In January 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooke Shields had a devastating accident that left her unsure she would ever walk again. She was at the gym when she fell off a balance board, propelling her up in the air and breaking her femur upon landing. “It felt like it was all in slow motion. And then I just started screaming,” Shields told People. “Sounds came out that I’ve never heard before.” EMTs quickly came to take her to the hospital, and though she could feel her toes, she feared something irreparable had happened. What followed was more than a year filled with harrowing procedures, unexpected complications, and daily physical therapy.
Shields underwent multiple surgeries, with the first one being to insert two metal rods into her body. Her second surgery was unplanned and occurred because part of her femur popped out following the first surgery, which meant five more rods and a metal plate (so, basically, Shields is going to set off every metal detector from now until eternity). The resilient actor had to go in for a third surgery after being sent home, as she developed a terrible staph infection at the site of her IV.
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“The bone is all healed and everything is sort of where it should be, and I don’t walk with a limp anymore,” Shields told People in an April 2022 update. “But my strength is really compromised.” She’s given no updates since, but we are hopeful the star’s recovery has progressed even further.
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