Former NBA Star Nate Robinson Says He Needs Life-Saving Kidney Donor: 'I Want to Stay Alive'

Nate Robinson is in a desperate search for a kidney donor.

The former NBA star (40), who was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2006, said to Men’s health in an interview published on Tuesday, June 18, that he will soon die if he doesn’t find a match, as his kidneys are working at less than 15% of their optimal capacity since they failed in 2018.

Robinson told the paper that the days can consist of anything from “Charley Horse-like cramps all over the body after losing too much fluid” to “violent vomiting and difficulty breathing when there is excess”.

While he hopes to soon be on Washington state’s kidney transplant waiting list and the national list, the idea of ​​finally finding a match is also “scary” for him.

Nate Robinson plays for the Denver Nuggets on January 9, 2015.

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“We both have to go under the knife, and a lot of people can’t take it. I wouldn’t want someone to give me that kidney and die if I were to go through this. It would hurt me a lot,” Robinson said. “That someone has to die in order for me to live. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. In my dreams, my family members give me a kidney, and they all died in the end. That kind of j… — eat with me.”

Besides working out in the gym on those days when he feels comfortable doing so, his other motivation is his children.

“I have to stay. I want to survive the next 40 years: be a grandfather, see my children’s children, take them to the gym, tell them stories about ‘Bron and Kobo’ when I was in the NBA and I have to fight for all those guys,” he said. is for the newspaper.

Nate Robinson at the “Uncle Drew” premiere in New York City on June 26, 2018.

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Robinson recalled how his perspective changed after he delayed treatment for two years when his kidney failed and later ended up in hospital for a week with “a bad case of Covid”.

The athlete was told by doctors that his kidneys were “overworking” and “failing”, which immediately put him on dialysis and “got a kick in the ass” from his girlfriend Sheena Felitz.

“I didn’t want to lead to that darkness [my family]. I got kicked in the ass by my lady. She told me that they are here to love me, they understand what I’m going through, but you can’t be mean to yourself, or to us,” he said.

Nate Robinson at Players’ Night Out 2019.

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“And I didn’t notice it until I got called out on it. Sometimes you need that; you have to know when you’re… okay. I was acting a certain way that I couldn’t see it.”

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Source: HIS Education