Selena Gomez’s best friend, Francia Raisa, didn’t know if she’d survive donating a kidney to her BFF … which really hit home when she had to write a will. “Did you ever fear for your own health?” -@savannahguthrie“I had to…
Showing posts with label Raisa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Raisa. Show all posts
Monday, October 30, 2017
Friday, October 27, 2017
Francia Raisa Saved My Life, Selena Gomez Says in Emotional Interview
Selena Gomez is speaking out about her kidney transplant for the first time.
And she isn’t doing so alone.
The artist has sat down for her first interview since undergoing this major procedure, talking to The Today Show about all it entailed… while sitting alongside the best friend who made it possible.
That would be Francia Raisa.
About a month ago, Gomez stunned the celebrity gossip community when she confirmed Raisa actually gave her a kidney.
The beloved singer was in rough shape due having Lupus, devastating illness in which a person’s own immune system attacks their healthy cells.
In a preview of a sit-down with the close pals that will air on Monday, Savannah Guthrie Tweeted the following on Friday morning:
“Next week on TODAY: @selenagomez & @therealfrancia speak out together for the 1st time since the kidney transplant that saved Selena’s life.”
Is the co-host being extreme or hyperbolic?
Not really, Selena says.
“I got to the point where it was really kind of life or death,” Gomez says in the interview, growing emotional, adding:
“I didn’t want to ask a single person in my life. And she volunteered and did it.”
For her part, Raisa – an actress best known for her role on The Secret Life of the American Teenager – previously shared on Instagram that the experience changed her life as well.
“I am beyond grateful that God would trust me with something that not only saved a life, but changed mine in the process,” Raisa wrote last month.
She also told Selena in this same post that she loved her and she’s so happy the two could share “this journey together.”
For Gomez, of course, the feeling is quite mutual.
“My kidneys were just done” Gomez tells Guthrie, emphasizing the severity of the situation.
Gomez broke the shocking news of her operation a few weeks ago with a sweet photo of herself and Raísa holding hands from their hospital beds, along with photos of her stomach following the surgery.
“There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa,” Gomez wrote in the post., expounding as follows:
“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 star also went into a bit of detail regarding what led to the procedure and why she needed it:
“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.
“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.”
The full interview with Raisa and Gomez will air across two Today installments on Monday and Tuesday.
This really is a pretty amazing story.
We’ll be tuning in to hear more about it.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Francia Raisa Re-Surfaces After Announcement She Gave Selena Gomez a Kidney
Francia Raisa was in no mood to pose for the cam Friday on her film set. Photogs were out in force to get a pic of the woman who saved Selena Gomez’s life by donating a kidney. Selena revealed this week her best friend donated the kidney several…
Friday, September 15, 2017
Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa: How Their Friendship Led to a Kidney Transplant!
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.
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Francia Raisa: Giving Selena Gomez My Kidney Transformed My Life!
Selena Gomez had a kidney transplant to help her recovery from the ravages of Lupus.
That’s a major procedure. What makes this story so touching, though, is that Selena’s friend and fellow actress, Francia Raisa, was the donor.
Selena only broke the transplant news this morning, but Francia is speaking out and sharing what she gained from the experience.
This is the kind of ride-or-die friendship that most of us can only dream of.
Francia Raisa may not be as well known as Selena Gomez, but they’ve referred to each other as “sister” and “hermana” for years.
(“Hermana” just means “sister,” folks)
Francia is an actress in her own right, having appeared in TV series as well as films over the years, but there’s no shame in being a smaller name beside a celebrity titan like Selena Gomez.
Selena, after all, is a world-famous singer and actress. Oh, and she recently graced the cover of Time.
Selena has been very up front about her battle with Lupus after first revealing that she suffers from the disease, just under two years ago.
Lupus is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue as if it were, say, an intrusive virus or, like, cancer.
Lupus used to be an automatic death sentence. These days, treatments exist to mitigate the effects.
But there is no cure.
Even someone like Selena, who can afford top-notch medical care, had to have a kidney transplant.
Francia Raisa is posting about the transplant and the experience of it.
And she is grateful.
“I am beyond grateful that God would trust me with something that not only saved a life, but changed mine in the process.”
Doing something this powerful and selfless can really transform your worldview at times.
It sounds like Francia and Selena are going to tell the world more about this … just not yet.
“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.”
And, of course, comes the plug. Not of a product, but of an education tool.
“For more information regarding Lupus, please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org.”
And then an affectionate message, directed at Selena.
“Love you sis, so glad we’re on this journey together.”
Obviously, Selena Gomez has already expressed her gratitude for her friend’s donation.
There’s really nothing so profound that you can do for someone as giving them one of your vital organs.
And let’s be clear — you may have two kidneys, but they are vital organs.
Without at least one functioning kidney, you either get dialysis or succumb to blood poisoning and die.
(It’s a little more complicated than that … but not much)
One day soon, we’re sure, cloned organs will be a matter of course for everyone’s healthcare, whether you’re in dire need of a transplant or just need a replacement because your previous organ is old and worn.
(We already have the technology to grow organs — it’s making sure that they’re viable for transplant and managing affordability that are still issues)
Until then, everyone — from the woman with the most Instagram followers in the world to we regular folks, depends upon organ donation for survival.
We look forward to hearing more of the story of Selena’s transplant and hearing how Francia reached this decision.
But we can say that Selena has already been spotted out and about since she broke the news in the wee hours of this morning, so it looks like she’s made a full recovery.
Selena Gomez, Kidney Transplant Harder on Donor Francia Raisa
Selena Gomez has been through hell and back with her failing kidneys, but we’re told the transplant operation and recovery was actually more difficult for her best friend who donated her kidney — Francia Raisa. Sources close to Francia tell TMZ,…
Selena Gomez Reveals Kidney Transplant From Francia Raisa!
We hear a lot about celebrity friendships.
They might not be as juicy as celebrity hookups or relationships — not usually, anyway — but it’s always interesting to see which stars commit to lasting bonds despite busy schedules and feuds and controversies.
Selena Gomez’s friendship with fellow actress Francia Raisa is clearly strong as hell.
They’re always there for each other. Oh, and Francia gave Selena her kidney.
As she revealed nearly two years ago, Selena Gomez has Lupus.
Lupus is a rare but devastating disease in which a person’s own immune system attacks their healthy cells.
It can be lethal and can cause all sorts of health problems. There are treatments that exist thanks to modern medicine, but there is no cure.
To treat her Lupus, Selena Gomez has undergone multiple chemotherapy treatments.
Chemo may help with her lupus, but the poisonous doses exact their own hellish toll in the process.
Throughout all of this, we’ve learned that Selena Gomez is a total badass.
As she revealed on Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, Selena Gomez does a shot of ginger every morning.
James Corden did it and it was agonizing. Next to the ravages of Lupus and chemo, what’s a little ginger? Selena just shrugs it off.
(Seriously, inspired by Selena’s example, my roommate tried a shot of ginger and he … will never try that again)
Unfortunately, sometimes even chemo isn’t enough.
You know how Selena hasn’t quite been out and about to promote her music as much as you might expect this summer?
There’s an unfortunate reason for that.
In this photo, which Selena shared early this morning on her Instagram, Francia Raisa holds hands with Selena Gomez in side-by-side hospital beds.
Selena’s caption explains it all:
“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.”
Yep. Her songs have been all over the radio but she’s been … shy.
“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.”
We can absolutely understand why she’d keep things under wraps.
“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.”
Sure.
“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.”
Seriously — and there’s nothing wrong with what Selena says, here — how do you even begin to express your appreciation for something like this?
It’s a kidney.
You only have two.
“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”
As we said, you only have two kidneys.
Giving up one of them is a huge deal. No words, Selena’s our ours, can properly convey how significant this is.
If Selena needed a transplant from her friend Francia, we can only assume that her Lupus had ravaged both of her kidneys to the point where she needed at least one new, healthy one.
That is an incredibly sweet and generous thing for her friend to do.
Even if she and Francia were genetic sisters (though they do refer to each other as “sister,” which is precious), this would be above and beyond.
It is, of course, terrible that Selena needed that procedure in the first place.
(Also, we wish that organ cloning were already an FDA-approved, standard procedure so that one person needing a kidney wouldn’t require two people going under the knife)
Lupus is a terrible disease. We’re just glad that Selena Gomez has the resources to be able to afford all of the necessary treatments.
And, of course, that she has a ride-or-die friend like Francia.
Selena Gomez Underwent Kidney Transplant, Donor Best Friend Francia Raisa
Selena Gomez underwent a kidney transplant this summer, and the donor was her best friend. Selena posted this pic post surgery of her and kidney donor Francia Raisa. She said, “I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed i was laying low for…
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