'My sight, my voice and my mind - that's all I need' - Kiwi basketball legend Kenny McFadden on life waiting for a new kidney

Basketball coach Kenny McFadden is having dialysis treatment while he waits for a kidney transplant. Photo / Marty Melville

Three days a week Kenny McFadden must spend five hours hooked up to a dialysis machine, as he waits for a kidney transplant.

But the Kiwi basketball great says his health challenge isn't too bad - certainly not as bad as the broken hand suffered by his most famous protege, Steven Adams, at the start of 2015.

"It's all good. I'm able to manage and I still do my coaching."

The broken hand suffered by Adams, who became New Zealand's highest paid sportsman a year ago this month when he signed a four-year NZ $140 million NBA contract with Oklahoma City Thunder, was worse, McFadden told the Herald on Sunday.

"I've got plenty of time [to get better, but his injury], that was the biggest blow. He was in his second year and he was on his way to the All Stars game."

He had all he needed to continue his work coaching 700 young players, through his Hoop Club and Basketball Academy, McFadden said.

"My sight, my voice and my mind - that's all I need."McFadden, who was born in the United States but has lived in New Zealand since taking up a playing contract with the Wellington Saints in the early 1980s, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease after being rushed to hospital in May.

Adams was in New Zealand at the time - the pair planned to train together the day McFadden fell ill - and the sporting superstar was among many who offered support.
"He came to the hospital. He was supportive all the way."

McFadden didn't want to identify them, but a couple of friends had offered to give him a kidney and were going through tests to see if they were suitable donors.

The 57-year-old said his disease was a genetic disorder, with his mother and all of his three siblings affected. He could not have prevented developing the disease, but earlier detection might have avoided the need for dialysis, he said.

There was no pain and, other than dialysis, the main change to his life had been a new diet.

"I've had to cut down on fast food - KFC, fish n chips. I can't have bananas, no [food with] potassium. But then again there's nothing wrong with eating healthy."

He hoped talking about the disease would raise awareness for others to get checked if they are suffering from kidney disease symptoms, which could include swollen ankles, fatigue and shortness of breath.

Meanwhile, life goes on for the popular coach.

He has some exciting young prospects in his academy and his focus, as always, is helping them reach their NBA dreams.

Any day focused on his health challenge was a day he couldn't get back.

"I can't let the sickness get me low ... some may look at it as being bad. I don't. I see it as part of life."

WHAT IS POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE?

An inherited disorder which gradually replaces healthy kidney tissue with an ever increasing number of cysts.
As these cysts grow, they cause the kidney to swell and eventually fail.
PCKD is the most common genetic cause of end-stage renal disease, accounting for approximately 10 per cent of all dialysis patients.
There are two different types of polycystic kidney disease, dominant and recessive.
Dominant occurs in 90 per cent of cases and usually affects adults. Recessive accounts for the remaining cases and usually affects children.

POTENTIAL SYMPTOMS OF A KIDNEY DISEASE

Urination issues such as discomfort or burning, passing blood, frothing or foaming urine or change in frequency
Pins and needles in fingers and toes
Loin area pain
Loss of appetite
Nausea and vomiting

* Source: Kidney Health New Zealand