Nate Robinson needs a kidney. In a new interview with Men's Health published on Tuesday, the former NBA star opens up about living with kidney failure and his desperate search for a kidney. Since his kidneys failed six years ago, the 40-year-old has been trying to get a replacement kidney to save his life.
"He tells me that if he doesn’t get a kidney soon, death is the next door he will walk through," Men's Health 's Tyler R. Tynes writes. Robinson was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2006.
On the days his body would crash, often passing out from dehydration and incessant vomiting, the three-time slam dunk champion would check himself into hospitals, then check out and proceed with business as usual. During his NBA days, from 2005 to 2015, signs that his kidney function was declining were there, but Robinson never believed the warnings from doctors that his kidneys would likely fail in his 30s. "I felt like I was Superman.
I never thought I would get sick," Robinson tells the outlet, noting he was always a healthy kid and that high blood pressure doesn't run in his family. Despite his health setbacks, Robinson started taking blood-pressure medication and continued playing in the NBA until his retirement. He played 11 seasons for eight NBA teams before his final game in 2015.
After leaving the league, he continued to play professionally around the world until 2018 -- when his kidneys failed. Robinson delayed treatment, and two years later he got sick "worse than he could hav.