Cameron Green reveals he is suffering from irreversible chronic kidney disease
Perth, Dec 14: Australia all-rounder Cameron Green has revealed he was born with an irreversible chronic kidney disease, which at one stage put his life expectancy at 12 years.
The lanky all-rounder, who is a vital part of the Australia cricket team, said that the disease has no symptoms and is irreversible.
"My parents got told when I was born that I had chronic kidney disease, basically, there's no symptoms, it was just picked up through ultra sounds," Green told Channel 7.
"Chronic kidney disease is basically a progressive disease of your kidney's health function. Unfortunately, mine don't filter the blood as well as other kidneys."
The 24-year-old revealed that his kidney function is currently at about 60 per cent, which is stage two, with stage five needing transplant or dialysis.
"Fortunately, I'm stage two, but if you don't look after them enough, it easily goes back down. Kidneys can't get better. It's irreversible. So any way you can find to slow the progression, you basically try and do."
The condition was detected when Green's mother Tarcy had her 19-week pregnancy scan.
"At the time it was unchartered territory as such, the prognosis wasn't great. There were life expectancy issues that he might not expect to live past 12 years of age," said Green's father, Gary.
The fast-bowling all-rounder, who has featured in 24 Tests, 23 ODIs and eight T20Is since making his Australia debut in 2020, said the disease also affects his cricketing career as he is more susceptible to cramps.
"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.
"It's just about finding the best ways to look after me."
He recalled an incident during an ODI against New Zealand in Cairns last year, where he started cramping due to the disease while batting.
"There was definitely one time up in Cairns, playing Australia versus New Zealand, I think it was pretty well documented that I had a pretty long day of bowling and a pretty long bat as well, and then had a cramping episode.
"It took me a long time to realise that it was probably my kidney function that was affecting my cramping," Green said.
A shy person, Green said he had to eventually tell his teammates about the condition.
"I have told a few guys in the cricket world. 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," Green said.
Cameron Green has chronic kidney disease.
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 14, 2023
There are five stages to it, with the fifth stage requiring a transplant or dialysis.
This is how Green - currently at stage two - manages the condition every day... pic.twitter.com/ikbIntapdy
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
