Ashley Judd Recalls Scary Leg Injury That Almost Led to Amputation: ‘I Am Profoundly Grateful’

Ashley Judd is looking back amid her recovery from a scary leg injury that dramatically altered her life. The Sisters alum previously shattered her leg in four places and suffered nerve damage during an excursion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in early 2021.

“Y’all are so awesome for cheering me on, and I notice how often you ask about my leg and foot recovery,” she wrote in a caption on Instagram on Monday, May 13. “That accident in DRC was hellacious to a factor of 10. I remain grateful to my siblings there who saved my life and encouraged my spirit as I was carried out of the depths of the second lung of the planet for 67 hours to get medical attention and that first pain medicine.”

Ashley, 56, tripped over a fallen tree when a faulty head lamp made it difficult to see the path in front of her.

“It’s been a long journey to full recovery: I have had a parasite (gone now, and featured, thank you, in the New England Journal of Medicine, so exotic was it), mono, big weight gain and now loss, finally a diagnosis of a sleepiness sleep disorder (I now know why I always napped over lunch on movie sets!), and more!” she reflected. “Every day, I am profoundly grateful for SAG/AFTRA union insurance & my healthcare team. Saved my leg, saved my life.”

Ashley later suffered another leg fracture in 2022 after the death of her mother, Naomi Judd. The Berlin Station actress is currently working with a physical therapist and strength trainer to help rehabilitate her leg.

“We are addressing that once-paralyzed nerve and nearly amputated leg in order to add more technical hiking to my abilities: uneven terrain with loose rocks and carrying a big heavy backpack again,” she shared. "Being able to load my right knee sideways, power up off my right foot, do sideways agility, reverse lunges on stairs holding uneven weights … miracles, all. And, sit cross-legged! I was not supposed to be able to do that ever again! The balancing is just incredible. She’ll have me pause mid-air and turn my head to each side: 'Look at the bear!' And I can do it.”

Ashley finished off the post, writing, “When I had my nerve conduction study in 2021, the Doctor said, 'I do not know that this foot will ever move again.' To that dude….watch this. I am realistic, so of course, I feel a little intimidated by Yellowstone National Park. And, I am enthralled by Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone, I am excited to meet you!”