Olympic Gymnast Suni Lee Gained 45 Lbs. Due to Kidney Illness: ‘My Eyes Were Swollen Shut’

Suni Lee reflects on a “scary” health complication she recently faced.

Earlier this year, the 20-year-old world champion gymnast said she had been diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease. On Thursday, she explained just how worrying things have become, noting that she has gained 45 pounds this year due to the illness.

“I couldn’t fit into any of my clothes,” Lee said USA Today. “My eyes were swollen shut. It was so scary.”

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Although the 2020 Olympic all-around champion and bronze medalist on bars has managed to keep her health under control lately, that wasn’t always the case.

“I haven’t had a really bad day in a while,” Lee said. “But at first it was like I woke up swollen. My fingers were so swollen they couldn’t fit in my grips and I couldn’t hold on to the bar.”

“My whole body was swollen because I was retaining water, so I couldn’t do a flip… So it was really different and I had to learn how to deal with it,” she told USA Today.

Sunny Lee. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Lee, who is currently targeting the 2024 Paris Games, declined to reveal details of her diagnosis and the treatment she is receiving. However, she said she watches her sodium intake.

She said USA Today that he has his fair share of “good days and bad days” but chooses to get through them as best he can.

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“On good days I just take advantage of what I can do, and on bad days I just do the basics and try to stay as safe as possible,” she said.

“Waking up on a random Tuesday of the week and you just can’t recognize yourself is so scary,” the Minnesota native said, noting that she’s never had any other health problems.

Suni Lee at Glamour’s 2022 Women of the Year Awards.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Although Lee qualified for the USA Championships and was invited to attend the USA Team’s World Championship selection camp, she chose to focus on her health instead.

“I just decided that I didn’t want to rush it and push my body and even risk something happening so that I could prepare for the Olympic year,” she continued.

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In an interview with YOURSELF magazine published on October 4, Lee said doctors initially thought her swelling might be due to an allergic reaction when the symptoms first started, until it lasted for weeks.

She admitted that watching past videos of her competing would make her “emotional” because she no longer feels like the athlete she once was.

In an Instagram post in August, Lee re-shared a photo of herself on beam at the 2023 Core Hydration Classic.

Sunisa Lee. Jamie Squire/Getty

“This return was much more than my return to elite gymnastics,” she captioned the post. “I have proven to myself that I can overcome difficult things and I hope to inspire others to never let life’s setbacks stop you from following your dreams. See you in San Jose🌟.”

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Source: HIS Education