All the things Suni Lee has shared about her uncommon kidney illness

After Suni Lee gained gold within the ladies’s gymnastics particular person all-around remaining on the Tokyo Olympics, the Paris Video games felt like a pure subsequent step—a shoo-in, even—till a sudden bout of painful and distressing signs turned her world upside-down (and never within the adrenaline-fuelled, mat-flip type of manner).

Final 12 months, the now 21-year-old gymnast was recognized with two uncommon kidney illnesses, which sidelined her coaching and rocked her bodily and psychological well being for months. Since then, Lee has shared snippets of her well being journey, and on June 30, she certified for the Paris Video games—the place she’s already crushing her routines (in a blinding leotard and smooth press-on nails, naturally). On July 28, Lee certified for the all-around remaining set for August 1—the place she confronted off towards Simone Biles in a history-making occasion. And on July 30, Crew USA dominated, taking residence the gold within the ladies’s group remaining.

At her lowest level, although, Lee feared that competing in gymnastics ever once more—not to mention incomes a medal at one other Olympics—can be unimaginable, she informed SELF for an October cowl story final 12 months. “We didn’t know what was attainable. We didn’t know what was mistaken with me,” she mentioned. Beneath, we dive into all the pieces Lee has shared about her kidney illness, from the jarring warning indicators to how she’s feeling right now.

Lee’s first signs appeared seemingly in a single day.

In February 2023, Lee awoke with swollen ankles and shortly blamed her intense coaching routine, she beforehand informed SELF in a canopy story. She didn’t suppose a lot of it till the next morning, when her face, fingers, and legs—basically her entire physique—adopted swimsuit. “I simply saved getting extra swollen…and I feel I gained, like, 40 kilos,” she recalled. The swelling instantly affected her coaching. “I saved peeling off the bar. I couldn’t maintain on,” she mentioned. “My fingers have been so swollen.”

At first, docs thought Lee was experiencing an allergic response, however as her signs progressed over two weeks, Lee knew that was unlikely. In March 2023, she needed to sit out of an NCAA meet—at this level she was competing as a scholar with Auburn College’s gymnastics group—and all of the whereas she and her medical suppliers have been at a loss for what was mistaken. “It affected my entire physique and the way I regarded and the way I used to be feeling,” she mentioned.

Along with excessive swelling (she had typically even woken up together with her eyes swollen shut), Lee additionally skilled scorching flashes, chilly spells, complications, and cramping. On the April Crew USA Media Summit, she shared that she lived with fixed ache, nausea, and lightheadedness. “I couldn’t bend my legs the slightest. I couldn’t squeeze my fingers,” she mentioned.

This all took a psychological toll too. That point of her life was “very, very depressing,” Lee candidly shared on the summit. “I couldn’t even take a look at myself within the mirror,” she informed Sports activities Illustrated in June. ​​“I used to be simply rotting in my mattress. I couldn’t discuss to anyone. I didn’t go away the home.”

She was in the end recognized with two uncommon kidney circumstances.

Lee had undergone a number of medical exams to no avail when USA Gymnastics group doctor Marcia Faustin requested if her docs had accomplished a routine urine check. Lee hadn’t, and admitted that she had been having problem peeing for 2 weeks—a purple flag that pointed to kidney issues (which runs in her household, one thing that Lee hadn’t identified earlier on, The New York Instances experiences). Her docs ran extra labs, and he or she was lastly referred to a specialist who beneficial a biopsy of her kidney tissue, which might decide if it had indicators of injury or illness.