking her leg in four places while trying to visit endangered bonobos monkeys, the 52-year-old embarked on an incredible journey from a small village to Johannesburg, South Africa for surgery.
Documenting her time in the hospital, she shared:
“I arrived to them from DRC in terrible shape and my leg had no pulse. I desperately needed a blood transfusion. Their sisters (nurses) are exemplary, technically top notch, and they cared for the trauma in my body as well as my soul with equal proficiency.”
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Amazing! We can only imagine how emotional Ashley must have been following the painful trek to get help, so we love knowing the nurses were carrying for her “soul” as well as her physical injuries! Sharing a photo of her surgeon Eugene Greef (second, below), the political activist praised his skills, adding:
“Dr Greef, pictured, was super at stabilizing my leg with the external fixator until the massive soft tissue damage and swelling went down so that I could have the Big Operation. What he did was significant and I am forever in his debt.”
Not to mention, all this was happening while the country is currently dealing with a worrying variant of COVID-19, COVID B.1.351, a string that is faster-spreading than the current strain that’s affecting most of the world now. Talk about stressful!
The “world class” caregivers at the hospital aren’t the only people who deserve a boat lot of gratitude, either. Ashley explained that her father, Michael Ciminella, had flown out to South Africa after receiving “the text no parent ever wants: ’emergency, can’t answer questions, please come now.’”
Given that Michael has already received the coronavirus vaccination, he was able to safely be by his daughters bedside. He even helped rub her foot (above) “to remind my foot while it still cannot move that it is connected to my body.” The actress elaborated:
“He has been my rock, companion, resource, helped me listen to so many doctors, critical support system, and kind, loving presence as I have wept and wept.”
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Now back in the states (after a 22-hour journey home in an Air Ambulance) and healing from another eight-hour surgery “to repair the bones, decompress the hemorrhaging nerve and pick the shards of bones out of the nerve,” the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd knows she wouldn’t be on the road to recovery if it weren’t for her privilege. She concluded her upload:
“Let us always remember those without insurance. Let us remember those who do not have choices. Let us remember those who are lonely and afraid.”
So inspiring!! We truly cannot imagine living through such a scary accident like this, especially given how far she was from home! Wishing her strength and love as she continues to recover from surgery!! And a MAJOR PROPS to all you healthcare workers out there! Ashley’s story is just one of many that proves what you do is SO important!
[Image via Ashley Judd/Instagram]
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