Selena Gomez Starts Boxing After Kidney Transplant

In September, an important announcement from singer and actress Selena Gomez surprised and shocked her fans: she had undergone a kidney transplant to try to combat the complications from lupus. 

Selena's revelation is part of a special TV program conducted by the journalist Savannah Guthrie and broadcasted by NBC in which the artist and her donor, Francia Raisa, told their story.

Gomez explained that she was experiencing renal failure. Selena's best friend in the world stepped up to help the actress/singer/songwriter. In an Instagarm post with her a picture of both her and Francia, she said in a caption, "There are no words to thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa what she did for me, she gave me something money cannot buy and sacrificed a part of herself by donating one of her kidneys, I am incredibly blessed, I love you so much, little sister."

Getting back in shape

Selena Gomez attended her first workout after the doctors gave her the go ahead.  She started slow, of course, but she was there and she was boxing. Her workout took place at the Rumble in New York, with Noah D. Neiman, an expert in boxing that attended classes with his colleague Joe Ferraro.

Her trainer seems to be very happy with Selena’s performance. He was cheerfully telling people, “She killed it. She’s only starting and she went hard. It was amazing! We were all like wow she is all serious about this!” 

However, the actress and singer, who became extremely famous at a very young age for her participation in movies and series from Disney, did not seem too thrilled about her performance. Selena, who is now 25 years old, said that she will “bring her A-game next time” but everyone told her that her performance was impressive taking into account she just had surgery little more than a month before her first workout.

The actress was also seen wearing a whole Puma outfit, being very proud of her new partnership with the brand. This partnership was announced in the middle of September, just a little after announcing that she had undergone a kidney transplant, which was the reason why she was so absent from the spotlight.

Kidney transplant as part of lupus treatment

Physicians, trainers, friends, and family of Selena are all very happy to see how she bounced back from the surgery. It has been a quick process, sooner than expected, and now she is filming a new movie directed by Woody Allen. 

The worldwide famous singer and actress was diagnosed with lupus in 2015 after undergoing extensive testing.  However, it was not until 2016 that she decided to announce to her fans that she suffers from the condition. She decided she wanted to help raise awareness and become an advocate for lupus. Behind the reasons that led her to this decision, it is possible to mention that the actress sees it as a great way to help and let others suffering from lupus know that they are not alone. “It is my time to help,” said Selena when she revealed she had suffered from lupus and had been on treatment for about a year.

Gomez, whose hits include "Good for You", "Same Old Love" and "Come & Get It", has grown up in the spotlight, first appearing on "Barney and Friends" before jumping to fame as a star in Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place." She has an exorbitant number of followers on social networks, especially with her Instagram that has about 126 million followers.

Facts about lupus and kidney transplants

Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the body mistakenly attacks its own tissues, sometimes including the kidneys. Many doctors believe a healthy kidney is everything the body needs, so a kidney transplant can ease many of the disease's conditions. In most cases, lupus is a condition that affects young minority women, but there are still plenty of patients of different ages, races, and genders.

Lupus symptoms usually do not reappear after a kidney transplant operation as the drugs that prevent kidney rejection are also very good at treating lupus, the underlying disease. The causes of lupus are unknown. Some of the most common symptoms shown by patients are foamy or bloody urine, high blood pressure, unexplained weight gain or swelling in the legs, ankles or around the eyes. Only about 3% of kidney transplants are for lupus while the rest are usually from diabetes or chronic damage from having high blood pressure. It is worth mentioning that only last year, about 19,000 kidney transplants were performed in the United States.

Fortunately, Selena Gomez has stepped back into her usual lifestyle. For right now, she plans to go back into music and continues to spread awareness for the disease, becoming a well-known advocate for lupus. As 2017 has already brought her much success, as she was the executive producer of Netflix's 13 Reasons Why and became Billboard's Woman of the Year, we are looking forward to see what else is in her plans for the next year ahead!