Christie Brinkley Recently Had Surgery for Injuries Sustained in Helicopter Crash Years Ago

Model Christie Brinkley, 66, is on the mend after undergoing surgery in November.

She announced the news on Instagram, revealing she had hip surgery for injuries stemming from a helicopter crash in Colorado in 1994.

Brinkley shared a photo of herself posing on a boat in a swimsuit and wrote, “New Year, New Hip! Yes that’s a band aid on my hip.”

She went on to explain, “I injured my hip in a back country skiing helicopter crash on a mountaintop in Telluride many years ago. The pain in my hip got a little bit worse each year.”

Christie said she learned she needed hip replacement surgery 12 years ago, but that it was “daunting” and she “had things to do!”

She finally had some downtime in quarantine and “decided to finally take time for myself and do something about the pain that had progressively influenced my decisions.”

Her recovery is going well. “I had my surgery at Thanksgiving and I was dancing in my kitchen by New Years Eve and today I put on my long fins and explored the coral reefs propelled by my new hip!” she revealed.

Christie added, “If you’ve been putting something off that could improve your well-being but hesitate out of some sort of fear, I suggest learning as much as you can about the process and the results and expectations… I can’t tell you how happy I am to have done this.”

She shared, “Now I can focus on getting back in shape and rebuilding my strength. Never to old to get hip! 😜”

Last year, in the wake of Kobe Bryant’s death, Christie opened up to “Extra” about her own helicopter crash and what went through her mind during the accident.