This is her story.
Selena Gomez took the stage over the weekend at the American Music Awards, marking her first live gig in over a year. The singer had been taking time off to deal with her private struggle with the immune disease, lupus. Recently, Selena opened up about her disease leading to the need for a kidney transplant.
The night after the AMAs, Selena attended the 2017 Lupus Research Alliance Gala in New York City where she was honoured on stage for her advocacy for raising awareness of the disease. The “Wolves” singer opened up about the details regarding her recent kidney transplant which she revealed was donated by one of her best friends, Francia Raisa.
Selena took the stage to give an emotional speech at the event, she shared with the audience:
“After undergoing so many tests to monitor my kidneys, my doctors … said that I would be needing a kidney transplant. Maybe I wasn’t necessarily really good at knowing what that meant, so it actually got to a point where it was life or death. Thankfully, one of my best friends gave me her kidney, and it was the ultimate gift of life.”
Along with thanking Francia, she also confessed that she owes a lot to the dedicated doctors in her life, two of whom were in attendance. During her speech, she acknowledged all of their hard work.
“I just want to say thank you so much. To actually be honoring people like you, when in my world it can seem kind of vain, this is really, really special,” she explained.
Selena holds the Lupus Research Alliance very close to her heart as the organization raises funds to help improve treatments for those living with lupus. In past, the singer has donated to the alliance and encouraged fans to do the same.
She revealed, “I was diagnosed with Lupus about five or six years ago. I’ve been speaking out about my situation to raise awareness of the disease so people see a doctor right away or if they feel like they have any symptoms. And just so that honestly people can understand what it means to live with Lupus.”
To close her speech, Selena said, “I am supporting the Lupus Research Alliance because they are getting results and that’s what give people hope.”
Here few short clips of Selena giving her speech:
Selena Gomez giving a speech at the 2017 Lupus Research Gala
📹 @selenagomez dando un discurso en la Lupus Research Gala 2017 pic.twitter.com/wLeBperw3f— Selena Gomez News (@_selenagomezecu) November 21, 2017
Selena Gomez giving a speech at the 2017 Lupus Research Gala
📹 @selenagomez dando un discurso en la Lupus Research Gala 2017 pic.twitter.com/ZZBbSIplz8
— Selena Gomez News (@_selenagomezecu) November 21, 2017
Amazing. We’re so glad that Selena is okay and proud of her dedication to such a worthy cause.