(Reuters) – Australia all-rounder Cameron Green has revealed he was born with chronic kidney disease and that his parents were told he might not live past 12-years-old.
Green told Channel 7 that the condition was detected during his mother’s 19-week scan and that he was still trying to learn as much as he could about the disease.
“Basically, my kidneys don’t work as well as other people’s and don’t filter the blood very well,” the 24-year-old said.
“So I have got to keep my salt and my protein quite low, which isn’t ideal as a cricketer but around games I can pick that protein intake back up because I spend so much of it out on the ground.
“I have always done everything right, eating and drinking in a professional way … but it is a work in progress.”
Green said he had 60% kidney function and that his disease was at stage two, five being the worst.
“The kidneys don’t heal,” he said. “So if you don’t look after them, it can get worse. Maybe not in the space of a couple of months but certainly over years.”
Green, who has played 24 tests, is part of Australia’s squad for the series against Pakistan but is not playing in the opening match in Perth, which started earlier on Thursday.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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