Australia’s all-rounder Cameron Green on Thursday revealed a lifelong medical condition that made his parents believe he may not live for a long time.
Green, 24, talked about his condition for the first time publicly during an interview with Channel 7, where he confirmed that he suffers from a chronic kidney disease.
“My parents got told when I was born,” he told the broadcaster.
“Chronic kidney disease is basically a progressive disease of your kidneys’ health function. Unfortunately, mine don’t filter the blood as well as other kidneys. They’re at about 60% at the moment which is stage two.
“I consider myself very lucky that I’m not as affected physically by chronic kidney disease as other people who are affected by the same thing.”
Green was part of Australia’s squad that clinched the 2023 World Cup in India. He has also played 24 Test matches till now and is also part of the Perth Test against Pakistan.
The 24-year-old all-rounder talked about the condition, saying that there are five stages and he is at two.
“There’s five stages, with stage one being the least severe, and stage five being transplant or dialysis. Fortunately, I’m stage two, but if you don’t look after them enough, it goes back down.
“Kidneys can’t get better. It’s irreversible. So anything you can do to slow the progression, you basically try and do.”
He also revealed that he has shared his condition with some people in the cricket world including Australia’s coaching staff.
“I have told a few guys in the cricket world,” he said. “The coaching staff are all over it. I think all the guys in the Aussie cricket team, I’ve told.
“After a few cramping episodes, I probably had to come off and tell them that it’s probably more than not being professional enough because I knew in the background I was eating and drinking as much as I could to give myself the best chance.”
