It was in 2003 that I realised there was no choice but to have dialysis treatment - by the time of the World Cup that year, I could barely walk. A year later, I finally had a kidney transplant.
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I was on dialysis for 18 months before the transplant, so it was important I tried to look ahead to days like my comeback this Saturday. You need those big goals to drive you on.
Kidney transplants seem so routine now. But the first one was like Lindbergh's flight across the ocean.
I was a healthy young man, and I thought I was invincible before I was diagnosed with kidney disease.
I'd sometimes fly for 14 hours, then go straight to dialysis. I spent a little time being tired, but we managed. I'm not a pity-party person.
I was in the hospital for about two weeks because I had some complications due to the transition to kidney from dialysis and getting off of that.
If I would have listened to other people back in 2000 telling me I should have stopped playing basketball because of a kidney disease, I wouldn't have won a world championship.
I had to have a complete liver transplant.
Towards the end of 2003 it was hard to get through training - and the darkest point was when a doctor told me there was a possibility I could end up in a wheelchair.
I was on dialysis three times a week for four and a half hours each time.
A patient healthy enough to undergo a kidney transplant might someday no longer need dialysis. That would free up a slot for a new patient.
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