Cameron Green’s chronic kidney disease revelation an inspiration to suffering Aussie kids

For the first 12 years of Cameron Green’s life his parents lived in trepidation. What he has done since has served as an inspiration to suffering young kids around Australia.

Cameron Green’s journey to live to double the age he was once tipped to has become an inspiration to suffering young people around Australia.

The superstar all-rounder returns to the Australian Test XI on Wednesday for the first time in over six months, but it was his decision to go public about his childhood battle with irreversible chronic kidney disease which has made him a hero in the eyes of many.

Green, 24, has been inundated with correspondence since he opened up in an interview on Channel 7 at the start of the summer, with young sufferers and their parents thanking him for using his profile to shine a light on their silent battle.

A mother of a young boy wrote to Green to express how inspirational it had been for her as a parent to see that there can be light at the end of the tunnel

Doctors told Green’s parents when he was induced to be born six weeks premature that he may not live past the age of 12 – prompting the mother of a young boy to write to Green after the Channel 7 story aired to express how inspirational it was for her to see that there can be light at the end of the tunnel.

Cameron Green has chronic kidney disease.

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

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 14, 2023

Thirty two-year-old Kaine Petch, who is on dialysis, wrote to Green to thank him for motivating him to keep fighting and said Green’s story had been the talk of the renal ward in South Australia, where Green will play his return Test match this week.

Petch was a keen sportsman himself, playing his last season of Aussie Rules football in 2002 with only 18 per cent kidney function.

“I was born with Alport syndrome, a chronic kidney disease not dissimilar to yours,” Petch wrote to Green.

“Over the summer of 2022-23 my kidneys deteriorated and I’m now doing hemodialysis three times a week in the regional hospital here in Berri (South Australia). I’m on the transplant list and am patiently awaiting a phone call.

“... the renal community is a special and resilient one. We lift each other up in our darkest moments and keep each other moving forwards.

“... We believe what you are doing is very inspiring. It’s not often we can relate to a professional sportsperson.”

This letter was particularly emotional to read for Green’s father Gary, who was prompted to reflect on how lucky his own son is that he still has 60 per cent function of his kidneys.

“The letter was very emotional. For us it was certainly challenging. We can appreciate where they’re coming from and I guess today with what Cameron has achieved, and he’s on top of his kidney issue, we’re just very thankful. There are a lot of people going through a lot worse,” Gary Green told this masthead.

“(This man) was really heartfelt. It would bring a tear to your eye.

“He’s grown up with a lot of the guys in the renal ward, they see each other quite a lot, they’ve got kidney issues, and they’re cricket fans.

“He just said it’s fantastic Cam’s put his hand up and admitted this has been a challenge for him and that that’s helped their mood to some degree.

“That there is hope.”

Kaine Petch’s letter to Cameron Green.

Kaine Petch’s letter to Cameron Green continued.

Gary said he and Green’s mother would dread their weekly appointments when Green was an infant, bracing themselves for news that the condition had worsened.

When Green reached the milestone of 12, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“For two or three years there we were not very optimistic about the future,” Gary said.

“The comment by the doctor that, ‘we’ve seen this before, kids don’t live past 12 or thereabouts because of the complications.’

“Things got better by the time he was running around, about three or four or five or six. But we always had in the back of our mind, once you get past 12, we’ll celebrate.”

Green is back in Test cricket, promoted to No.4 in the batting order, and with the world at his feet.

But the young all-rounder wants to be an ambassador for kidney disease, an important role beyond his playing achievements, which he is already unofficially fulfilling.

Originally published as Cameron Green’s chronic kidney disease revelation an inspiration to suffering Aussie kids