COLE GIVES THANKS
United ace Andy hails kidney donor nephew after life-saving surgery
Andy Cole has lifted the lid on his battle with kidney failure — and revealed that his nephew was his donor. The Manchester United legend had a transplant in April after suffering from a condition which causes scarring of the kidneys.
Cole fell ill in June 2015, after picking up an airborne virus.
‘How I actually it picked up on whatever continent I was in, who will know,’ he explained.
‘It took a bit of time to register because being the person I am — like men in general — if you fall ill the worst thing you want to do is go to the doctor’s. I tried to man up for a bit too long.’
Treble-winner Cole enlisted the help of United’s former club doctor Mike Stone and dr Mike Picton, a consultant nephrologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
‘It was a real shock when the club doc said, “Get yourself in”,’ said Cole, ‘Then when the guy who became my specialist said I wouldn’t be going home I thought that it can’t be that bad, but it was.’
Cole, 45, added that if it was not for his wife Shirley he would not be here now.
‘First, I just thought I was dehydrated,’ he said. ‘I thought, “drink loads of water and then you’ll be good to go”. Then I started to retain a lot of water and that wasn’t like me because I never gained weight. I was blowing up. That was the only reason I called the doctor.
‘My wife got on my case as well. It’s a good job she did, otherwise I would not have bothered. But I’m here to tell the tale.’
Cole (right), who will assist manager Bryan Robson when a team of United legends take on their Barcelona counterparts in a two-legged fixture to raise funds for the club’s Foundation, has another member of his family to thank also.
‘The donor is my nephew, Alexander,’ said Cole, whose condition has been diagnosed as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. ‘He’s 28 and it’s a noble job.’
Cole, who won 15 england caps and is third in the Premier league’s all-time scoring list with 187 goals, is now looking forward to the future.
‘It’s been two months since the transplant,’ he said. ‘ After three more you can find out a lot more about kidney capacity and where you’re going to be.’
Medical advice prevents Cole from flying to the nou Camp, scene of Manchester United’s famous Champions league win in 1999, for the first leg on June 30.
But he is using the experience as motivation, and is looking forward to cutting his teeth as a coach.
He added: ‘ My perspective has changed on a hell of a lot of things. I’m looking forward to this. In my mind, I feel I’ve been given another opportunity so if you want to do coaching, this the best time.’
Club ambassador Cole, who won five Premier league titles with United between 1995 to 2001, is ready for the battle ahead.
‘I’ll get there, it will take time and perseverance. At times it is tough, I think the toughest thing for me is that I can’t be as stubborn as I used to be because no matter what I do now I can’t get there any quicker.’ He also reserved praise for the doctors and nurses who looked after him. ‘ It has gone really well,’ he said. ‘ The medical team have been absolutely fantastic, the national Health Service has been unbelievable — it is phenomenal.’