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Australia all-rounder Cameron Green has revealed he suffers from a lifelong chronic kidney disease.<\/p>\n
Green spoke for the first time about his condition during an interview with Channel 7, revealing that his parents originally feared he may not live to be a teenager.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents got told when I was born,\u201d he told the broadcaster.<\/p>\n
\u201cChronic kidney disease is basically a progressive disease of your kidneys\u2019 health function. Unfortunately, mine don\u2019t filter the blood as well as other kidneys. They\u2019re at about 60% at the moment which is stage two.<\/p>\n
\u201cI consider myself very lucky that I\u2019m not as affected physically by chronic kidney disease as other people who are affected by the same thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s five stages, with stage one being the least severe, and stage five being transplant or dialysis. Fortunately, I\u2019m stage two, but if you don\u2019t look after them enough, it goes back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cKidneys can\u2019t get better. It\u2019s irreversible. So anything you can do to slow the progression, you basically try and do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite never previously speaking publicly about the issue, Green has made sure his cricketing colleagues are aware of the physical challenges he faces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have told a few guys in the cricket world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe coaching staff are all over it. I think all the guys in the Aussie cricket team, I\u2019ve told.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a few cramping episodes, I probably had to come off and tell them that it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green has played 24 Tests, including two Ashes series, and was part of Australia\u2019s World Cup-winning squad in India last month.<\/p>\n