The actress has undergone 16 surgeries.
Sarah Hyland is looking back on a challenging time in her life. The 30-year-old actress took to her Instagram Story on Monday to share pics and videos of moments that her fans requested.
One such request was for a pic from a moment where "you felt your worst but had to fake being okay for a pic."
In response to the prompt, Hyland shared a photo of herself smiling next to Vanessa Hudgens while seated at an event.
"Was on dialysis and had my heart broken just days before this picture," Hyland, who was born with kidney dysplasia, explained. "Thank god I had @vanessahudgens by my side at that event."
Hyland also shared a pic from a time when she was at her sickest, but no one knew. That selfie showed Hyland showing off her hair and makeup while presumably on set for a project.
The Modern Family actress also posted a pic from her hospital bed. In the shot, Hyland makes a silly face while her friend sits by her bedside.
In recent years, Hyland has opened up about her health struggles, including undergoing two kidney transplants. Hyland's dad, Edward Hyland, donated a kidney to her in 2012. After the first transplant resulted in kidney failure, her brother, Ian Hyland, donated a kidney to his sister in 2017.
"I was very depressed. When a family member gives you a second chance at life, and it fails, it almost feels like it's your fault. It's not. But it does," she previously told Self magazine. "For a long time, I was contemplating suicide, because I didn't want to fail my little brother like I failed my dad. I had gone through [my whole life] of always being a burden, of always having to be looked after, having to be cared for."
As a result of her health issues, which also include endometriosis and an abdominal hernia, Hyland has undergone 16 surgeries.
The health-focused shots were equally matched by happy-go-lucky pics. There was one from Paris, France, that featured Hyland feeling her "most confident," and another with her fiancé, Wells Adams, which she posted in response to a request for a pic of "a light that gave you hope."
The couple met just days before Hyland's second transplant, which meant that the beginning of their relationship was wrapped up in Hyland's health concerns. For Adams, loving Hyland through it all was never even a question.
"It's not hard to love her. She's gorgeous and beautiful and smart and talented... With her health issues and stuff, everyone goes through things in their lives, it just so happened that when we started dating she was going through a very big thing," he told ET in 2019. "But as our lives unfold together, there's going to be things that happen to me when I'm going to lean on her. Every relationship's a give and take."
"It was nice that I was able to help her with her issue, but there will be times when I need her help," he added.
Watch the video below for more on the couple.
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