The first part of Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa‘s TODAY interview is finally here!
As we previously reported, the duo sat down with Savannah Guthrie to talk about the singer’s recent kidney transplant. In a short teaser, we saw the Wolves artist explain how her BFF/kidney donor actually saved her life amid her Lupus battle.
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In the first segment, Selly fought tears as she opened up about her “life or death” situation:
“I had arthritis. My kidneys were shutting down. My mentality was just to keep going.”
And she was just weeks away from dialysis, a treatment to help purify the blood when the kidneys aren’t working.
As her best friend and roommate, Francia saw first-hand the pain Selena was in. Recalling the moment when Selena told her about needing a transplant, she shared:
“One day she came home, and she was emotional. I hadn’t asked anything. I knew that she hadn’t been feeling well. She couldn’t open a water bottle one day and she chucked it and just started crying. And she goes, ├óΓé¼╦£I don’t know what to do. The list is seven to ten years long.’ And it just vomited out of me. I was like, ├óΓé¼╦£Of course I’ll get tested.'”
The Dear White People actress went through the full evaluations to see if she’d be a match, completing a process that usually takes about six months in a single day because of the “emergency” situation.
Selena knew it wasn’t likely, but:
“The fact that she was a match, I mean, that’s unbelievable.”
Of course it doesn’t make the surgery any less scary. Francia revealed she had to write her own will beforehand, even adding her mom was hesitant about her decision, but “she loves Selena and so she was torn.”
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The day of the transplant wasn’t easy either.
Following the surgery, the singer was starting to rest when she felt an intense pain:
“I was freaking out. It was a six-hour surgery that they had to do on me, ad the normal kidney process is actually two hours. Apparently one of the arteries had flipped. I’m very thankful that there are people who know what to do in that situation.”
In the months following the process, the 25-year-old confessed she is feeling so much healthier:
“As soon as I got the kidney transplant, my arthritis went away. My lupus ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥there’s about a 3-5 percent chance it’ll ever come back. My blood pressure is better. My energy, my life has been better.”
The two friends hope to raise awareness by opening up about their journey together:
“I just hope that this inspires people to feel good. To know that there is really good people in the world.”
You can watch the emotional interview (below)!
The second and final part of their interview will air Tuesday, October 31 on TODAY!
[Image via Instagram.]
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