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Lomu back in hospital

Sport
WELLINGTON The wife of former All Blacks winger Jonah Lomu says the ailing rugby star is again in hospital receiving treatment for kidney failure. The 36-year-old Lomu received a kidney in a transplant operation in 2004 after his own kidneys failed as a result of the rare illness nephrotic syndrome. His wife and manager Nadine […]

WELLINGTON The wife of former All Blacks winger Jonah Lomu says the ailing rugby star is again in hospital receiving treatment for kidney failure.

The 36-year-old Lomu received a kidney in a transplant operation in 2004 after his own kidneys failed as a result of the rare illness nephrotic syndrome.

His wife and manager Nadine wrote in a text to ONE News that he was fighting a great battle. Hes fighting a great battle in relation to his kidney, but Im there to support him every step of the way. Lomu remained on dialysis at Auckland Hospital and was doing OK at the moment.

He was first was diagnosed with the kidney disorder, nephrotic syndrome in 1995. The disease meant Lomu had to have a transplant, effectively ending his hugely successful international rugby career.

He scored 37 tries in 63 Test appearances for New Zealand between 1994 and 2002.

Lomu was taken to hospital in Auckland during the World Cup last September. The next month he was told the kidney, which was donated by his friend and radio host Grant Kereama, had stopped working. Lomu told a womens magazine this month he needed a new kidney and had lost 30kg since last September.

We were hoping to see some improvement, but nothing has made any difference, so the next step is to try to find a donor, Lomu said of his current plight. Lomu said he was having dialysis treatment for seven hours, three nights a week and was spending as much time with his young family.

He has two sons Brayley, three, and Dhyreille, 16 months.

I know I was fortunate to get the first transplant, but there are more difficulties this time around, Lomu said in his magazine interview.

The thing about being human is that everybody has to die sometime.

For me, the important thing is to ask can you look in the mirror and say youve done everything to enjoy life?”

The giant wing weighed 119kg at the peak of his powers for the All Blacks. Reuters