Brooke Shields feels ‘so lucky to be alive’ after horrific gym accident
Brooke Shields said she feels “so lucky to be alive” after a horrific gym accident left her hospitalized with a broken leg.
The actress and model said on “Good Morning America” that the January injury occurred while she was on a balance board at a New York City establishment and briefly turned and lost her focus.
“I flew up in the air with such force and I landed so heavy and so hard and with such musculature and such velocity and such height,” Shields said in the pre-recorded interview that aired Monday.
Shields’ head landed just inches away from hitting a weight bench, she recalled.
“I felt how solid the impact was,” Shields said. “I don’t remember hearing anything. The only thing I could keep saying was that I could feel my toes, because I just knew that I couldn’t move but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t paralyzed.”
The injury left Shields, 55, hospitalized for multiple weeks and has required rigorous rehab. She developed a staph infection during her recovery that required surgery.
“My kids actually asked me if they thought I was going to die,” Shields told “GMA.”
The “Blue Lagoon” star is maintaining a positive outlook as she recovers, and said she now works “very hard” nearly every day on her rehab.
