Ashley Judd is recovering in an Intensive Care Unit in South Africa after a horrific fall in a rainforest in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo – and she’s speaking out about it to highlight the extreme poverty and lack of health care in the region.
In an Insta live chat with The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof, the Hollywood star and humanitarian explained – from her ICU bed – that she was on a Bonobo research excursion when she tripped over a fallen tree in the dark, shattering her leg in four places.
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She said it was about five hours before she was carried out of the rainforest in a hammock – which took a further hour and a half – and then taken on a six-hour motorcycle ride to another location, where she stayed in a hut. The actress was transported to Kinshasa, where she stayed for another 24 hours before eventually being flown to a hospital in South Africa.
“I was at the edge of my very edge,” Ashley said, describing herself as “howling like a wild animal” and biting down on a stick to help her deal with the pain.
She also recalled fading in and out of consciousness as she went into shock.
Despite her horrific ordeal, Ashley also acknowledged her privilege in having access to medical help, when so many people in the region do not.
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“The difference between a Congolese person and me is, disaster insurance allowed me 55 hours after my accident to get to an operating table in South Africa.”
Ashley further explained on her own Instagram page that she decided to speak about her accident to share “what it means to be Congolese in extreme poverty with no access to health care, any medication for pain, any type of service or choices” and to draw attention to the “25,600,000 Congolese in need of humanitarian assistance.”
Watch or listen to the full Instagram Live, recorded in two parts below:
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(Feature Image Credit: Tinseltown/Shutterstock.com)