Suni Lee overcomes two kidney disease diagnoses to triumph at the Paris Olympics

Two years ago, you might have expected Sunisa (“Suni”) Lee to win a medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. After all, she was the reigning Olympic champion in that event, after winning gold at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. A year ago, however, expectations had changed. In the first half of 2023, Lee was newly diagnosed with not one but two rare kidney diseases. This put her entire gymnastics career in jeopardy, let alone her reaching Paris as part of the US Olympic team. But this past week, the 21-year-old Lee lived up to and exceeded expectations from a few years ago by not only helping the U.S. win team gold on Wednesday, but also earning a bronze medal in the individual all-round competition. around Thursday.

Yes, Lee’s road to her medals in Paris was, shall we say, quite rough and tumultuous. You may not think about your kidneys every day because you can’t see them in mirrors or selfies. But they do important work, serving as your body’s primary drains and drains by helping regulate your body’s fluid balance and filtering and excreting toxins. When your kidneys don’t work properly and fluidly, fluid and toxins can continue to build up in your body to the point where they become life-threatening.

Speaking of fluid, Lee found it around her ankles when she woke up one morning in February 2023. as described in an article written by Kayla Blanton for YOURSELF. There are many things that can cause ankles to swell, including ankle injuries that are common in gymnastics. So her thoughts probably didn’t go straight to her kidneys. But as Blanton described, not long afterward other parts of her body—her face, arms, and legs—began to swell from fluid buildup, known as edema if you want to sound purely medical.

Experiencing edema throughout your body may be part of an allergic reaction. But there are other causes, such as your heart not being able to pump blood through your body effectively, your liver failing and causing a build-up of blood, and of course kidney problems, which prevent your body from excreting enough fluid. So if you notice unexplained edema,

In addition to the swelling, Lee began experiencing other symptoms, including hot and cold spells, headaches, cramps, nausea and dizziness. The swelling caused pain and made it difficult to bend her joints. At the same time, no one could tell her for sure what was the cause of all these physical problems. This of course made her feel very down.

Ultimately, a urine test and a biopsy of her kidneys revealed that something was wrong with her kidneys. Again, there’s not one thing wrong, but two. Lee has not yet publicly revealed what these two diagnoses specifically are. But Lee has indicated that neither is currently curable, as Blanton reported YOURSELF. With two likely serious kidney problems, it’s not surprising that Lee suffered a range of symptoms. When fluid and toxins build up in your body and an electrolyte imbalance occurs, all kinds of problems can arise. Anemia can also occur because the kidneys produce erythropoietin, a hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells. This also applies to bone problems, because the kidneys help regulate phosphorus, calcium and vitamin D levels. That’s why when kidney disease progresses to kidney failure, people typically need to undergo dialysis or a kidney transplant.

On April 3, 2023, Lee announced on social media that she was parting ways with Auburn University’s gymnastics team to focus on her health. But she reaffirmed that she was still aiming to make the U.S. Olympic team for Paris 2024. With a new perspective, an adjusted training regimen and, oh, a new puppy, Lee persevered and returned later that year to the competition to finish second behind Simone. Biles on the balance beam at the Core Hydration Classic in Chicago and earn a bronze medal on the balance beam at the 2023 USA Gymnastics Championships.

Her progress and management of the kidney disease prompted her doctors to give her the green light to compete in the Paris Games in early 2024. And she continued this passage. In late June, Lee placed second in the trials for the U.S. Olympic team, held at the Target Center in Minneapolis. During those tests, she achieved the highest score of all on the uneven parallel bars.

All of this took her to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where she has shown no obvious signs of kidney disease. Quite the contrary, as she and Biles were the top performers for the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team. But people’s struggles with such conditions often remain hidden. Symptoms may not manifest until kidney failure has occurred. It is therefore important to have your kidney function regularly checked through blood and urine tests. You don’t want invisible problems to remain unseen for too long.