The Chronicles of Narnia child star Georgie Henley has revealed she almost had her arm amputated after contracting a flesh-eating bacteria.
Henley, who played Lucy Pevensie in the film series, revealed on Instagram that she contracted necrotising fasciitis, a rare bacterial infection that spreads quickly in the body and can cause death, when she was 18.
The actress, now 27, described the bacteria as “a rare and punishing infection that nearly claimed my life and wrought havoc throughout my body”.
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Per the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the best treatment for the bacteria is “accurate diagnosis, rapid antibiotic treatment, and prompt surgery.”
In her post, Henley shared a new photograph of herself, where her left arm is on show.
“In order to prevent the amputation of my left hand and arm I received gruelling invasive surgery, and later extensive reconstructive surgery which resulted in a series of skin grafts and scars,” she revealed.
“It has taken me a long time to heal both physically and mentally but I hoped that one day there would be the right time to talk about what happened. Today is a start.”
Henley said she has spent the last nine years hiding the scars on her left arm, only opening up about them in her personal life.
“[I] have hidden them entirely in any professional context: wearing bandages or coverings, makeup on set and stage, long sleeves whenever I might be photographed, trousers so I could put my hand in a pocket,” she wrote.
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Henley said she worried she would not receive work as an actress due to her scars, and has lived with “the shame of feeling different, exacerbated by the expectations that came with beginning my career at a young age.”
Though now, she’s learning to look at her scars in a new light.
”My scars are not something to be ashamed of. They are a map of the pain my body has endured, and most importantly a reminder of my survival. They do not affect my capacity as an actor, and I’m proud to be a person who has visible scars in this industry,” she wrote.
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Henley went on to thank her friends, family, agents and colleagues for supporting her over the last few years, adding that this won’t be the last time she speaks out about her life-changing experience.
“I’m sure I will talk more about my experiences in the future but today I am simply happy to feel, for the first time in a very long time, finally free,” she ended.
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