The former guard who played for the Bulls is battling sadness brought on by renal failure by turning to his faith and gratitude for life.
Nate Robinson, a former point guard for the Bulls, has battled renal failure since 2018. He has also been receiving dialysis treatment for it for years.
He recently stated to the Daily Mail that if he doesn’t get a kidney transplant, he won’t “have long to live.”.
Robinson said to Jake Neisse of the Daily Mail, “I know that I don’t have long if I can’t get a kidney.” “I am aware that my time on earth is limited. I simply want to maximize it as much as possible.
Robinson receives dialysis three times a week. Every session lasts for four hours. He claimed that when receiving treatment, he typically reads, watches movies, or goes to sleep.
But the depressive episode he had while starting dialysis was incapacitating. He went through some difficult times.
“I lost it for a while for the initial couple of years when I was on dialysis,” Robinson stated on “The OGs Podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller.” “Dude, I haven’t played hoops in a long time. I was feeling very depressed. I was constantly in the dark, too exhausted to do anything.”
It is extremely difficult to deal with the constant demands of treatment and the uncertainty of whether you will live to see another day or need a transplant. Robinson added that he had developed relationships with patients at his treatment facility who passed away while still receiving care.
He gained the ability to lock into a more resilient, optimistic mindset in his treatment facility. Knowing that other people are experiencing harder hardships than him has made Robinson appreciate life more. And he gave a moving account of how that mindset came to be on the show.
“When I go to dialysis and I plug in, they clean my toxins and my blood, and I’m going through my whole dialysis treatment,” Robinson stated. “The folks sitting next to me are of various types, yet they are all experiencing the same thing. Additionally, I start dialysis every morning at 5:30 a.m. or around. A woman and her son are also present. Her son joins her at the table. She is also blind.
“She has kidney problems and is blind. So how can I be depressed or unhappy with what I’m doing? She is experiencing the same things as me, despite not even being able to see. I take a humble position. I am appreciative of what I do have. I have the ability to taste, feel, see, and walk. Many people experience so many different things that they never get the chance to accomplish any of those things. I pause to give God my full gratitude for each and every chance.”
Robinson revealed to the “Playmaker” podcast that in 2006, while playing for the New York Knicks, he discovered he would eventually experience kidney failure as a result of high blood pressure.
Despite the warning, Robinson continued to wow NBA fans with an electrifying career.
The 39-year-old Robinson spent one NBA season with the Bulls in 2012–13 and played for eight different clubs during his 11-year career. He participated in all 82 games that season, averaging 13.1 points, 4.4 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and a 40.5% three-point shooting percentage.
Robinson gained notoriety as a Knicks player before moving to Chicago. He was the first player in history to win the Slam Dunk Contest three times.
He has also dabbled in other lucrative pursuits outside of basketball. 2014 saw the publication of Robinson’s book “Heart over Height.” He launched a chicken and waffles restaurant in his Seattle hometown that same year.
He was a member of the Seattle Seahawks practice squad in 2016. In the aforementioned episode, he was sporting a Seahawks chain. Additionally, he boxed in 2020 and competed against Jake Paul on the undercard of the Roy Jones Jr. vs. Mike Tyson exhibition fight. He was knocked out in the second round.
Robinson has led a remarkable life. And even though he had a renal illness that changed his life, he managed to find hope in his treatments.
When asked about his despair, Robinson remarked, “I was like, man, that’s not who I am.” “I have too much optimism. I’m an overly optimistic person. I’m too full of life to be depressed in this way. I’ve never experienced depression like this. It was difficult, my friend. The first several years were incredibly difficult.”