Christie Brinkley has had a new hip replacement nearly three decades after she was injured in a helicopter crash. The 66-year-old model revealed the news in an Instagram post explaining why it had taken her so long to undergo surgery.
"New Year, New Hip! Yes that’s a band aid on my hip," she captioned a series of photos in which she is snorkeling and sitting in a boat. In the images, plaster covering her hip is evident.
"I injured my hip in a back country skiing helicopter crash on a mountaintop in Telluride many years ago," she explained.
The crash occurred in 1994. There were no fatalities and Brinkley sustained non-life-threatening injuries, however, she explained that the pain in her hip "got a little worse each year" until, 12 years ago, she was told it needed to be replaced.
The stunner said the idea was too daunting, and there were so many things she needed to do, so Brinkley put the surgery off.
"But quarantine put a damper on any plans so I decided to finally take time for myself and do something about the pain that had progressively influenced my decisions," she continued in her Instagram post. "I wanted to be ready to be able to say yes to opportunity."
Brinkley had the replacement done at Thanksgiving and "was dancing in my kitchen by New Years Eve." It was the best decision to make.
"I can’t tell you how happy I am to have done this," she said. "Now I can focus on getting back in shape and rebuilding my strength. Never to old to get hip!"
Brinkley was flying with several others when their helicopter went down near Ophir, about six miles south of Telluride. Shortly after the crash, heavy winds and snow moved in, making it difficult for them to be rescued from 12,800 feet up a mountain, The Associated Press reported at the time. It took five hours before a rescue helicopter was able to retrieve them.
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