Bachelorette star shares shock health ordeal on Instagram

An early frontrunner on the 2019 season of The Bachelorette has underwent a major medical procedure, he announced on social media.

Former US Bachelorette contestant Cam Ayala has had his leg amputated, his most recent social media post revealed.

The 33-year-old, who appeared on interior designer Hannah Brown’s season of the long-running dating show in 2019, took to Instagram to share his health battle with his followers.

“Gotta lotta BROMENTUM with @b.rapp #amputee #CAMputee #FAITHoverFEAR” read the Instagram caption accompanying a photograph of Ayala in a hospital bed at Texas Medical Centre, with much of his right leg appearing to have been removed.

The reason for the procedure was lymphedema, a disease from which Ayela has long suffered.

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The former reality star shared that he had his leg amputated. Picture: Instagram

The condition, according to Mayo Clinic, is the result of lymph vessels failing to sufficiently drain the lymph nodes, resulting in a back-up of fluid that causes swelling in the affected region of the body — most commonly the arms or legs.

In a recent interview, Ayala, who also appeared on the sixth season of the US Bachelor in Paradise, reflected on how his diagnosis seemingly factored into his ultimate fate as a contestant on The Bachelorette.

“Long story short, it started very well. I got the first rose before the first impression rose, and that had never happened before [on the show],” the sales manager recalled in a June 15 episode of the “Maybe God” podcast.

Cam starred on Hannah Brown’s season of the US Bachelorette in 2019. Picture: ABC/JOHN FLEENOR

He added: “Honestly when I was out there and getting that first rose I felt affirmed very quickly. And that honestly was the curse. Because there was a very large target placed on my back between the men in the house. And about three weeks into the journey there, I decided to open up to the bachelorette about my chronic disease, called lymphedema …

“As I opened up to her, some of the other guys in the mansion felt [it] necessary to approach her after that conversation and basically accuse me of fabricating this medical sob story so I could get what they referred to as a ‘pity rose.’

“And unfortunately she believed the guys’ narrative and I was sent home that night,” he concluded.

Brown ultimately chose Jed Wyatt as her fiance in the finale, however they soon split when it emerged Wyatt was in a relationship with another woman prior to filming.

In another one of Ayala’s recent Instagram posts, shared four days ago, the self-described “dance floor king” appears in a video in which he apparently gets ready for and goes through a “final” day of exercise prior to the amputation.

Cam posted about his battle on Instagram.

“LAST time putting ON and taking OFF a FULL compression sleeve … 23 years of Love/Hate,” he wrote.

“My FINAL workout with my God-give legs #SweatCheck,” reads text overlaid on the footage.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Bachelorette star shares shock health ordeal on Instagram