Ex AFLW star Rocky Cranston shares what life is like on the transplant waitlist | Donate Life

She played footy at the top level and still runs her own gym — but for the past 18 months Richelle Cranston has had to make a huge life change ever since she found out her kidneys don’t work.

For the past 18 months, Richelle Cranston has had the same routine every night since she found out her kidneys don’t work.

For eight hours every evening, the former footy star known as “Rocky” connects herself to a machine via a catheter in her stomach and pumps in, then drains, about 8L of fluid from her system.

This is what life is like on peritoneal dialysis at home while on the transplant waitlist.

Being an O-positive blood type, the former AFLW player knows she could be waiting years for a match.

“I try not to think about the transplant too much ... since my blood type is really rare,” she said.

Richelle 'Rocky' Cranston, pictured with dog Theo, is a former Geelong AFLW player living with kidney disease. Picture: Alison Wynd

“(Dialysis) is my treatment for now. It would be great if I got a transplant but I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

The 35-year-old, who played 60 games in the AFLW, continued to play for four years while hiding her condition – until the chronic disease became more severe and she was forced to retire from the game in 2023.

And while she still plays sport – she won a local baseball league MVP in her first season – and manages her own gym, life is always fraught with challenges.

The biggest comes with how strictly you need to monitor your fluid intake, as she can only consume 1.5L of liquids per day.

“That includes coffees, soups, anything like that. I used to be someone who carried a bottle around and drank nearly 4L a day but that’s impossible now,” Cranston said. “Then no matter how tired you are, you still have to set the machine up every night even if you’re extremely fatigued, then disconnect it and clean it.”

Rocky now has to connect to a dialysis machine every night for eight hours. Picture: Alison Wynd

Rocky shows her followers how to set up her dialysis machine. Picture:Tiktok/rockycranston

Forever the competitor, Cranston has become increasingly efficient at the dialysis process. What used to take her 30 minutes, she can now complete in less than 10. She’s also found solace in documenting her journey on TikTok, garnering more than 10,000 followers on what living with kidney disease is like and telling people to “not fear dialysis”.

“Ninety five per cent of the feedback I get is really positive,” she said. “It’s a lot of people either with families who have got someone going through it, or just found out they have it and looking for insight.”

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Being young and fit, Cranston knows she’s not in the usual mould of what Australians think kidney disease looks like, and that’s exactly why she started her chronicle online. “I hate being in front of the camera ... but I do get a lot of questions so every little bit helps.”

While she misses playing footy at an elite level, and dreams of the day she can take a normal holiday again – Cranston’s outlook on life is fiercely positive.

“There are definitely days when I think ‘this sucks’, but I also don’t want it to ruin my life. There are people suffering way more than I am,” she said.

Rocky Cranston gets chaired off during her final AFLW game.

While she initially tried to hide the disease from the world she realises now the best thing you can do is talk with your loved ones.

“I hid it because I didn’t want people to think it was a sign of weakness or something that would hold me back. Then after sharing with my friends and family I realised I could be helping people. I struggled to ask for help but having a good support system around you is so important.”

And while she has all but mastered the ability to perform dialysis from home, National Medical Director Associate Professor Helen Opdam notes it is a complex task to manage yourself, which can put a strain on the hospital system.

Cranston said she initially hid her diagnosis because she ‘didn’t want people to think it was a sign of weakness’ but realised by sharing she could help so many people. Picture: Alison Wynd

“Dialysis can be done at home but a lot is done at hospitals and it is extremely expensive,” Dr Opdam said.

“To fund dialysis is much more expensive than a transplant. Giving more people who would otherwise be on dialysis a transplant will save taxpayers.”

Originally published as Ex AFLW star Rocky Cranston shares what life is like on the transplant waitlist | Donate Life