Ashley Judd says their was 'no pulse' in her shattered leg when she arrived at ICU in South Africa

Ashley Judd gave an update on her recovery on Monday after suffering devastating injuries in an accident in the Congo jungle earlier this month.

The 52-year-old actress shattered her leg after tripping over a tree in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while going to see the endangered bonobos monkeys, and got treatment at Sunninghill Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, after a grueling 55-hour journey.

‘I arrived to them from DRC in terrible shape and my leg had no pulse,’ Judd wrote in an Instagram post along with a selection of photos of the medical staff taking care of her.

Recovery: Ashley Judd gave an update on her recovery on Monday after suffering devastating injuries in an accident in the Congo jungle earlier this month

Recovery: Ashley Judd gave an update on her recovery on Monday after suffering devastating injuries in an accident in the Congo jungle earlier this month

‘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.’ 

The actress went on to say the staff had to make ‘split second decisions upon my arrival’ to work out how to treat her injury.

Her surgeon, Dr. Eugene Greeff, ‘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,’ she added, while also noting that she’s been treated at the a time when South African hospitals are dealing with the COVID B.1.351 strain which is a faster-spreading variant of COVID-19.

'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.' Judd, 52, praised staff at the Johannesburg hospital

‘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.’ Judd, 52, praised staff at the Johannesburg hospital 

Deepest and most vulnerable thanks: Ashley gave an update on how her treatment has been going and also thanked everyone who has helped her through her recovery

Deepest and most vulnerable thanks: Ashley gave an update on how her treatment has been going and also thanked everyone who has helped her through her recovery

'What he did was significant and I am forever in his debt,' Ashley said of her surgeon in Johannesburg, Dr. Eugene Greeff

‘What he did was significant and I am forever in his debt,’ Ashley said of her surgeon in Johannesburg, Dr. Eugene Greeff

Ashley is now back in the US, accompanied by her father Michael Ciminella who flew out to South Africa to be with her.

The actress revealed she and her dad made the 22-hour journey, consisting of four different flights, back to the U.S. ‘thanks to unbelievably efficient disaster travel insurance on an Air Ambulance.’

Once in an American hospital, Ashley said, ‘I had to continue to wait for the tissue damage and swelling to reduce. Eventually I was qualified to have the 8-hour surgery to repair the bones, decompress the hemorrhaging nerve and pick the shards of bones out of the nerve. I am now recovering from surgery.’

Broken: The actress also shared an X-ray of her shattered leg with screws in place

Broken: The actress also shared an X-ray of her shattered leg with screws in place

Ashley says she is now up and around and thanked all of the staff that have helped her through her traumatic experience. 

The actress revealed on February 12 that she had been rushed to the ICU in a hospital in South Africa after she suffered a fall which left her with a ‘shattered leg in four places’ as well as ‘nerve damage’ whilst in the Congo. 

Ashley shared images of her lengthy 55-hour ordeal, which saw her travel across the continent in stages before reaching her final destination in South Africa.

Once in an American hospital, Ashley said, 'I had to continue to wait for the tissue damage and swelling to reduce. Eventually I was qualified to have the 8-hour surgery to repair the bones, decompress the hemorrhaging nerve and pick the shards of bones out of the nerve. I am now recovering from surgery.'

Once in an American hospital, Ashley said, ‘I had to continue to wait for the tissue damage and swelling to reduce. Eventually I was qualified to have the 8-hour surgery to repair the bones, decompress the hemorrhaging nerve and pick the shards of bones out of the nerve. I am now recovering from surgery.’

Making progress: Ashley says she is now up and around and thanked all of the staff that have helped her through her traumatic experience

Making progress: Ashley says she is now up and around and thanked all of the staff that have helped her through her traumatic experience

Family: Ashley is now back in the US, accompanied by her father Michael Ciminella, who flew out to South Africa to be with her. he is seen here rubbing her injured foot

Family: Ashley is now back in the US, accompanied by her father Michael Ciminella, who flew out to South Africa to be with her. he is seen here rubbing her injured foot 

In a lengthy caption on Instagram, she wrote: ‘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. (sic)’

Ashley went on to thank each of the people involved in getting her the help she needed, including a man she named ‘Papa Jean’, who ‘manipulated and adjusted [her] broken bones’ so that she could be transported safely.

She said: ‘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.

The actress revealed on February 12 that she had been rushed to the ICU in a hospital in South Africa after she suffered a fall which left her with a 'shattered leg in four places' as well as 'nerve damage' whilst in the Congo. She is seen in one of the photos she shared from the journey before reaching South Africa

The actress revealed on February 12 that she had been rushed to the ICU in a hospital in South Africa after she suffered a fall which left her with a ‘shattered leg in four places’ as well as ‘nerve damage’ whilst in the Congo. She is seen in one of the photos she shared from the journey before reaching South Africa

Harrowing: Ashley endured a 55-hour rescue ordeal to get her out of the jungle in DRC and to South Africa for treatment

Harrowing: Ashley endured a 55-hour rescue ordeal to get her out of the jungle in DRC and to South Africa for treatment

‘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! 

‘The six men who carefully moved me into the hammock with as little jostling as possible, who then walked for 3 hours over rough terrain carrying me out. Heros. (sic)’

The Double Jeopardy star sustained her injuries when she was out on an excursion and had been using a faulty head lamp, which made it difficult for her to see, and as a result she tripped over a fallen tree. When she first detailed her 55-hour ordeal, Ashley described it as ‘incredibly harrowing’, and said it began ‘with five hours of lying on the forest floor’ with one of her colleagues until she was able to be evacuated. 

'The six men who carefully moved me into the hammock with as little jostling as possible, who then walked for 3 hours over rough terrain carrying me out. Heros. (sic)'

‘The six men who carefully moved me into the hammock with as little jostling as possible, who then walked for 3 hours over rough terrain carrying me out. Heros. (sic)’

Ordeal: Five hours after her accident someone arrived to reset her bones, before she was carried through the rainforest to a motorcycle, where she was driven for six hours to the city of Jolu

Ordeal: Five hours after her accident someone arrived to reset her bones, before she was carried through the rainforest to a motorcycle, where she was driven for six hours to the city of Jolu

She added: ‘[He had] his leg under my badly misshapen leg, [and I was] biting my stick. Howling like a wild animal.’

Five hours after her accident someone arrived to reset her bones, before she was carried through the rainforest to a motorcycle, where she was driven for six hours to the city of Jolu. 

After spending the night in the city, she was then flown to the capital of Kinshasa to stay for 24 hours and then, eventually, down to South Africa to be treated in an ICU in that country. 

Speaking to The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof for an Instagram Live interview, she said: ‘I’m in a lot of love. I’m in a lot of compassion and I’m in a lot of gratitude. I thank everyone for their thoughts and their prayers and their support.’

The Double Jeopardy star sustained her injuries when she was out on an excursion and had been using a faulty head lamp, which made it difficult for her to see, and as a result she tripped over a fallen tree

The Double Jeopardy star sustained her injuries when she was out on an excursion and had been using a faulty head lamp, which made it difficult for her to see, and as a result she tripped over a fallen tree

source: dailymail.co.uk