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Sarah Hyland Reflects On Her 16 Surgeries In Emotional Video: ‘I’ve Never Been Ashamed To Show My Scars’
Modern Family actress Sarah Hyland may be best known for her role as the ever-quirky Haley Dunphy on the hit ABC series, but she’s so much more than that. In fact, the most fitting descriptor for the 28-year-old is a survivor.
Throughout the duration of her life, Sarah has undergone a whopping 16 surgeries including two kidney transplants. “I’ve never been ashamed to show my scars,” she told Self Magazine. “I [had] seven surgeries before the age of four.”
Despite the fact that the actress does everything she can to embrace her post-surgery body, there are still some areas that require *a little* more self-love. One such area Sarah refers to as her KUPA. “When they do a kidney transplant, they connect the new kidney to your old kidneys in front,” she explained, noting that the surgery caused her lower abdomen to stick out.
“I call it my KUPA: kidney upper p—y area. Always have. Will forever,” she said. Side note: We think her ability to cope with humor is nothing short of amazing! Sarah continued, “It’s this bittersweet moment of, ‘Oh my gosh. I have [a] new life,’ but then also being an actress and being held up to this sort of pedestal of how you’re supposed to look.”
She then went on to reveal that those standards can make it hard to accept her body as it is. “Sometimes I have complete meltdowns in the middle of fittings,” she said. “Being like, ‘KUPA will show. I really want to wear this dress and you can’t hide it.’”
While some people might be too proud or ashamed to share such intimate musings from their life, Sarah maintains the philosophy that she’s “just a human being,” and as such, she thinks it’s important to open up about topics that are often stigmatized.
If you happen to be one of Sarah’s 6.1 million Instagram followers, then you already know that she’s not shy when it comes to talking about well, er, everything… including bodily functions. “As an adult, I just want to call that out and bring kind of a joy to it, in a sense. It’s important to talk about and laugh at those situations,” she said. “It’s breaking the judgment with humor before you’re criticized.” Agreed and agreed! Keep thriving, Sarah.
