Mom-To-Be, Kaley Cuoco’s Near-Amputation Scare Almost Ended ‘Big Bang Theory’, Said, ‘Never Walk..’

Kaley Cuoco is well known for her role as ‘Penny’ in the much-loved sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. The actress has since appeared in several films and projects. However, the sitcom is likely to go down in history as one of the most loved shows. Now, the sitcom has ended, and Kaley has moved on both in person and in her private life, even expecting her second child; there is a chapter in her life that remains open like a dark horse, which also involves a horse. Yes, we are talking about the time the actress almost lost her leg to an accident.

Kaley Cuoco almost lost her leg during the shoot of The Big Bang Theory

Kaley Cuoco and her co-stars from The Big Bang Theory have often shared details about their experiences on the show and their lives beyond the show. However, it was during her appearance alongside co-star, Johnny Galecki and TBBT creator, Chuck Lorre in Jessica Radloff’s oral history book, The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, that the actress recalls a tragedy that almost cost her her leg. Reflecting on what happened, Lorre said:

“That was the darkest, most frightening time in all twelve years [of the show]. Kaley could have lost her leg. It was a series of miracles that allowed us to get through that and for her to come out the other end of that healthy. They were talking about amputating her leg, which was devastating to hear.”

What happened to Kaley Cuoco’s leg?

According to reports, in September 2010, Kaley was riding a horse at a Los Angeles ranch. An otherwise avid horse jumper and competitor, however, lost control of her horse that day and fell off. Seconds later, the horse attempted to jump over her but landed on her left leg. The actress was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries, including a shattered leg.

How did Kaley Cuoco’s leg get saved?

During her treatment, she ran into Dr Stephen Lombardo, who was a part of Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic for Sports Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. He was asked for help with Kaley Cuoco’s leg injury. And in less than two hours, he said the actress was “in surgery with the best surgeons available to stop an infection because her leg was wide open.” Kaley also talked about her experience in an excerpt that read:

“Before I went into surgery, they made me sign something that said, ‘We don’t know until we get in there and see this leg, and it could come out that you don’t have it anymore.’ That wasn’t the case, obviously, but I had to sign something that said, ‘OK, you can’. Everything ended up fine, and I was up and working a week later, but the doctors acted like I was never going to walk again. It’s still too much for me to go into, and it sounded way worse than it was. And of course, it was spiralling, and everyone was freaking out, which I get. It scared people.”

While the doctors initially thought that Kaley Cuoco won’t be able to walk for months, she found herself fitted for a walking boot and on her feet after just two weeks in the hospital. The accident resulted in Kaley being written out of two episodes of The Big Bang Theory, but Lorre admitted that the possibility of an amputation could have ended the CBS hit sitcom. Lorre even expressed his gratitude towards the medical team for being able to save her foot and said:

“It was an absolutely miraculous intervention that I ran into Dr Steve. Every time I see him, I say, ‘Thank you! You saved Kaley! On a lesser level, you saved The Big Bang Theory!'”

image credit: DrJayLarson/FB, KaleyCuoco/IG

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