‘General Hospital’ Star Recovering After Shocking Brain Surgery

General Hospital star Kristen Storms is recovering after needing brain surgery earlier this week. The 37-year-old Zenon star opened up to fans about the ordeal in a series of Instagram Story videos on Friday as she was on her way from the hospital. Storms joined General Hospital as Maxie Jones in 2005, and also starred as Belle Black on Days of Our Lives.

Storms filmed her videos from her car, wearing a neck brace. Her friend and former co-star Emme Rylan was by her side. “There really is no filter that’s going to make this better for me right now,” Storms explained. Less than 48 hours before filming the video, she had brain surgery on the “lower portion off my brain.” She kept a positive outlook though, joking that it had been an “interesting” few days for her.

The actress needed the surgery to remove “a very large cyst that had split into two,” she said. “What they had to drain and remove was not cancer — I want to clarify that right now before the internet goes crazy wild with rumors about this,” she continued. “I had a very large cyst that had split into two and the doctor said it was like so full the pressure was very noticeable when they opened up my skull, sounds so weird.”

During her recovery, Storms plans to take several weeks off before returning to the General Hospital set. At the end of her video clips, Storms said she “feels like s—, so we’re going to go. Pardon my language but I think that I’ve earned it today. So yeah, we’re going to get me home.” She also clarified that the surgery happened a “couple of days ago,” so Rylan wasn’t driving her home instantly after she got out of brain surgery.

Storms shot to fame as Zenon in the Disney Channel movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999) and its two sequels. She also starred on Days of Our Lives from 1999 to 2004 and has played Maxie Jones on General Hospital since 2005. She earned a 2009 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series. She is a mom to a 7-year-old daughter Harper Rose Barash, whom she shares with her ex-husband Brandon Barash. Just before her surgery, Storms shared a photo with Harper on Instagram. “Can I get a [raised hands] if snuggles are the BEST?!” she wrote on Monday.