Brooke Shields Shares Photos of Recovery Following Multiple Surgeries

Brooke Shields is continuing to recover after she broke her femur last month. After undergoing multiple surgeries and having a brief stay in the hospital, the 55-year-old actress and model is documenting her road to recovery on social media, on Friday sharing four “flashback Friday” photos from her time in the hospital to celebrate how much progress she has already made.

The slideshow gave fans a glimpse at what the early days of her recovery looked like, showing the actress in a hospital gown sporting a heavily-bandaged arm and leg, sitting with a walker while still hooked up to machines, and donning multiple chest monitors. For Shields, the images serve as a reminder that she has “come a long way since this.” Despite the progress she has already made, she knows “that the journey is just beginning.” The post earned Shields support and well wishes from her fellow celebrities, with Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay commenting, “You’re my spirit animal,” and Ali Wentworth quipping, “I’d give you my femur!”

Shields’ comes after she revealed on February 21 that she broke her femur and was “beginning to mend.” The actress shared a video of herself in a hospital gown and non-slip socks as she slowly tried to walk through the halls of the hospital with her physical trainer, revealing that at the time, she could only put 20% of her weight on the injured femur and the “goal is to bend your knee each time like a little bit, just so you’re not dragging it or hitching up your hip.”

While the actress did not initially reveal what caused the injury, Shields told PEOPLE she broke her right femur at a New York City gym after she “fell off a balance board.” Speaking with the outlet earlier in March, she explained she flew off the balance board and landed on her leg. Recounting the scary moment, the actress said, “it felt like it was all in slow motion. And then I just started screaming. Sounds came out that I’ve never heard before. The pain was so excruciating.”

According to Shields, after being rushed to the hospital, she underwent surgery to insert two metal rods, “one from the top of my hip down, and another across into the hip socket.” The actress had to undergo a second surgery to add five rods and a metal plate to anchor it all in place after her right femur’s broken portion popped out. She required another emergency surgery and three blood infusions after developing a staph infection while recovering at home.

Shields is now in physical therapy and learning how to walk again, recalling how she thought, “for the first time in my entire life, I thought, ‘I can’t power through this.’ I can’t even stand on my leg or go up a step. I need to relearn how to even walk. The feeling of helplessness is shocking.” Shields said she is now choosing to focus on how far she has come, explaining, “This is my journey, and if it took me breaking the largest bone in my body, then recovery is something I want to share. We have to believe in ourselves and encourage one another. There’s no other way to get through life, period.”