Gary, Green’s father, stated that when Green was born, there were concerns about his life expectancy and that he needed to carefully regulate his food.
Cameron Green of Australia has stated that he was born with chronic kidney illness and had a life expectancy of only 12 at one point, but has been able to manage the conditions throughout his professional cricketing career.
Green, 24, was left out of Australia’s XI for the first Test of the summer against Pakistan in Perth, with Mitchell Marsh usurping him as the team’s reigning allrounder during the Ashes series earlier this year in England.
However, Green, who is naturally modest and cautious, disclosed to Channel 7 that he has been battling with the sickness his entire life, having barely acknowledged it to even team-mates or friends.
“When I was born, my parents were told I had chronic kidney disease,” Green said Channel 7. “Basically, there are no symptoms; it was discovered through ultrasounds.”
“Chronic kidney disease is essentially a progressive disease that affects the health function of your kidneys.” Unfortunately, my kidney does not filter blood as well as others. They’re currently at roughly 60%, which is stage two.
“I consider myself very fortunate that I am not as physically affected by chronic kidney disease as other people who are.”
“There are five stages of chronic kidney disease, with stage one being the least severe and stage five being transplant or dialysis.” Fortunately, I’m at stage two, but if you don’t take care of them properly, they will regress.
“The kidneys can’t get much better. It’s unstoppable. So you basically attempt to do anything you can to delay the growth.”
Green’s illness was discovered at a 19-week pregnancy ultrasound for his mother, Bee Tracey. His father Gary, who has had a big influence on Green’s cricket career, stated that there were initial concerns that he might not live past the age of 12.
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
“Because it was uncharted territory at the time, the prognosis wasn’t great,” Gary Green explained. “There were life expectancy issues that he might not expect to live past twelve years of age.”
Green stated that he had dealt with the issue relatively well throughout his career, with only one worrying incident occurring while playing for Australia in an ODI against New Zealand in Cairns last year. He scored 89 not out in a successful run chase after bowling five overs and fielding the entire 50, however he suffered from acute cramping while batting.
“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,” Green said at the time. “It took me a long time to realize that my cramping was most likely caused by a problem with my kidney function.”
“I always thought I didn’t drink enough, didn’t eat enough, didn’t look after myself during the game as well as I could have, but I think over time I realised that I was doing absolutely everything right, but I was still cramping, unfortunately.”
Green admitted that it took him some time to reveal it to his teammates, who had questioned his ability to handle the overall workload.
“I’ve told a few cricket players. “The coaching staff is on it,” Green added. “I think I’ve told all the guys in the Australian cricket team.” After a few cramping bouts, I definitely had to come off and tell them that it was probably more than just not being professional enough because I was eating and drinking as much as I could to give myself the best chance.”
