Early Thursday morning, Selena Gomez revealed that she’d had a kidney transplant after her friend, Francia Raisa, donated it.
Even at the time, we figured that she wasn’t Instagramming the news live from the hospital bed. When Selena was seen out and about that day, it was even more obvious.
Now we know a little more about her surgery timeline — and what inspired Francia to make such a generous, beautiful donation.
Francia Raisa is clearly a ride-or-die kind of friend.
Selena Gomez was diagnosed with Lupus in 2015.
In October of that year, she revealed this information with the world and revealed that part of her treatment involved undergoing chemotherapy.
Lupus is a serious and sometimes fatal illness, so even a treatment as intense as chemo is sometimes necessary.
In May of this year, Selena suffered kidney failure and was rushed to the hospital.
In June, she underwent a kidney transplant, receiving the vital organ from her friend and “sister,” fellow actress Francia Raisa.
And now we know more about her:
Sources tell Us Weekly a little more about Selena Gomez’s friends and how Francia came to make this monumentally generous decision.
“Francia and Selena are like sisters. There’s a group of girls who have always stuck close to Selena.”
That’s good to hear.
And, of course, we already knew that Francia and Selena were like sisters — they use that word to describe each other all of the time on social media.
“Her inner circle is very tight and everyone protects Selena. Francia comes from a big family … Selena is like a sister to her. Selena didn’t ask Francia to be tested as a match — Francia is the kind of person who would offer to do that for any one of her friends.”
What a remarkable, amazing woman.
“Francia told a few people in her inner circle that she was donating one of her kidneys, but no one knew who it was for.”
That’s a huge secret to keep under wraps for so long.
“A lot of people in their inner circle knew that Francia was undergoing surgery but really didn’t ask too many questions.”
That sounds so dramatic, right? “Inner circles” and “not asking questions” sound like things that you’d say about a secret society or a cult.
This is just a group of friends.
(Believe me; if there were a cult revering Selena Gomez, I’d know … because I’d be part of it)
Francia has already spoken out, saying that giving Selena her kidney changed her own life.
Us‘ sources provided an update on how Francia is doing, and what was behind her remarkable choice.
“Francia is totally fine now, she’s back to normal. Francia lives a very healthy lifestyle and she’s busy with work. The recovery time for her was very quick.”
That’s wonderful news.
“They’ve always been very spiritual and into God, and even more so now. They both prayed a lot about this surgery and once Selena’s health issues got worse.”
Faith can be a powerful comfort and a great way for two people to bond.
“They’ve thought of each other as sisters, and beyond their obvious bond through work and womanhood, they also share a lot through their faith and being Latina. Francia is incredibly supportive and would provide a shoulder to cry on for any friend in need. She really is a wonderfully special person.”
Us Weekly also connected the dots and figured out a bit more about Selena’s surgery timeline.
Last month, Selena Gomez praised the work of Director Josh Sadie and producer Sebastian Bear Mc-Clard while hosting a screening for their film, Good Time.
That’s no big deal on its own, of course — Selena is vocal about supporting her friends.
And nothing about enjoying a movie screams “I have somebody else’s kidney!”
But at that screening, Selena revealed that she had been on bed rest in recent weeks.
At the time, that could have been anything — but most assumed that it had something to do with Selena’s battle with Lupus.
it did. Just … because she had just received a kidney transplant.
