Australian allrounder Cameron Green has opened up about his chronic kidney condition that at one point had doctors questioning whether he would live past the age of 12.
Green was diagnosed with stage two kidney disease before birth, with the condition meaning his body doesn't filter blood as well as others do.
The 24-year-old did his best to keep the condition under wraps, with former Australia coach Justin Langer not aware of it, despite knowing Green since he was 15.
But Green recently revealed the condition to his Test teammates after suffering a series of cramping episodes related to his kidney function.
"It just got picked up during ultrasounds," Green told Channel 7 when asked about the condition.
“Chronic kidney disease is basically a progressive disease of your kidney’s health function.
"Unfortunately, mine doesn’t filter the blood as well as other kidneys.
“They are about six per cent at the moment, which is stage two.
“With chronic kidney disease there are five stages, with stage one being the least severe and stage five being transplant or dialysis, and fortunately enough I am stage two.
"But if you don’t look after them enough, it easily goes back down because kidneys can’t get better. It’s irreversible.”
Green's health was monitored closely during his childhood.
"Growing up, I can remember being in the hospital every week getting ultrasounds on my kidneys, just checking the size and the health of them,” the 198cm Green said.
“My parents got told when I was younger I could be very small, which is pretty funny to look back on now.
“I consider myself very lucky that I am not affected as much physically by chronic kidney disease as other people that have the same thing."
Green's dad Gary said it was uncharted territory when Cameron was diagnosed with the condition before being born.
“The prognosis wasn’t great. There were life expectancy issues that he might not expect to live past 12 years of age," Gary said.
His mum, Bee Tracey, said she was scared when doctors told her the news at her 19-week scan.
"They picked up that he had a thickening of his bladder and they said it was a urethral valve blockage, that the urine just back-flows to the kidneys and they wouldn’t develop properly,” Bee said.
Diet-wise, Green has to be careful about how much protein and sodium he consumes.
But even if he does the right things, he can still suffer cramps - like he did while batting for Australia in an ODI against New Zealand in Cairns last year.
"Luckily I'm dating a dietitian (Emily Redwood), someone who can help me out with my meals that I need to look after myself," Green said.
"When I was growing up, my mum cooked beautiful meals, kidney-friendly.
"At the time I was upset I was eating all these healthy meals, but over time I was grateful that we did."
