Entertainment
Francia reveals both she and friend Selena went through depression after kidney transplant surgery
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Selena Gomez revealed she underwent a kidney transplant due to her lupus in an Instagram post she shared in September 2017.
And Francia Raisa, her best friend who donated her kidney to Selena, said they both ‘went through depression’ post-surgery, according to Self.
The 29-year-old actress told the magazine in a video, which was published on Wednesday, that nothing could have prepared her for how hard it all was during her recovery process.
She told the magazine what she was told by a social worker prior to surgery, after she found out she was a match for Selena: ‘[She said “It’s going to be hard, the recipient is going to glow and she’s going to recover a lot faster than the donor because she’s getting something she needs and you are losing something you don’t need to lose. It’s going to be hard.”
‘Francia added: ‘And it was very hard. Selena and I both went through a depression.’
The TV actress said it was difficult for Selena, 25, because she had complications after the surgery, where her kidney turned around inside of her body and she needed to have emergency surgery to correct it.
Francia said Self that after surgery, she received a text message Selena that said: ‘I’m so scared I might die.’
She explained: ‘That’s when she got the complication where the kidney turned and broke an artery and she had to go back in and they actually had to take a vein from her leg – so she has a scar right here [pointing to her inner thigh] and build a wall around her artery.’
Francia showed Self her scars, which included two on her stomach and one below her belly button.
She said: ‘Your scars don’t define you. It’s a part of your story. It’s a part of the story that makes you special and you different.’
Francia, who said she enjoys working out, said it was ‘rough for a couple of months’ because she wasn’t used to not being active because she is a very active person.
Adding: ‘We literally had to just wake up and not look forward to not doing anything. And that was hard.’
She noted that little things like having to need help to use the bathroom or shower or even taking her dog out for a walk was tough.
Francia said: ‘Last year has been the craziest of my life. I went through huge changes. I moved. And all of a sudden I was donating a kidney. Like what? Then I got on this hit TV show and then I got a new boyfriend.’
The Grown-ish star continued: ‘I don’t think I would have been able to handle it as well, had I not gotten through the storms in my life. And I say storms because think about the weather. what happens when a storm is over? There’s a rainbow. And the sun comes out and everything’s great.’
Francia concluded to Self: ‘Storms suck but it’s helped me appreciate my next journey and my next chapter in life. You got to keep moving forward and you don’t have time to look back. You really don’t.’