Former NFLer Armonty Bryant Shares Dialysis Process as He Awaits Kidney Donation

Former NFL defensive lineman Armonty Bryant is undergoing peritoneal dialysis as he awaits a new kidney, a process that has left him unable to work.

Bryant played for the Cleveland Browns (2013-15) and Detroit Lions (2016). He missed the 2017 season and retired in July 2018 because of the focal segmental glomerulosclerosis diagnosis and the resulting renal failure he's now treating with dialysis.

The 28-year-old talked about his frustration and how it's affected him, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com:

"In the beginning, I didn't even have an appetite. I couldn't eat before starting dialysis. I was eating one to two meals a day, not really even hungry. I've lost so much weight and it's so depressing. It's not me, you know?

"Like, when I look in the mirror, I don't see myself. I see a sick person. I see a tube coming out of my stomach. I don't see Armonty Bryant."

As Rothstein wrote, Bryant's schedule revolves around his treatments: "Wake up. Dialysis. Breakfast. Clean up. Dialysis. Clean, read or play FIFA or NBA2K. Dialysis. More cleaning, a visitor or whatever he can handle. Kim comes home. Dinner. Dialysis. Bed. Wake up."

Bryant must repeat the process every four hours.

Bryant's wife, Kim, is helping her husband in the search for a kidney donation. Kim was pregnant when Bryant was first diagnosed with the illness, and it's recommended women do not donate a kidney until they decide they are finished having children. The couple continues to seek a donation, either from a living person or from someone on the deceased kidney donor transplant list.