Lena Dunham Shares An Update On Her Hospitalization

After turning heads at the 2017 Met Gala, Lena Dunham has opened up about a health scare she experienced immediately after the event. In an intimate post on her Instagram, Dunham shared a hospital bed selfie along with a caption explaining that she suffered complications from her most recent surgery for endometriosis, the chronic illness she has been very vocal about. But in addition to sharing a health update, Dunham also used her post as an opportunity to remind everyone of the true strength of women, and the power that we undoubtedly have in the face of adversity.

While many of us know of our inherent strength, I always welcome the moments when I get to see examples of how much women can truly push through in hard times, especially in when it comes to health issues. Dunham began her long caption,

"Thank you for all the love & concern that's been pouring in since Tuesday. Although I'm much healthier than I was a year ago, complications arose from my most recent endometriosis surgery."

Dunham opened up about the surgery she is referring to here in an April edition of her Lenny Letter. In the newsletter she wrote about a surgery that helped improve that status of her endometriosis.

(Bustle has reached out to Fox News for comment on the Diana Falzone lawsuit mentioned in Dunham's post, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.)

Never one to shy away from a political message, Dunham took a moment in her Instagram caption to acknowledge her privilege in even being able to seek health care as compared to many other women in this country. She wrote,

"When the healthcare of so many American women, especially our trans sisters, is at-risk- or already nonexistent- I am lucky to be in the position to seek help when I'm in pain. To those in that privileged spot- never forget that we are blessed and can pay it forward by supporting Planned Parenthood and LGBTQ clinics like Callen-Lorde with our 💰 and ⌚️."

But the one part that really struck a chord with me was Dunham's simple message that reminds women that suffering from an illness isn't a weakness, but can actually make you stronger as a person, which I wholly agree with. It puts her condition in perspective to think she went to the hospital after the Met Gala but still powered through the night. You can even see what appears to be her Met Gala dress in the background of the pic.

She continued,

"I also want to remind all the women suffering from chronic illness that we aren't weak- quite the opposite, actually. We do our jobs with skill even when we're struggling. We care families even when we can hardly care for ourselves. We serve major face on a red carpet when we feel like lying face down would be more appropriate. I'll always be proud of those Met Gala pics- not just because I felt beautiful, surrounded by art and magic, hugging my best friend tightly, but because they're evidence that women contain steely multitudes."

I appreciate that Dunham tries to uphold the voices of women and our struggles. Regardless of illness or economic status, we are all just trying to survive, and every once in a while, we need to celebrate ourselves and be reminded that we are stronger than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.