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Nate Robinson‘s fight for a kidney has been known to the sports world for a short time.
But now, thanks to a new ESPN feature, fans are learning just how long he’s been struggling with the issue and how hard it’s been for him to ask for help.
He says that he first began feeling the symptoms of kidney failure in the summer of 2021 when he took his son to a basketball camp. While there, he felt extremely sick, and as soon as he got back home to Seattle, he went to the hospital and learned he had COVID-19.
After doctors ran tests, they revealed that his kidneys were failing and he’d die soon without routine dialysis treatment.
Friends pleaded with him for a long time to reveal he’d been fighting for his life and how much he needed a transplant, but due to shame and guilt, he fought it for so long.
“It’s a lot to ask somebody for something like that,” Robinson told ESPN. “It’s not like asking somebody, ‘Bro, can I borrow some sugar?’”
Finally, Robinson gave his childhood friend Sylvester Dennis permission to reveal his prognosis, and with the help of Tank Johnson, a video played on the jumbotron during a University of Washington spring football game pleading for anyone to help.
With Jamal Crawford‘s help amplifying the message, suddenly, thousands were willing to donate a kidney to him.
However, it’s not that easy because he’s not on a donor list, and due to his constant high blood pressure –which he began taking medication for as a rookie– and because he’s constantly sick, it’s been hard for him to be placed.
There are other methods, such as the Paired Kidney Exchange, where someone could donate a kidney on his behalf to someone on the registry, and in return, he gets a healthy one, but he’s sticking to his path.
“Every time I wake up and open my eyes, I pray. I go to sleep, and I pray. I’m just thankful, man. Say I don’t wake up tomorrow. I had a good life. I worked hard at what I did to get to where I was — and for people to know who I am. I worked damn hard for that … I had to grind to get out of the mud,” Robinson said. “And. I’m going to grind to get out of the mud of this, too.”
You can read more about Robinson’s journey to returning to good health here and see how social media is supporting him below.