Modern Family star, Sarah Hyland, has openly spoken about her physical and mental health struggles in the past.
But now she's getting even more real with her fans by showing them her transplant battle scar on social media.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
Sarah Hyland Shares Photo Of Transplant Scar That Inspires Others To Embrace Their "Flaws"
According to Sarah, at the age of 28, she has had 16 surgeries.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
She's had two kidney transplants, laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis, and surgery to correct an abdominal hernia.
In 2012, when Sarah was 21 years old, she had her first kidney transplant.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
Her father gave her one of his kidneys — but she was far from being out of the woods.
Throughout the years following her first transplant, she would sporadically suggest that she was still suffering from medical complications, but she never got into specifics.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
She later opened up in an interview — revealing the full story.
She explained that some years after her first surgery, her body started to reject the kidney.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
"When a family member gives you a second chance at life and it fails, it almost feels like it's your fault," she said.
“We did all of these tests and all of these treatments to try and save the kidney,” she explained.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
But she said the doctors described her situation as "a house that's caught on fire".
“You can't un-burn a house," she said.
In 2017 Sarah went on dialysis, which is basically a machine that filters blood for you when your kidneys can’t.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
It required having the device inserted under her skin on her chest.
She explained that it looked like she had a broken collar bone, or something.
“I called it my tube titty,” she said.
"I was really depressed. For a long time I was contemplating suicide," she revealed.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
"I had gone through 26 years of always being a burden — of always having to be looked after," she said. "It's a really helpless feeling."
Luckily, come summer of 2017, Sarah found out that her brother was a match.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
"When a second family member — someone you're supposed to look after, like a little brother, wants to give you a third chance at life, it's scary because you don't want to fail them."
But she had the surgery, and the prognosis was positive.
As far as we can tell, Sarah seems to be thriving and her morale is in much better shape. There are still some residual reminders of her darker days, including scars and a fluctuating bulge on her lower abdomen.
Getty Images | JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX
Trolls dragged her for admitting to wearing two pairs of Spanx under her dress at this year's Oscars — considering how thin she is.
However, she explained she wasn't wearing the Spanx to appear thinner. She was wearing them to hide her "transplant bulge."
Since then, Sarah has been a lot more candid and transparent with fans about her "flaws."
Instagram | @sarahhyland
She posted a photo on Instagram, showing off her transplant scars, encouraging everyone to own their imperfections.
"#showyourscars" she captioned the photo.
Fans loved it.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
“The Scars make you you, and I think that that is a beautiful thing," one fan wrote.
“Thank you Sarah. I've struggled with my tummy scars since my son's birth, and you putting it all out there means the world," wrote another.
Some fans who have gone through transplants themselves chimed in.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
This person explained that they use the same strategy with their underwear to hide their scars, and thanked Sarah for putting herself out there — opening up to the transplant community.
This fan commented that they have a very similar looking scar from their kidney transplant.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
They encouraged Sarah to wear hers as a "badge of life."
Another fan left an uplifting comment, telling Sarah to be proud of her scars because they are proof of her making it through a hard time in her life.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
They went on to say that their scars are a reminder of strength.
This person also related to Sarah's story — and thanked her for showing so much courage.
Instagram | @sarahhyland
Sarah is definitely a huge inspiration to everyone feeling the effects of chronic illness — proving to them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
#ShowYourScars
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