'Bachelor' Contestant Lesley Murphy Recovering After Major Surgery

Former star of The Bachelor, Lesley Murphy bravely underwent a double mastectomy after she tested positive for the BRCA 2 gene mutation back in March and is now recuperating in an Arkansas hospital.

Murphy, who competed on The Bachelor's 17th season with Sean Lowes, announced last month that she would be undergoing the intense surgery as a preventative measure.

One day after she fearlessly underwent surgery on Tuesday at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas, Murphy shared a photo of herself resting and thanked fans for their prayers and encouragement.

"My mom took this photo when I first arrived to my hospital room after surgery. It was hard to breathe," she wrote. "My chest was super tight and still is. There are so many tubes hooked up to me and lots of beeping noises. My boobs are gone. Crazy, right? Gone. It's hard to wrap my head around. My doctors and nurses come by all the time to check on my vitals and give me pills to ease the pain. I really love the people here."

She went on to share that everyone at the hospital has been so kind to her and that while moving hurts, she attempted getting out of bed for the first time and caught a glimpse of her bare chest during a FaceTime call.

Day 1 post op. Oouuuchh. My mom took this photo when I first arrived to my hospital room after surgery. It was hard to breathe. My chest was super tight and still is. There are so many tubes hooked up to me and lots of beeping noises. My boobs are gone. Crazy, right? Gone. It's hard to wrap my head around. My doctors and nurses come by all the time to check on my vitals and give me pills to ease the pain. I really love the people here. Everyone is SO nice at @uamshealth. The staff and level of care is topnotch. There is a chance I could go home tonight, but truth be told, I'm not so sure I want to! The grilled cheese and coconut chocolate cake make me happy. Moving hurts. I tried getting out of bed for the first time about an hour ago. I don't want to do it again but know I have to. I finally caught a glimpse of my bare chest during a FaceTime call a couple of minutes ago. Whoa. It looks like I was in a bear fight and lost. Badly. The human body is truly amazing, though, and I will heal soon enough. I am overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from friends, family, followers and complete strangers. So so overwhelmed. You guys know how to make a bruised and weak woman feel on top of the world. Thank you from the bottom of my heart💗Your prayers, well wishes and good vibes are working🙏🏻 #LesNipBRCAintheBud #LesleysBreasties #FightLikeAGirl #BreastCancerAwareness

A post shared by Lesley • The Road Les Traveled (@lesleyannemurphy) on Apr 12, 2017 at 12:08pm PDT

"Whoa. It looks like I was in a bear fight and lost. Badly," she captioned. However, she inspires her fans and followers by sharing how the "human body is truly amazing" and says, she will "heal soon enough."

On Wednesday, Murphy posted video of herself walking through the halls of the hospital, revealing that she was taking "Baby steps, but not many. Just enough to show the doctors I can walk in order to go home."

Ahead of her surgery this past Tuesday, the 29-year-old donned a pink dress and had one final pink and breast-themed celebration, sharing an image to Instagram with the caption, "Lots of pink today as we say Ta-ta to the TATAS!"

She also shared another photo of herself on Instagram of herself looking out onto the sunset, revealing that "this prophylactic double mastectomy is for the best."

Day 2 post op. Baby steps, but not many. Just enough to show the doctors I can walk in order to go home. It's funny to look at this video and see a slight smile. This was no walk in the park. Ow. I think I was just glad to be in anything but a horizontal position. It was time to disconnect the IV, the oxygen tube and those lovely compression socks I couldn't wait to leave behind! That red apron you see around my waist holds the 4 drains that I have to measure every day, so those will be coming with me and eating with me and sleeping with me and showering with me. Unfortunately they are sewn into my sides and when they read a certain amount of fluids coming from my chest, I can finally get them removed which will be a huge milestone. A few minutes after this video was taken, I somehow shuffled myself into a wheelchair. I was so nervous as we made our way to the car. Dad drove slowly and carefully, but you can't always avoid every single bump in the road. Ouuuchh. And just like that, we were home🏡A shower is now in order since I still have iodine and permanent marker all over my chest from surgery markings. Walking and breathing still doesn't come easy, so this should be veryyy interesting🙈😝 #LesNipsBRCAintheBud #LesleysBreasties #FightLikeAGirl #BreastCancerAwareness

A post shared by Lesley • The Road Les Traveled (@lesleyannemurphy) on Apr 13, 2017 at 2:47pm PDT

[H/T: Instagram / @lesleyannmurphy]

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This article originally appeared on Womanista.