Ashley Judd Shares Photos From ‘Grueling 55-Hour’ Rescue Mission After Leg Injury in the Congo
The following written content via ET.
Ashley Judd is recovering after suffering an accident in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On Tuesday, the 52-year-old actress shared photos of the grueling, 55-hour rescue mission that saved her life, after she shattered her leg during an excursion she took while researching the Bonobos, a unique species of ape, which is indigenous to the area.
“Friends. Without my Congolese brothers and sisters, my internal bleeding would have likely killed me, and I would have lost my leg. I wake up weeping in gratitude, deeply moved by each person who contributed something life giving and spirit salving during my grueling 55 hour odyssey,” Judd shared.
The Divergent actress went on to detail the stories and photos of the people who helped save her in the lengthy post.
“Dieumerci stretched out his leg and put it under my grossly misshapen left leg to try to keep it still. It was broken in four places and had nerve damage. Dieumerci (“Thanks be to God”) remained seated, without fidgeting or flinching, for 5 hours on the rain forest floor. He was with me in my primal pain. He was my witness.”
A man named Papa Jean eventually found the pair, helping reset Judd’s leg so she could be transported through the forest.
“Papa Jean: it took 5 hours, but eventually he found me, wretched and wild on the ground, and calmly assessed my broken leg. He told me what he had to do. I bit a stick. I held onto Maud. And Papa Jean, with certainty began to manipulate and adjust my broken bones back into something like a position I could be transported in, while I screamed and writhed. How he did that so methodically while I was like an animal is beyond me. He saved me. & he had to do this twice!” Judd wrote. Read more from ET.
