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"Doctors acted like I was never going to walk again"

Actor Kaley Cuoco, who starred as Penny in The Big Bang Theory, has opened up about a terrifying time she went through whilst filming the sit-com, involving a horse riding accident that severely injured her leg. In a new oral book celebrating the popular show, Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, the cast and crew share their memories of that worrying time.

Back in September 2010, some twelve years ago, Kaley explains that she was riding at a ranch in LA when the horse got spooked and abruptly shook her off. The horse then attempted to jump over the actor, but instead landed on her left leg, causing her to need urgent medical attention.

The show's creator, Chuck Lorre, said [via an extract heard by People Magazine], that hearing about what had happened to Kaley was "the darkest, most frightening time in all twelve years [of the show]". Luckily, he managed to speak with a top doctor, Dr Stephen Lombardo, who happened to be a close friend of his, who agreed to support Kaley through her injury.

Chuck added that "Kaley could have lost her leg" and said, "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."

Co-star Johnny Galecki, who played Kaley's on-screen husband, Leonard Hofstadter, also reflected back saying, "They were talking about amputating her leg, which was devastating to hear... The first day I saw you in that state, I just shed tears in my garage."

Speaking about the terrifying-sounding incident, Kaley said that she was rushed into surgery and asked to sign a form beforehand confirming that she gave doctors permission to remove the limb should they need to.

"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, 'Okay, you can'," she shares in the book.

Thankfully, Kaley was able to make a good recovery from her accident, but admitted that unfortunately the mental impact it has had on her her hasn't fully healed. "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," she said. "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."

Ultimately, the cast and crew agreed that sharing something so dark together only served to strengthen their bond.

We're so glad that Kaley was okay in the end and surrounded by such a strong support system.