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U.S. Olympic figure skater Maia Shibutani revealed on Instagram earlier this week that she received “shocking news” months after going to the hospital for a stomach virus.
Shibutani, 25, said she was at the hospital in October for what she thought was a stomach virus but doctors found an abnormality when they ran tests on her. She said she had a follow-up appointment and an MRI revealed that she had a small mass on one of her kidneys.
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“Receiving this news has been incredibly shocking and difficult to handle. I’ve been so scared, but I have had the full support of my family, doctors, and nurses,” she wrote Monday. “I had surgery yesterday to remove the tumor. The surgery was successful and I was able to keep the rest of my kidney. I am in recovery at the hospital and have been in a lot of pain post-surgery, but I am grateful. My doctor said there is a 60/40 chance that the tumor was malignant versus benign (we will know soon), but I am young, healthy, and feel fortunate that this was detected so early.”
Shibutan provided an update Wednesday, saying things were moving in the right direction but she was in a ton of pain after the surgery.
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“Generally, things are moving in the right direction. I had to spend an extra night in the hospital following my surgery, but I was discharged yesterday afternoon,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, the pain post-surgery has been worse than I anticipated. I’ve had my fair share of injuries in skating and I’m used to muscle and bone stuff, but this is different. It was explained to me that since I am young and in good shape, my muscles and nerves are really sensitive. Walking and making even smaller body movements is currently very painful and extremely challenging. It’s been tough to not feel discouraged and weak, but focusing on gratitude has really helped.”
It’s unclear whether the surgery and her condition will affect her ability to compete in the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
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She and her brother won the bronze medal in the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea for ice dancing.
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