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Sarah Hyland opened up about her kidney disease and mental health struggles to her Modern Family co-star Julie Bowen, the host of the podcast Quitters, for the latest episode of the audible series.
Hyland, speaking of how she currently feels, said:
"I'm well. Everything's stable. I haven't left the house in a very long time right now, but everything is stable as of now."
Sarah Hyland has had chronic kidney disease since birth
Hyland, who was born with kidney dysplasia, a condition in which the kidneys don’t fully develop in the womb and start failing as the patient grows older, has had over 15 surgeries for her health condition, including two kidney transplants.
In 2012, Hyland's father donated his kidney to her. However, the transplanted kidney was rejected by her body and she had to go in for dialysis three times a week. Her second transplant took place in 2017 with a kidney from her younger brother and it has been going well ever since.
Sarah Hyland noted that she mostly slept while filming Modern Family. Referring to a 2011 episode titled Hit and Run, the actress said:
"There are some episodes of Modern Family where I do not remember filming because I was asleep. Dead ass asleep. The episode where Haley asked [Luke for] money and he's like, 'Don't worry, I've got it on ice.' It's in the freezer or something. The entire episode I was asleep."
She continued:
"You have to be a certain level of sick in order to receive a transplant. I was reaching that certain level of sick (in 2011). I was not able to be awake for eight hours at a time. I was so exhausted."
Bowen, who perceived Hyland as a 'small girl to begin with and she had kidney issues', also recalled how Hyland would never say no to working despite being in excruciating pain 'until she was in the hospital.'
Recalling her fear of having another organ rejection ahead of her second kidney transplant, Sarah Hyland noted that she became suicidal as she started to feel like a burden to her loved ones.
"'What if this happens again?' Plus, [my donor brother] is so young. What do I do?' That's where I felt suicidal. I would avoid going into [organ] rejection and being on dialysis [again] at all costs."
Hyland also mentioned that she has been in pain for most of her life, as she told Bowen:
"Twenty-seven years of almost always being in pain. Always being in and out of the hospital. I don't think I've gone more than one or two years without being hospitalized."
She added:
"When you have grown up your entire life having health issues and always being pain, you have to learn how to have thick skin, put on a show ... otherwise you're just going to be looked at as a really weak and pathetic and sad person."
Sarah Hyland, who came forward with her mental health issues in 2019, said:
"I don't like to victimize myself. I don't like other people to victimize me. I had almost 27 years of putting on a show, whether it was on Broadway or in my family living room."
Hyland also recalled how she was forced by media pressure to publicly speak about her health issues, even when she was not ready to do so. She had to deal with false narratives when people speculated that her 75-pounds-weight-loss was caused by an eating disorder.
Hyland also faced criticism for looking 'fat' and even had to address pregnancy rumors when her face started getting puffy after she was put on steroids to be kept alive.
The actress has been engaged to TV personality Wells Adams since 2019 with the couple postponing their wedding twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
