‘DWTS’ judge Carrie Ann Inaba recovering from emergency appendectomy

Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba is on the mend after undergoing appendectomy surgery.

“I had an emergency appendectomy last week and while it’s been quite a painful experience, I also know it’s a gift to even feel this pain. I realize after speaking with my doctor that it could have been much worse,” Inaba, 55, shared Thursday on Instagram, alongside a compilation video of her four-day hospital stay, set to Meghan Trainor‘s “Me Too.”

“Appendicitis attacks happen suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere. And when you are in that much pain, the last thing you want to do is go anywhere. And when you have [an] autoimmune disease, you are often having strange health occurrences that no one can explain or help you with so sometimes, you try to wait it out, like I did. I was wrong,” says Inaba, who suffers from Sjögren’s Syndrome, lupus, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis.

She went on to say that she felt a pain in her abdomen and “sudden and violent vomiting that knocked me off my feet.”

“I should have gone when I couldn’t stand without excruciating pain… but I honestly didn’t want to leave my babies, and I’m so accustomed to pain — thought I should let it play out,” she added.

“If you have pain in your abdomen, please have it checked out because it could be something very serious,” she warned.

Inaba concluded the post by thanking the staff at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles for taking care of her, adding, “Thankfully, my appendix will not be bothering me anymore.”

Carrie Ann received well-wishes from her fans and DWTS colleagues, including fellow judge Derek Hough, who replied in the comments section.

“Get well soon,” he wrote. “I had that a few years ago. Glad you got it taken care of. Feel better.”

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