Lee Haney still had time to check out the Arnold Classic Ohio and UK despite dealing with kidney failure. On April 2, he opened up about his diagnosis and current health. In addition, he discussed Andrew Jacked’s potential in the Men’s Open after three consecutive Pro show victories.
During the 1980s, Lee Haney secured eight Mr. Olympia titles, a record he shares with Ronnie Coleman. In retirement, he’s remained a role model for up-and-coming talent. However, Haney has been dealt a serious health setback.
After learning he had polycystic kidney disease, one of Haney’s kidneys recently started to fail. He reached out to the fitness community in hopes of finding a living donor. He has even offered to cover all donor testing and transplant costs. With more time to unpack the situation, he joined Ron Harris to discuss what lies ahead.
Lee Haney Talks Kidney Failure and Possible Second Chance
In the interview, Haney shared how he found out about his polycystic kidney disease diagnosis.
“We had a billy goat getting loose, so we had to run the goat down. I caught the billy goat, but at the same time, next thing you know, I took a shot to the gut when I caught him.
He didn’t hit me. I jumped on top of him. I later had blood in my urine and went to my doctor to get it checked out. He said, Lee you have a cyst on your kidneys. I said, cyst, what is that. He said somebody in your family was born with polycystic kidney disease.”
While some fans have suggested that steroids caused his health problem, Haney said that wasn’t the case. He emphasized that he also led a short bodybuilding career.
“Nah, I get that. I saw that online but you don’t know what you don’t know. I don’t blame people who make those assumptions because it’s true in our industry. In my case, my uncle was 75, he never competed in a competition, several of my cousins, they never competed in competitions, and they dealt with kidney disease. My career in bodybuilding was very short anyway,” Lee Haney said.
Despite the issue, Haney feels functional and is at peace with whatever ends up happening:
“I see a lot of people, oh my goodness, oh no, Lee. I said nah. It’s not that way. I feel great. I’m functional. I’m at peace with whatever situation arises. I’m happy that several people have already chimed in saying that they would go in and follow the links that we placed on the site to get tested.”
“If I get a second chance, hey, there you go, but I’ve lived an awesome lifetime already. All is well with me.”
Looking at the Arnold Classic Ohio and UK, Haney labeled Jacked ‘the best of the best.’ He argued that athletes like Jacked and Samson Dauda have superior flow against shorter bodybuilders.
“Andrew brought an incredible package. I don’t know if he was better, it appears to me he was better at this particular victory than he was at the one in Ohio. Either way it goes, he stuck out like a sore thumb. He was the best of the best, period.”
“There wasn’t nobody close to him. That’s what I love about what I’m seeing now. You got Andrew and you got Samson. Guys with mass but at the same time, because of their height, it flows so much better. They don’t take on that squatty look.”
Haney isn’t the only dominant Mr. Olympia champion dealing with health issues. Former champ Ronnie Coleman nearly lost his life last year. He suffered a devastating sepsis infection, but has fought day-to-day to regain his health and mobility.
Lee Haney continues to inspire the next wave of bodybuilders coming up. Our team at Fitness Volt hopes he can get that second chance and find a living kidney donor.
RELATED: Lee Haney Warns Against Harmful Drug Use in Bodybuilding, Pushes for Global Judging Panels
Watch the full video from the Ron Harris Muscle YouTube channel below:
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