Anais Gutierrez
Selena Gomez took to Instagram Thursday to reveal she had a kidney transplant. The singer also revealed the donor was her best-friend Francia Raisa.
Francia Raisa also took to Instagram to share a candid message for her bestie, and lots of love. Selena’s transplant news follows the singer low key public activity, despite having a new album.
Get well soon, Selena
Just a few months ago, Selena Gomez was seemingly everywhere.
With a new single to promote ‘Bad Liar’, she graced the cover of Vogue and did multiple interviews. But then, as the summer went on, the pop star seemingly disappeared.
As Gomez announced via Instagram Thursday, she had a good reason for taking time out of the spotlight. ”
“I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of,” she said.
“So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering.”
Gomez, who in 2015 publicly revealed that she is battling Lupus, said she needed a new organ to improve her “overall health.”
While she didn’t want to go into too many details, she wrote, “I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you,” she wrote.
“Until then I want to publicly thank my family and an incredible team of doctors for everything they have done for me prior to and post-surgery.”
The singer admitted “there aren’t enough words” to properly thank her “beautiful friend,” ‘Secret Life of the American Teenager’ star Francia Raisa.
“She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis,” the singer wrote.
“Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made.”
Gomez posted photos of herself in the hospital with Raisa, as well as of her post-surgery scars. The singer ended her note by asking her followers to visit the Lupus Research Alliance website.
That’s what friends are for
Gomez’s “sis” soon responded to the news, explaining how “grateful” she is to be able to impact Gomez’s life in this way.
“I am beyond grateful that God would trust me with something that not only saved a life, but changed mine in the process,” she wrote.
“This was part of our story, and we will share it soon, but what is important now is that this is not the only story,” Raisa wrote.
For some who haven’t been paying close attention to Selena’s inner circle, Raisa has been there for the pop star since her earlier years in the business.
Back in 2007, the two teen actresses met when Disney and Freeform (formerly ABC Family) had the stars of their shows visit a children’s hospital together.
As Raisa told Latina, “Selena and I were in the same group and we just clicked.”
Since that time, the two have built what appears to be an unbreakable bond.
“Met you when you were 15 and u became family to me when you were 16. since then you have changed my life and i’ve become a better person,” Raisa wrote to her famous bestie in honor of her birthday in 2013.
I love you and am beyond grateful to be a part your life cuz girl… we in our 20’s.”
This sis’ definitely have each other’s back and go through thick and thin together.
Inspiring others
Following her lupus diagnosis in 2015, Selena took a time off from the spotlight. She voluntarily spent 90 days at a facility in Tennessee as she needed to deal with the diagnosis.
The former Disney Channel star made her return to the limelight at the 2016 American Music Awards. Where she delivered an emotional acceptance speech and touched on the issues she had been facing.
“I think it’s safe to say most of you know my life whether I liked it or not. And I had to stop. Because I had everything. And I was absolutely broken inside,” she started.
“But if you are broken, you do not have to stay broken. That’s one thing you should know about me: I care about people. And this is for you.”
The treatment worked wonders for Gomez. As she said in Vogue’s April 2017 issue.
“People so badly wanted me to be authentic, and when that happened, finally, it was a huge release. I’m not different from what I put out there. I’ve been very vulnerable with my fans, and sometimes I say things I shouldn’t,” she said.
“But I have to be honest with them, I feel that’s a huge part of why I’m where I am.”
By discussing her mental and physical health openly and publicly, Gomez hopes to inspire others to feel less shame about their own issues.
“I wish more people would talk about therapy. We girls, we’re taught to be almost too resilient, to be strong and sexy and cool and laid-back, the girl who’s down,” she said.
“We also need to feel allowed to fall apart.”
Source: E Online
