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‘Bachelor’ Contestant Lesley Murphy Recovering After Major Surgery

Former star of The Bachelor, Lesley Murphy bravely underwent a double mastectomy after she tested […]

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.

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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 heart๐Ÿ’—Your prayers, well wishes and good vibes are working๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป #LesNipBRCAintheBud #LesleysBreasties #FightLikeAGirl #BreastCancerAwareness

A post shared by Lesley โ€ข The Road Les Traveled (@lesleyannemurphy) on

“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.”

[H/T: Instagram / @lesleyannmurphy]

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This article originally appeared on Womanista.