USA TODAY: NBA GM is savoring life one year after kidney transplant from living donor by Jeff Zillgitt
Normal remains a part of Utah Jazz general manager Justin Zanik’s life. He travels for work and spends considerable time at the office and with the players, staffers and other team personnel as he navigates the present and future of the franchise.
But life isn’t the same one year after receiving a life-saving kidney transplant.
A daily regimen of 16 anti-rejection and immunosuppressant medicines and supplements. No more sushi because that could lead to food poisoning, which could weaken the immune system, which could lead to kidney failure. Less caffeine and more water to keep the kidney flushed and healthy. One med gives him minor tremors. Another makes him hungry. Doctor appointment after doctor appointment.
“You are given this great gift of life,” Zanik told USA TODAY Sports over Zoom with his wife, Gina, sitting next to him. “And now my job is to do the best I can to take care of it.
“The biggest thing I would say is just you’ve had to develop new habits.”All that Jazz: Latest Utah Jazz news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
For most people who have encountered a life-threatening illness, perspective shapes what becomes a new normal. Inconveniences and sacrifices are small pittances for the reward: life.
“We’ve had so much great support. Not only from my lovely wife and my kids, but the Jazz and my colleagues and friends,” Justin said. “I was back in the office right after the combine (in May), got cleared to travel in September, went to Europe three weeks ago for work. So the hours and the work are back to normal, which is still crazy hours. And my body’s held up well. I have a hawk here watching my every move.”
What is polycystic kidney disease?
Justin, 50, has polycystic kidney disease (PKD), an inherited disease in which “clusters of cysts grow in the body, mainly in the kidneys. Over time, the cysts may cause the kidneys to get bigger and stop working,” according to mayoclinic.org.
Eighteen months ago, on Oct. 1, 2023, after Gina persuaded Justin to get a physical following years of putting it off, a doctor called and told him he was in kidney failure.
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On April 2, 2024, he received a new kidney from a living donor. The Zaniks, along with their three children, 17-year-old Ava, 15-year-old Oskar and 13-year-old Lucy, celebrated the one-year anniversary last week with a report of good news: the kidney transplant was a success, and Justin is back full-time doing what he enjoys.
“There is just a household of love and just really came together as a cohesive unit to take care of him,” Gina said. “There’s a stronger bond that we just have because of this experience with Justin.”
Contact information:
Gina Zanik (Szajnuk)
Co-founder and Executive Director, Rare and Undiagnosed Network (RUN)
Vice Chair, Utah Rare Advisory Council (RDAC)
W www.rareundiagnosed.org
E ginaszajnuk@gmail.com P (310) 883-4353
To Read: How Utah Jazz GM Justin Zanik found himself fighting for not just his team, but his life – ESPN
To Listen: ESPN Daily: How a Family’s Bond Saved the Jazz GM
To Read: A mother’s unrelenting crusade to help those trapped in the wilderness of the undiagnosed – by Lee Benson
To Read: “What is the hardest part of being undiagnosed?” by Gina Szajnuk
To Read: “Undiagnosed is a Diagnosis” by Ava and Gina Szajnuk
To Read: The Szajnuk Journey
To Read: “Push Through” by Ava Szajnuk
To Listen: RARE Cast by Global Genes: “A Young Rare Disease Advocate Discusses Life with an Undiagnosed Condition”
