Kaley Cuoco Reveals Horseback Riding Injury Nearly Led To Amputation

Oct. 11 2022, Published 8:30 p.m. ET

Kaley Cuoco trudged back through her past to open up about a horrific horseback riding accident and the aftermath that nearly led to a leg amputation over 10 years ago.

In an excerpt from The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Indie Story of the Epic Hit Series written by Jessica Radloff, the cast of the hit sitcom revealed how difficult it was to witness the 36-year-old suffer from such severe injuries.

"That was the darkest, most frightening time in all twelve years [of the show]," the show's creator, Chuck Lorre, explained. "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," added Cuoco's costar and ex, Johnny Galecki.

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"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,'" The Flight Attendant actress revealed in the excerpt about the moment prior to her nerve-wracking procedure. "That wasn't the case, obviously, but I had to sign something that said, 'OK, you can.'"

In September 2010, Cuoco was rushed to the hospital after she fell off of her horse at a Los Angeles ranch. The competitive equestrian was lying on the ground when the horse attempted to jump over her, but it instead landed on her left leg, resulting in an extreme injury.

After being admitted into the hospital, Lorre ran into Dr. Stephen Lombardo, an expert leg injury doctor at the Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Clinic for Sports Medicine at Cedars-Sinai.

Within two hours, the "heaven-sent" interaction allowed Cuoco to be "in surgery with the best surgeons available to stop an infection because her leg was wide open," recounted the talented film director.

"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," the award-winning actress went on to explain. "It's still too much for me to go into, and it sounded way worse than it was. And of course it was spiraling and everyone was freaking out, which I get. It scared people."

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"But I think it scared people in a good way, myself included," Galecki — who was Cuoco's character's love interest in the series — said. "The first day I saw you in that state, I just shed tears in my garage."

Although doctors originally thought the 8 Simple Rules alum would be unable to move on her own for months, she fortunately was able to walk with a boot after just a two-week stay in the hospital — and she only needed to be written out of two episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

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

Vanity Fair received Radloff's excerpt, while People reported about Cuoco's horseback riding accident.