Francia Raisa & Selena Gomez Battled Depression After Kidney Surgery & It's Heartbreaking
Francia Raisa is one hell of a friend to Selena Gomez. By now, you probably know that in September of 2017, Gomez revealed that over the summer she had a kidney transplant, and her donor was her good friend, actress Francia Raisa. I can't even imagine being either the donor or the recipient in this situation, but after the surgery, it seems like both endured quite a long battle to recovery. And now, in a new video from Self, we found out that both Francia Raisa and Selena Gomez battled depression after kidney surgery. Raisa explains just how difficult it was for her and Selena to recover, and it will definitely put things in perspective for you.
When Francia Raisa realized she was a match for Selena Gomez's surgery, she was confident in going through with the procedure for her friend who she calls a "sister," but her social worker warned her that her recovery was going to be much different from Selena's.
The social worker told Raisa, "'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.' And it was very hard."
She continued, saying, "Selena and I both went through a depression, she had some complications with hers, and she has bigger scars than I do that wasn't expected."
But Raisa stressed the importance of not allowing scars to dictate who you are, saying, "Your scars don't define you. It's a part of your story, and it's a part of the story that makes you special and makes you different. Girl, show it!"
You can watch the full video here, but I'm warning you, it will give you emotions:
What a true friend.
When Selena took to Instagram to let her fans know why they haven't been hearing from her, she explained why, and thanked her friend for giving her "the ultimate gift" of a kidney. She wrote,
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. So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health. 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. Until then I want to publicly thank my family and incredible team of doctors for everything they have done for me prior to and post-surgery. And finally, there aren't words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend 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. Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made. For more information regarding Lupus please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org/ -by grace through faith.
Since Selena's transplant, she's continued to credit her friend Francia for saving her life. In her acceptance speech for her Billboard award back in November of 2017, she said,
To be honest, I think Francia should be getting this award because she saved my life. I feel incredibly lucky ... honestly I couldn't be more grateful for the position that I've been given in my career, from 7 to 14 to now. I want people to know that I respect the platform that I have so deeply because I knew that I wanted to be a part of something great and I want people to feel great because I love people. But, specifically, this year I would like to thank my amazing team and my family because they stuck with me through some really hard times. And, I got to do a lot of stuff this year even though I had a couple of other things to do.
It looks like both friends are beyond grateful to have each other in their lives, no matter what difficulties come their way. Keep on showing the love, Selena and Francia!
