Five-star basketball recruit J.D. Palm of McEachern High played his sophomore season with a newly diagnosed kidney disease that severely sapped his stamina and playing time. Only his teammates, coaches and family knew.
Then days after Palm’s final game last month, doctors told the 6-foot-10 center he wasn’t getting better and needed a transplant that would sideline him for more than a year. He’ll go in the hospital Monday to begin a week of dialysis, with some treatments lasting six to eight hours.
The waiting list for a transplant is about 11 months.
“I’m just trying to stay focused, do what the doctor says and not get down on myself,” Palm told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m committed to basketball. This is not the end of me playing. I know I’m going to come back stronger than ever.”
Palm is the nation’s consensus No. 1 sophomore center prospect and a top-15 player overall. Alabama offered him a scholarship when he was in the eighth grade. Georgia Tech and Auburn also have offered.
“He’s 6-10 but runs and jumps like a 6-2 guard,” McEachern coach Tremayne Anchrum said. “He has the skill set to bring bigger guys out to guard him while punishing smaller defenders inside. He has everything needed to be a top-10 NBA draft pick.”
Those dreams are on hold for now, though.
Palm announced his condition, known as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, or FSGS, publicly last week after learning that a transplant is the only long-term fix. His family has set up a GoFundMe page. His school held a pep rally for him Friday to bring awareness and lift his spirits.
“It was exciting to know everybody is behind me and supporting me,” Palm said.
Candice Palm, a single parent, moved her family of four to Cobb County from Dothan, Alabama, last summer. McEachern is a boys basketball state power that plays national tournaments that are attractive to elite players such as Palm. The school has produced NBA players Isaac Okoro and Sharife Cooper.
As school was about to begin, Palm began complaining of mild headaches, but they easily were managed initially with over-the-counter medication. But one episode became excruciating, and Candice took her son to an emergency room, where his blood pressure measured 230/190, they said.
“They were explaining to me that was extremely high for his age, basically what you see with a stroke or heart attack,” Candice said.
Her son was in intensive care for four days, his kidney working at 15% efficiency. He was diagnosed with a generic and more rare form of FSGS.
Palm’s grandmother was diagnosed with the same disease in her early 30s and died two years ago at 55. Many of J.D.’s memories of his grandmother are of her bedridden, unable to walk.
Knowing her son had the same disease was “devastating,” Candice said. “The hardest thing is him thinking of that. She went through a lot. I don’t want him thinking he’s going to end up in the predicament she was in. That’s my biggest fear, him losing faith, but I’m going to tell him every day it’s going to be OK.”
Doctors put Palm on medication, which is now nine pills a day. The worse part, though, is his new diet, according to the teenager. Candice packs a lunch for J.D. every school day to keep him straight.
“Things that I used to eat, I can’t have any more – pizza, pasta, ice cream,” Palm said. “That used to be my favorite thing.”
The sacrifices would run much deeper, though. Palm occasionally had to miss practice for lack of energy or feeling ill. Sometimes he would play nearly a full game, other times just a quarter total, no more than three minutes at a time.
His best game was a 19-point, nine-rebound effort in a tight loss against Duncanville, a Texas state champion that finished No. 2 in MaxPreps national poll. McEachern reached Georgia’s Class 7A quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Wheeler.
“He’s a fighter,” Anchrum said. “This kid persevering with what he went through, the aches and pains and the energy level coming and going minute to minute and playing in every game was amazing.”
Palm’s symptoms have not improved. “My typical day now is to go to school, get home, be in bed the rest of the day, for real,” Palm said.
Palm got news of the transplant about a week after McEachern’s season ended. He has been lifted by the support, including those of friends and coaches back in Dothan.
Palm has made one notable friend, Alonzo Mourning, the former NBA star. Mourning, now 53, was diagnosed with FSGS in 2002, when he was 32 and at the height of his career. Mourning, also a 6-10 center, missed one season but played five more.
“He’s basically telling me to eat healthy and listen to my mama,” Palm said. “He’s encouraging me to never give up.”
Said Candice, “I can see his face light up talking to him, knowing he’s not out there by himself.”
Mourning continues to text and check in on Palm. Candice said she’ll make sure her son heeds his advice.
“J.D. is very quiet; he doesn’t let people know how he feels,” Candice said. “You may see him smile and think things are good, but you never know with him. So I try to encourage him every day and tell him he can fight this. And hopefully soon we can do this transplant.”
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