Is Suni Lee OK? Olympic gymnast diagnosed with incurable kidney disease, gains 40 pounds
AUBURN, ALABAMA: Sunisa Lee, the 20-year-old Olympic gymnast, has opened up about being diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease. The athlete, also known as Suni Lee, claims to have gained 40 pounds and is currently struggling with severe swelling all over her body.
Lee had won the all-around individual gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, making her Team USA's star performer.
Her NCAA gymnastics career with Auburn University came to an abrupt end this year due to her health.
The athlete remains focused on securing one of the five spots with Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics, even though she has not been able to consistently train for the past six months.
Lee spoke of the symptoms that led to her diagnosis and the pressure she feels to keep up with her past glory in detail in an interview with Self magazine.
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Suni Lee's health issues began in February
When Lee first woke up with swollen ankles, she assumed the puffiness was a side effect of her intense gymnastics training.
The following morning, the swelling had spread to her entire body and she felt as if she had gained several pounds overnight.
After speaking with her coach, Jess Graba, they reached out to the USA Gymnastics team physician, Dr. Marcia Faustin.
Lee found herself struggling on the equipment when she tried to train.
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"I kept peeling off the bar. I couldn’t hold on. My fingers were so swollen, and I couldn’t even do a normal kip cast to handstand on bars," she recalled.
Doctors initially attributed the swelling to allergies, but it went on for weeks.
Sunisa Lee worried that her career is over
"I just kept getting more swollen…and I think I gained, like, 40 pounds," said Lee. "It affected my whole body and how I looked and how I was feeling."
Lee was unable to compete at an away meet against Kentucky in early March because of her symptoms. This was when she started to worry that her career was over.
After a battery of tests over a long period of time, Lee was diagnosed. She has not gone public with the specifications as her medical team believes it could change after further testing.
She did state that the condition is not common and there is no cure. Her doctors are still working on her treatment plan, which includes medication to manage her symptoms.
On April 3, she announced that she was ending her final NCAA season at Auburn early due to a "non-gymnastics health-related issue involving my kidneys."
Though she is grateful to have answers about her health, Lee admitted to having a hard time coping with the diagnosis.
Lee has had to develop different habits to keep her physical and mental health in check.
Above all, she is trying to listen to her body and has passed up the opportunity to compete in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium. But she is not ready to give up on her Olympics dreams just yet.