Jeremy Renners’s Near-Fatal Snowplow Accident Pushed Him ‘Not to Squander My Life Being Spared’
January will mark one year since Jeremy Renner was caught in a near-fatal snowplow accident that crushed more than 30 bones in his body as he attempted to save his nephew. His recovery from the incident has spanned this entire year as he worked with doctors to address chest trauma and other injuries. In the months since, the actor has started to think differently about life and taking care of his mental health as much as his physical health.
“My greatest therapy has been my mind and the will to be here and push to recover and be better…. Be exceptional… I feel it’s my duty to do so,” Renner wrote on Instagram on Monday evening. “Not to squander my life being spared, but to give back to my family, friends, and all of you whom have empowered me to endure. I thank you all.”
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The actor opened the post by discussing the various forms of treatment he has tried since the accident. “I have been exploring EVERY type of therapy since Jan 14th,” he explained. “Everyday, countless hours of physical therapy, peptide injections, iv drips and pushes, stem cell and exosomes, red light / IR therapy, hyperbaric chamber 2.0 atmospheres, cold plunge, and the list goes on and on.”
In April, Renner attended his first red carpet since the accident, making his return for the premiere of his Disney+ series Rennervations. There, he used a cane while walking and was also seen riding around on a motorized scooter. The actor has been trying to speed up his recovery since before he was even released from the hospital, joking to Jimmy Kimmel earlier this year: “I kept trying to get out of the hospital as soon as I was in it. I’m going back to this hospital this week to apologize to every one of those nurses.”
But his injuries were extensive. In March, during an interview with Diane Sawyer, Renner revealed that he was “awake through every moment” of the accident, during which he sustained “eight ribs broken in 14 places. Right knee, right ankle broken, left leg tibia broken, left ankle broken, right clavicle broken, right shoulder broken. Face, eye socket, jaw, mandible broken. Lung collapsed. Pierced from the rib bone, liver.”
“I chose to survive. That’s not gonna kill me, no way,” Renner told Sawyer. “I’ve lost a lot of flesh and bone in this experience, but I’ve been refueled and refilled with love and titanium.”
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