She was by her friend’s side through the most difficult time.
And Francia Raisa told Harry Connick, Jr., that the recovery process was positively grueling after a secret surgery to donate a kidney to Selena Gomez in June.
The 29-year-old actress felt somewhat helpless after her doctor told her she ‘couldn’t move for two months’ following the surgery, while Selena, 25, was able get ‘up and at it immediately’ after.
Difficult: Francia Raisa told Harry Connick, Jr., that the recovery process was positively grueling after a secret surgery to donate a kidney to Selena Gomez in June
‘I couldn’t do anything active,’ she said. ‘All I could do was walk. That was very hard for me, and I have a dog.
‘Every day the thing I look forward to is drinking my coffee, and walking, and I couldn’t do that. It was really, really hard.’
The Grown-ish starlet said that the surgery is ‘harder as the donor because we are losing something our body didn’t need to lose.’
She said that after the critical surgery, the girls bonded more than ever and even consider themselves family.
Friends: The 29-year-old actress felt somewhat helpless after her doctor told her she ‘couldn’t move for two months’ following the surgery, while Selena, 25, was able get ‘up and at it immediately’ after; seen in December
Francia said that she and the Bad Liar star had the procedure performed in June of 2017, but didn’t go public with the news until September.
‘We wanted that privacy,’ The Secret Life of the American Teenager said. ‘It was a big surgery. She felt bad about even having me do that, because we are just friends, I am not her family or anything – well, I am now – she has my blood.’
The Los Angeles native said that in the wake of the medical procedure – amid Gomez’s debilitating battle with lupus – both she and Selena wanted to be in the company of relatives.
Cute: Francia said that she and the Bad Liar star had the procedure performed in June of 2017, but didn’t go public with the news until September; seen on Instagram
‘It was cool because now I have a big family,’ Raisa said. ‘I lost my grandparents when I was younger … [Selena’s] grandparents are my grandparents now and so I have this extension of a family and it’s been really amazing.’
Raisa said that Gomez had a much quicker recovery that she did, based on the body mechanics of the procedure.
‘It’s harder as the donor because we are losing something our body didn’t need to lose, so trying to recover from that and she’s gaining something her body needed – so she’s up and at it immediately and I had a hard time,’ she said.
Strong bond: Raisa (L) donated her kidney to Gomez (R) last June amid the star’s health battle with lupus
The Grown-ish star said that her recovery led to some ‘very humbling’ moments, as she was not able to get up or shower without assistance.
‘I’m a very very active person, so the fact that my doctor said I couldn’t move for two months; two months, I couldn’t do anything active,’ she said. ‘All I could do was walk. That was very hard for me and I have a dog and every day the thing I look forward to is drinking my coffee and walking and I couldn’t do that. It was really, really hard.’
Gomez last September said she felt ‘incredibly blessed’ after Raisa gave to her ‘the ultimate gift and sacrifice’ in the form of a kidney.
‘There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend,’ Gomez wrote on Instagram September 14 in a post revealing the surgical procedure. ‘I love you so much sis.’
Along with the emotional statement, Selena posted included a shot of herself and Raisa holding hands in adjacent hospital beds.
Coming soon: Raisa’s chat with Connick is slated to air on his show, Harry, on Monday