Young actress is recovering during show’s summer hiatus
Sarah Hyland, the actress who plays Hayley Dunphy on ABC’s Modern Family, has quietly been fighting a lifelong battle with kidney dysplasia.
Sarah Hyland, 21, told Seventeen magazine that she underwent a kidney transplant on April 13. Sarah Hyland was recovering from surgery at the time of the interview, and she told the magazine that she got her new kidney from her dad.
“You know that family is always going to be there for you—no matter what. My dad gave me a freakin’ kidney!” she told Seventeen.
Sarah Hyland has been in physical pain a lot of the time during filming the hit ABC show. She told Good Morning America that her personal health problems frequently carry over into Hayley Dunphy’s life.
“I try and make it so that Haley is always sitting down,” she told GMA. “If you notice, she’s always sitting down a lot… or leaning and texting. When Haley walks up the stairs that’s like my work out for the week.”
Sarah Hyland has been coping with the pain since she was diagnosed at the age of nine.
Sarah Hyland is currently dating actor Matt Prokop, who guest starred on Modern Family last week when the Dunphy-Pritchetts made their magical trip to Disneyland, a trip expected of every to-be classic sitcom.
Matt Prokop has reportedly been very supportive of his girlfriend during her recovery. Sarah Hyland said, “He helps me with my medication and takes me to doctor appointments and all the stuff that I need to do to take care of myself. Any other 21 year-old guy would not be there, I guarantee it. I am one of the luckiest people in the world to have him be there for me.”
Sarah Hyland says that her illness is the reason she is who she is today. “If you ask, ‘Why me?’, well, why not you? You know? It makes you the person that you are today.”
Sarah Hyland plans to spend the show’s summer hiatus recovering from her recent surgery.
