In recovery. Amy Purdy underwent an operation after a blood clot forced her to choose between saving her leg or kidney. She ended up choosing her leg, and doctors continue to keep an eye on her kidney.
“Surgery took place yesterday and grateful that it went well!” the Paralympic snowboarder, 39, wrote on Instagram on Tuesday, February 26. “We are also checking my kidney this morning to make sure it handled everything well. They had to use contrast but promised me it was a small amount so fingers crossed that my kidney powered through like the powerhouse it is.”
Purdy wrote that the health scare “once again shifted my perspective,” noting that she has conditioned herself “to power through so much” as an athlete with prosthetic legs. (Both of her legs had to be amputated below the knee after she contracted Neisseria meningitidis at the age of 19.)
“Although I had zero symptoms until a few days before [the surgery] I realize the pressure I’ve been putting on this leg for quite some time,” she wrote. “Just a reminder to listen to those little whispers and put our health and self care first!”
The athlete explained that she has “some healing ahead of me,” but she “couldn’t be more grateful to feel the love and support” she has received from those around her.
“Being wheeled into surgery feeling so much love was such a blessing,” she concluded. “I can’t thank you all enough for your kind words & prayers. My heart is so full.”
Purdy revealed on Facebook on Sunday, February 24, that she went to the hospital after experiencing “sudden pain in my calf.” She assumed it was “just a simple mechanical issue with my left leg,” but it turned out to be “a much bigger problem [than] that.” She had developed a “massive blood clot” extending from her hip to the bottom of her leg, leaving her with no other choice but to choose between her leg or kidney.
Through all of her health struggles, the Dancing With the Stars alum has managed to keep a positive outlook. In Tuesday’s Instagram post, she referenced the kidney transplant she received from her father in her early 20s, jokingly writing, “My dad reassured me that before he gave [his kidney] to me he put it through much worse. Thanks dad!”
