Selena Gomez's Mom Opens Up About Her Daughter's Kidney Transplant, Says She Felt "Helpless" and "Scared"

Mandy Teefey told her side of the story on Instagram

By Elyse Dupre Sep 18, 2017 6:34 PMTags

Selena Gomez has been very transparent about her battle with Lupus and her recent kidney transplant. Now, her mother Mandy Teefey is sharing what the transplant experience was like for her as a parent.

On Sunday, Teefey shared the same picture Gomez posted on Instagram a few days ago of the "Same Old Love" singer and her friend and donor Francia Raisa on the day of the kidney transplant.

"This picture is one of the most breathtaking images that will live with me forever," Teefey wrote from her account kickedtothecurbproductions. "For all those moments of not knowing if we were going up or going down, I can always come back to this picture and know we can always make it back up."

read
Francia Raisa's Mother Explains How Her Daughter and Selena Gomez Recovered After Kidney Transplant

Watching a child undergo surgery is scary for any parent, and Teefey's post shows that the experience was no different for her. 

"As a mother I was helpless, scared and all I could do was pray for both of them, Francia's beautiful family," she wrote. "I am pretty sure I am banned from that hospital. Mama Bear was in high gear. "

Now, she views Raisa as part of her family.

"Selena gained a kidney, I was able to keep my little girl, but I also gained another daughter....thank you to everyone who was there for Sel, Francia and our families. We survived from all the love, prayers and God," she wrote.

The feeling seems to be mutual in terms of how Raisa's family views Gomez. 

"They've been friends for many years. They're like sisters," Raisa's mother Virginia Almendarez said during an exclusive interview with Telemundo's Al Rojo Vivo . "I love [Gomez] a lot, too. She loves me a lot. She says I'm her mom. I'm very proud of both of them."

Gomez revealed that she was diagnosed with Lupus back in 2015, and it looks like her transparency around the disease has had a profound impact on helping others. 

"Selena's openness and strong emotional connection to her worldwide audience has brought extraordinary awareness to a disease that is typically overlooked. As a result of her encouragement to visit our website, LupusResearch.org, to learn about lupus, our phones have been ringing off the hook and our website traffic has soared. Selena has supported our organization in many ways, donating a portion of tickets sales for her last concert tour to the Lupus Research Alliance and requesting donations to us on the occasion of her birthday, as well as yesterday's announcement," the group's President and CEO Kenneth Farber recently told E! News. "Together her appeals have raised almost $500,000 for research funded by the Lupus Research Alliance."

Raisa also said that she was "beyond grateful" to have had the opportunity to donate her kidney and help her friend.

"I am beyond grateful that God would trust me with something that not only saved a life, but changed mine in the process. This was part of our story, and we will share it soon, but what is important now is that this is not the only story," Raisa wrote in a recent Instagram post. 

"For more information regarding Lupus, please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org -- Love you sis, so glad we're on this journey together."

Gomez seems to be slowly recovering from the kidney transplant. She was recently spotted with her puppy and just announced that she is partnering with Puma.