Selena Gomez is feeling confident and proud, and is showing the world her kidney transplant scar, three years after receiving a new organ from her best friend.
The singer and actress revealed in 2017 that she had received a kidney transplant from her close friend and fellow actress Francia Raisa, which she needed as a result of her battle with lupus.
In a caption accompanying a picture posted to Instagram, Gomez, wearing a blue swimsuit, said at first she found it difficult to show her scar.
“When I got my kidney transplant, I remember it being very difficult at first showing my scar. I didn’t want it to be in photos, so I wore things that would cover it up,” she wrote on Instagram on Thursday.
“Now, more than ever, I feel confident in who I am and what I went through…and I’m proud of that,” she said.
Gomez revealed her lupus diagnosis in 2015, and has spoken with her struggles with the disease as well as anxiety and depression stemming from the disease.
Lupus is a chronic disease that can affect any part of the body – typically the skin, joints, blood and kidneys, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. The immune systems of lupus sufferers essentially go haywire, and instead of fighting off viruses and bacteria with antibodies, their bodies create autoantibodies that attack healthy tissue.
The superstar previously said the transplant was “what I needed to do for my overall health.”
CNN’s Nadia Kounang contributed reporting.
