May 19, 2021 • 24 mins
The former Ravens defensive tackle and Super Bowl champion talks about his battle with kidney failure and search for a transplant.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Greetings and welcome to a special edition of What Happened
to That Guy? A podcast about former Baltimore Ravens and
life after football. I'm your host John Eisenberg. Lionel Dalton
was a key contributor and one of the many larger
than life characters on the Ravens first Super Bowl team.
He was a big bellied defensive lineman who plugged holes,
(00:28):
smothered running backs, and lit up the locker room with
his bright smile and a roaring laugh. His teammates called
him Jelly Roll. A native of Detroit who entered the
NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Michigan,
he played four seasons with the Ravens and also spent
time with the Broncos, Redskins, Chiefs, and Texans before calling
(00:49):
it quits after nine years in the NFL a solid career. Now,
he's forty six and living in Atlanta, and he's written
several books since he retired, including one called Who the
Hell We Are. He also has traveled the world, started
a nonprofit, done all sorts of things, but in the
past year his life has taken a turn. He never
(01:11):
expected What Happened to this Guy? I'm gonna let him explain.
So let's go back before we get to that. Let's
go back a little bit, if you don't mind, back
in time and you know you you, I mean, you
had some great times here with the Ravens, and you
know being part of that super Bowl winning team, you
(01:35):
know how much impact you know, looking back on it
now all these years later, you know how much impact
did that experience have on you? The fact that you
know you were on a team. It wasn't just good
just went all the way and won the super Bowl
with with so many great characters and friends of years.
I'm sure I noticed that no matter the obstacles you
faced the life, you can if you stink together, you
(01:56):
can find no way to win. I've never won anything
outside of you know, individual accomplishment like track in All State,
but on the win as a team, the unity we had,
being the camaraderie we built, we built that was priceless,
and I think that's what I missed most as I retired,
(02:17):
going into my goldie year, and I don't need to
go to years yet, but as I get older, I
missed the camaraderie. And we had a lot of camaraderie
on that team, a lot of different characters from Googles
to Read to Rob and that mac mcquarie to Stover
to we had a lot of trend Deffer. We had
a lot of characters on that team. And somehow we
(02:38):
put it all together. A defensive line room with something,
wasn't it. Yeah, we had a great We had a
great first team as well as second team. On our
second team is left and winning started another other team
that we love. So we were loaded in defensive line
of defense. So you left the Ravens. You played five
more years of football right in the NFL. Yes, So
(03:00):
nine year career, a great run in the NFL. Yes.
And I asked all the guys you know, were you
ready for football to end? Did you think about football ending?
And had you planned for it at all? To be
honest with you, I played football opportunity, and to play
on Sunday. I hated practice. So I enjoyed the opportunity
(03:25):
to be able to provide a good life for my
kids that I didn't have, and I really enjoy I
enjoy Saturdays and Sundays more than I enjoyed during the week,
just going out, hanging out with the guys, going to
eat Saturday night and having fund in the games. So
for me, I retired on my own terms. So that
(03:46):
also moren Sapp had just got cut from Oakland. They
tried to bring me to Oakland, and I was just
my wife's birthday. I missed our birthday of the year,
and I just you know what I'm I don't like
playing anymore and I just retired. So I tired on
my own, a constantly on my own at my own will.
So yeah, I was. I was ready outside of the checks.
(04:07):
I don't miss practice, you know, beating up my body.
I missed Sunday. Sometimes I still get goosebumps when I
watched the games, But yeah, I was ready. Everybody that
I talked to has said the transition out of football
is tough, and I'm wondering what your experience was tough
(04:29):
as in, I guess it's different. People go through different things,
not from the standpoint of missing the camaraderie with other
teammates and keeping myself busy. So I guess it's different
from each playing. And I think a lot of us
don't know who we are outside of being the player.
(04:50):
But I knew who I was outside of being the player.
I knew what I wanted, you know, I know I
wanted to help other people? Who were you sure that
you know that you weren't entirely sure what you wanted
to do when you were once you were done with football,
I know I wanted to help others. So I always
wanted to do philanthropy work. I've always done that and
I like it. It just makes me feel good, and
(05:12):
so I know I wanted to do that, but I didn't. Honestly,
I missed the camaraderie and the checks. We won't be
honest with you, but playing the game though, I didn't
miss it because I was ready. So once you were
done with football, what did were you? You're living now
in Atlanta, is that right? Yeah, I just moved to
a line I've been in three years. But I was
(05:34):
in South Florida for the previous nineteen years. Nineteen years,
so you were mostly in South Florida then since you
finished with Yes, so it was also all the childhood
and Detroit. You were ready to have a little better weather.
Is at the part of the deal. There Sound Florida
in December and I usually go home to Detroit and
I'm I'm on the beasts, like I have on sandals
(05:56):
in December. Why what else? Why would anybody want to
live anywhere else? And so I was I went there
for a bye week. I went to for the bye week,
and then I came back into the season over bought
a house in two thousand and two, and I was
there up until two seventeen. So what were you doing there?
What did you get into? I mean your philanthropy work.
(06:16):
So originally I volunteered with the boys and girls clubs.
I wanted to learn the process of working with children.
Then I started my non profit in two thousand and
eight and I started East, East and West Broker Football
League that still consists today in South Florida. It was
a league form were no weight class because what I
noticed in South Florida football is so competitive that a
(06:39):
lot of kids don't get to play. And so what
I did is I created a lead for all those
kids who didn't get to play. So we had eight teams,
We had twenty four players, and everybody started. Everybody played,
And so I saw a need and I addressed it,
and so I helped a lot of kids that were overweight.
We didn't have a weight class, so it helped a
lot of kids lose weight, and if a lot of
(07:00):
kids an opportunity to play football who usually wouldn't because
of high competitive little league is in South Florida with
football a lot of players down there. Yeah, it's a
lot of players and a lot of players kids and
they usually they usually get all the playing time and
then all a little like like I'm in Bocas. So
a lot of the little like kids would couldn't play
because they were smaller and they didn't really get you know,
(07:23):
they didn't really get an opportunities. So I created a
league for them. That's great. So I mean it's obviously
you've got a heart out for other people. You know,
you've got other people in mind. Let me, So you
moved to Atlanta and uh, it's it seemed like I mean,
I thought one thing that was really interesting and then
(07:44):
was that you did a ton of traveling when you
were down with football. Yeah, that's another thing I love
to do. I wanted to see the world. After going
to the Hula Bowl if my first experience out of
the content of the United States, I knew I wanted
to travel. And my wife was who had a look
at the real estate career. She was tied of working,
and we both said, let's just try. We sold our
(08:07):
house to just travel and maybe we would thought about
living in another country abroad. So we traveled for about
nine months. I went through I started in South Africa,
went to Tanzania, by Swanna, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt, and
then we went over to the UAE, went to Dubai
Abu Dhabi, and then we went over to Southeast Asia.
(08:30):
So we went to Malaysia. We loved Bali. We almost
moved to Bali, almost bought my moms bought aloft in Bali,
and but we ended up getting pregnant in Bali and
my wife said she's not having her baby yet outside
of the United States. So we moved back to We
went back to Florida. We didn't like it, but she
didn't like it there. She didn't want to raise a
(08:50):
kid there because Florida South photos a little while, and
so we moved to Atlanta and we liked the people here.
They're really nice. It's a little or and so we
decided to make a line of home. So you I mean,
since football's over, you've done so much. I mean, you know,
you've you've traveled the world, You've done and started a
(09:11):
nonprofit and uh, you know, done so much. And it
seemed like you had no inkling any health issues that
what was going to happen a year ago on New
Year's Eve. It just seemed like that that you didn't
there was no idea that that was coming. I actually
didn't feel anything. I didn't feel sick. I didn't feel
(09:32):
like any things bothering me. But I had a lot
of fluid information in my body, you know, flight of
that's from football. And I was overweight and I've gained
probably like twenty five pounds as I retired. In the
combination of that, and I used to take motion every
day before practice, and motion really beat up kidneys. A
(09:55):
lot of people don't know that, so be careful when
you take motion or any ibprofit. And it's the combination
of that, and had been having high blood pressure. I'm
treated for like a year. It wore at my kidneys.
And January twenty twenty twenty two, because I had a year,
I had a New Year's party. But that morning, round
(10:16):
four o'clock, I woke up to show the breath. I
went the CVS to try to get something. Nothing works,
so I just went to the fire station around the corner.
They checked me in to my hospital Line of Georgia
and the doctor told me my kid needs for functioning
at twenty five percent. I need to go on the alysis,
say sign. And I've been on the aalysis ever since.
So just a both out of blue. Yes, no sign. No,
(10:40):
my blood pressure is a little high. But I had
just finished when I got the news. They called me
after they ran my like they called me after they
ran my results and told me to go to the hospital. Now,
I was just finished doing a workout at the gym,
so I was I was feeling great. I just didn't
like it's one of those diseases like you don't really
you don't feel it. You don't. It's no unless you
(11:02):
really go to the doctor and you know what's you know,
you take your in tests for daily. It's hard to
really know until it's too bad, Like it's one of
these diseases to sneaks up on you and you don't
really know. You having into it's too late, you have
to code of dialysis. So so you went from you know,
basically having a normal lifestyle to dialysis. How many days
(11:24):
a week I do it? Now? Well, I go to
the center. Now I used to do it on my
own at the house. Well, I can do it every
day for two hours, but now I go to the
center's three days a week for four hours at four
and a half hours a day. And I like the
center better because the nurse is there and she can
make sure my levels are correct. Because in getting the
(11:45):
kidney donated there is a lot of stipulations. You have
a report card, so you have any issues with the doctors.
They document everything. So if I got mad at the doctors,
they write that down, if I said something into the
nurse and they look over it, and the kidney looked
over look over your records, and that's how they pick
who gets the next kidding me according to their report card.
(12:05):
So you got to ridge, really, So I decided to
go to the center because the nurses can keep me
in line and keep my levels normal and I won't
have any problems, and so I could be It can
speed up the process of getting an organ donation. So
four and a half hours a day or three times
a week you're there. Yeah, that's an awful lot of
(12:25):
time to sit and think, isn't it. Yeah? Yeah, but
I tend I took it my wife told me, I
should take that time and figure out something I can
do to be a productive So I wrote. I wrote
my first book about our travels. It's called who the
Hell Are We? Just traveling trying to figure out who
I am, do what I'm trying to do Africa in
(12:47):
South Feast Asia. And then I wrote a kid's book
about my daughter's travels, and that because I took a
manion picture of the first an ABC book about my
daughter's travels. So I take the time and try to
do things productive for those four hours, keep me focused
on what I want to do in life instead of
looking around me and seeing everybody who's suffering and feeding
(13:08):
into that energy because it can really drain you. M
So I try to keep a positive outlook even though
I'm going through trying, trying times. Well, congratulations on doing
all that writing. I can speak from experience. Writing a
book is not easy. No, it's not at all. I
thought it was gonna be. It was. It was just work. Yeah,
(13:30):
it's a lot of work. That's great, uh, and certainly
some great experiences you have to draw on. But so, uh,
you're now basically uh in a holding pattern? Is that right?
I mean you you're you're hopeful of getting a kidney
donation and and you're on the list, and that's where
(13:54):
you are. It's just a wait and see game. Is
that correct? Well, it's two it's two options. So if
you can get lucky to find a living donor, like
somebody who wants to donate a kidney, the process I
shorter because I'm an old. I'm an old, I'm an
old blood type. It's a lot. Everybody can't receive my kidney,
but I can't receive everybody's kidney, So my way time
(14:17):
is five to eight years. The other other blood types
is anywhere from like um, four to five years. I've
been getting a lot of support from the Ravens and
different people in Baltimore, and I had two Baltimore Ravens
fans who decided they wanted to donate, and so right
now they're going to the process and I'm having I'm
(14:37):
crossing my fingers that everything goes smooth and hopefully I
can get a kid anybody. End of the year. Oh man,
So Ravens fans heard about your situation. Yes, it was
a Good Morning the Americans Show. And then I did
an ESPN piece and I had one call from Good
Morning America show and then one just call from the
(14:58):
ESPN right up. So it's seemed like the you know,
the more I talk about and get the word out,
more people are like really like really trying to help.
And I really appreciate, um, you know, the support of
the city. That's some sterious stuff. Man. Yeah, you know
you got fans of the Ravens trying to donate a kidney.
(15:18):
That that is. That's pretty intense. That's amazing. Man. Like
I have a lot of great members in Bontonmre. Like
I have my son there, I got married there, my
first team there, so a lot of my have a
lot of my most memorable moments, won the Super Bowl there,
a lot of my most memorable moments. And hopefully I
get a kidney there, it would be great. Yeah's add
(15:38):
on to a great thing that the city has contribute
to my life. So when you're on uh, you know,
when you're on dialysis, are you able? What kind of
life are you able to have? Can you work out?
Can you is it your diet matter? You know? What
are you able to do? What? You know? How normal
(16:00):
is your life? And this is what mindset comes in
because when I originally did it. They told me I
couldn't work out and do anything. So I didn't do anything.
I was losing muscle and I was just getting you know,
getting my blood clean and coming home from work. Then
I met coming home from the analysis. It feels like
work sometimes. And then an NFL ref freached out to me,
(16:23):
Russell Russell what was his last name for god? This
is the NFL ref freached out to me via a
friend of my family. And he had the analysis and
was refereeing and working out throughout this whole process. And
he told me, working out it is great for dialysis
patients because you swept more because you don't use the
(16:44):
read you don't you don't, you don't go, you don't
year anything now because they take the water out of
your blood, because that funs amason. So he told me
working out and eating a plant based diet helped him
throughout this process and he was able to steal keep
his in a referee and job and working and stay
productive physically. And so I started working out and I
(17:07):
started eating play bass, and I noticed that I don't
I feel healthier now after dialysis that I did before
when I was doing nothing and eating like I used to.
So you're able to work out in I mean you're
you know, I mean I can't. You know, I can't
do five hundred pounds like I did when I was
the Ravens. But I could still put a couple of
(17:28):
bars and do a few through reps and you know,
just tone up. And the main thing is cardio because
a lot of times when they clean your blood, it
puts pressure on the heart. So I wanted to keep
my heart muscle strong, so I do a lot. I
try to do least cardio three to four times a week,
you know, just to keep my heart strong and keep
(17:48):
my blood pressure with you know, my blood pressure, which
one of the reasons caused me. They created my kidney failure.
I try to keep done inline. They just took me
on the blood pressure mass because I've lost over one
hundred and I made one hundred and thirty five pounds
lost sign started dialysis. He lost one hundred and thirty
five pounds. Yeah, people would recognize me that something. Now
(18:10):
I'm like two hundred and fifty. I'm like two hundred
and forty three pounds, man, I got up to three
fifty when I retired. I played on three thirty through
fifteen three, three fifteen and three thirty, and I got
to three fifty when I retired and I've lost no.
Two forty three. Have have you heard from any of
your teammates? Yeah, so I got a really cool call
(18:33):
yesterday from Marma Lewis. Marmain Lewis called the check on man.
He saw the ESPN interview. He called me and you know,
we talked about old times, backed a few jokes, told
about some memories from memories from when we when I played,
and some of his memories of me. And it's pretty cool.
Man felt good to talk to him and he last
(18:53):
he gave me his number and told me to call
him if I need to talk about anything. I talked
to Keith Washington keep Watchington checks up on me via
Facebook probably once a month checks on me. Jermaine Lewis
has called me if you would text me a few times.
Other teammates with different teams like we commit you and
(19:15):
have a few people to reach out. I have about
ten to fifteen teammates reach out to me after seeing
that to see an interview on good Money in America. Yeah,
I reached out to him me and they didn't know
because I didn't really tell anybody. You know, as tough
football players, we're not trying to keep every biggest secret.
But I find I found it liberating just to tell
(19:36):
people and get the word out, and it helps me,
you know, feel it helps talking about it, dealing with
it all by yourself. How are you feeling? Are you?
Are you optimistic? Um? The nurses asked me, like, what
am I doing? Because everybody else in there is tired,
(19:58):
but I'm the only one in there doing something. I said,
I don't know if it's from my trainings from football,
you know, mental toughness, but um, sue, I'm a fighter man,
so I'm I'm gonna do everything that the doctors tell me.
I'm everything I'm gonna. I'm a research and I'm on
(20:18):
a Facebook group of kidney vegan kidney wellness and they
talk about recipes and different things you should do to
let them back the side effects. And I've been doing
everything that everybody's been telling me, and I feel pretty good.
Some days, I feel the hydrated. If they take too
much flood off of me, so it's like the hydration,
I get headaches and you feel sluggish. But you know,
(20:40):
after you drink a couple of you know, a couple
of ounces of water. You know, you box back in
an hour or so. But for the most part, I
feel pretty good. I'm not you know, I'm optimistic. I've
getten you know, a lot of love and support from
the community, which helps a lot. My mother has been
coming around more, which you know. I love Mimi because
she's always cooking, so that it's nice. You could it's nice. Um,
(21:03):
I mean I've said it's nice. But I'm doing okay, man,
I'm doing okay. I'm not going I'm thinking, I'm okay.
I'm optimistic. I'm rambling right now. Sorry, but no, you're
not rambling at all. That's good to hear. And I mean,
you got you got a tough fight on your hands.
So I think you need every right, whatever fight anybody
has right you. You take all the things you have
(21:24):
going for you. You need them all, right, support, family,
whatever it may be, whatever it is to get you through, right, Yeah, exactly.
And the support has really been lifting my spirits and
I feel great. I have good days, man, I've been
having really more good days than bad days. We all
(21:46):
have both, but I've been having more good days and
bad days. And you know, so I don't know. Yeah, yeah,
well listen, I appreciate it, thank you, and I want
to wish you the best of luck with this. Thank you.
It's really a tough fight you're in, and I know
it's tough times. And so I am glad to hear
(22:08):
that the you know, the word has gotten out and
that the Ravens and the Ravens fans are responding. I mean,
that's a pretty cool thing. Yeah, that is really cool.
It's really cool. Yeah. So, um, I'm excited. I'm optimistic. Um.
The one lady who donated from the Ravens, she was
donated to her mother. Her mother was older and her
(22:30):
mother she lost her mother, and she wanted to donate
her kidney in the name of her mother. To me,
I was like, man, she had me and my wifes
and tears her story and so I'm really thinking, let's
receive a blessing from her, because it just seemed like
it was meant for her to give me. It was
meant for her to donate because she wants to do
(22:51):
it and she's really passionate about it. And uh, man,
that was amazing to hear that. I broke down a
glass a few times I broke down, and so I'm
const my fingers optimistic and hopefully I can get back
to life as normal as normal's life is right now
(23:11):
as I can once I get this kidney transplanted. Well,
all the best to you, Lionel, and and there's a
lot of people out there rooting for you. Thank you.
I really appreciate this. Okay, that's it for this special
episode of What Happened to that Guy. I'd like to
thank Lionel for giving us all the time we needed
(23:32):
and for sharing his story and for shining a light
on the subject of organ donation. It is not a
topic the Ravens take lightly. A lot of people don't
know this, but fifteen years ago, Dick Cast, the team president,
donated a kidney to an ailing friend from law school.
(23:52):
Maybe in the end, some connection to Baltimore and the
Ravens will help Lionel get the new kidney he needs.
Certainly hope so. And I'm wishing them the best. Thanks
for listening. This is John Eisenbergen
Greetings and welcome to a special edition of What Happened
to That Guy? A podcast about former Baltimore Ravens and
life after football. I'm your host John Eisenberg. Lionel Dalton
was a key contributor and one of the many larger
than life characters on the Ravens first Super Bowl team.
He was a big bellied defensive lineman who plugged holes,
(00:28):
smothered running backs, and lit up the locker room with
his bright smile and a roaring laugh. His teammates called
him Jelly Roll. A native of Detroit who entered the
NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Michigan,
he played four seasons with the Ravens and also spent
time with the Broncos, Redskins, Chiefs, and Texans before calling
(00:49):
it quits after nine years in the NFL a solid career. Now,
he's forty six and living in Atlanta, and he's written
several books since he retired, including one called Who the
Hell We Are. He also has traveled the world, started
a nonprofit, done all sorts of things, but in the
past year his life has taken a turn. He never
(01:11):
expected What Happened to this Guy? I'm gonna let him explain.
So let's go back before we get to that. Let's
go back a little bit, if you don't mind, back
in time and you know you you, I mean, you
had some great times here with the Ravens, and you
know being part of that super Bowl winning team, you
(01:35):
know how much impact you know, looking back on it
now all these years later, you know how much impact
did that experience have on you? The fact that you
know you were on a team. It wasn't just good
just went all the way and won the super Bowl
with with so many great characters and friends of years.
I'm sure I noticed that no matter the obstacles you
faced the life, you can if you stink together, you
(01:56):
can find no way to win. I've never won anything
outside of you know, individual accomplishment like track in All State,
but on the win as a team, the unity we had,
being the camaraderie we built, we built that was priceless,
and I think that's what I missed most as I retired,
(02:17):
going into my goldie year, and I don't need to
go to years yet, but as I get older, I
missed the camaraderie. And we had a lot of camaraderie
on that team, a lot of different characters from Googles
to Read to Rob and that mac mcquarie to Stover
to we had a lot of trend Deffer. We had
a lot of characters on that team. And somehow we
(02:38):
put it all together. A defensive line room with something,
wasn't it. Yeah, we had a great We had a
great first team as well as second team. On our
second team is left and winning started another other team
that we love. So we were loaded in defensive line
of defense. So you left the Ravens. You played five
more years of football right in the NFL. Yes, So
(03:00):
nine year career, a great run in the NFL. Yes.
And I asked all the guys you know, were you
ready for football to end? Did you think about football ending?
And had you planned for it at all? To be
honest with you, I played football opportunity, and to play
on Sunday. I hated practice. So I enjoyed the opportunity
(03:25):
to be able to provide a good life for my
kids that I didn't have, and I really enjoy I
enjoy Saturdays and Sundays more than I enjoyed during the week,
just going out, hanging out with the guys, going to
eat Saturday night and having fund in the games. So
for me, I retired on my own terms. So that
(03:46):
also moren Sapp had just got cut from Oakland. They
tried to bring me to Oakland, and I was just
my wife's birthday. I missed our birthday of the year,
and I just you know what I'm I don't like
playing anymore and I just retired. So I tired on
my own, a constantly on my own at my own will.
So yeah, I was. I was ready outside of the checks.
(04:07):
I don't miss practice, you know, beating up my body.
I missed Sunday. Sometimes I still get goosebumps when I
watched the games, But yeah, I was ready. Everybody that
I talked to has said the transition out of football
is tough, and I'm wondering what your experience was tough
(04:29):
as in, I guess it's different. People go through different things,
not from the standpoint of missing the camaraderie with other
teammates and keeping myself busy. So I guess it's different
from each playing. And I think a lot of us
don't know who we are outside of being the player.
(04:50):
But I knew who I was outside of being the player.
I knew what I wanted, you know, I know I
wanted to help other people? Who were you sure that
you know that you weren't entirely sure what you wanted
to do when you were once you were done with football,
I know I wanted to help others. So I always
wanted to do philanthropy work. I've always done that and
I like it. It just makes me feel good, and
(05:12):
so I know I wanted to do that, but I didn't. Honestly,
I missed the camaraderie and the checks. We won't be
honest with you, but playing the game though, I didn't
miss it because I was ready. So once you were
done with football, what did were you? You're living now
in Atlanta, is that right? Yeah, I just moved to
a line I've been in three years. But I was
(05:34):
in South Florida for the previous nineteen years. Nineteen years,
so you were mostly in South Florida then since you
finished with Yes, so it was also all the childhood
and Detroit. You were ready to have a little better weather.
Is at the part of the deal. There Sound Florida
in December and I usually go home to Detroit and
I'm I'm on the beasts, like I have on sandals
(05:56):
in December. Why what else? Why would anybody want to
live anywhere else? And so I was I went there
for a bye week. I went to for the bye week,
and then I came back into the season over bought
a house in two thousand and two, and I was
there up until two seventeen. So what were you doing there?
What did you get into? I mean your philanthropy work.
(06:16):
So originally I volunteered with the boys and girls clubs.
I wanted to learn the process of working with children.
Then I started my non profit in two thousand and
eight and I started East, East and West Broker Football
League that still consists today in South Florida. It was
a league form were no weight class because what I
noticed in South Florida football is so competitive that a
(06:39):
lot of kids don't get to play. And so what
I did is I created a lead for all those
kids who didn't get to play. So we had eight teams,
We had twenty four players, and everybody started. Everybody played,
And so I saw a need and I addressed it,
and so I helped a lot of kids that were overweight.
We didn't have a weight class, so it helped a
lot of kids lose weight, and if a lot of
(07:00):
kids an opportunity to play football who usually wouldn't because
of high competitive little league is in South Florida with
football a lot of players down there. Yeah, it's a
lot of players and a lot of players kids and
they usually they usually get all the playing time and
then all a little like like I'm in Bocas. So
a lot of the little like kids would couldn't play
because they were smaller and they didn't really get you know,
(07:23):
they didn't really get an opportunities. So I created a
league for them. That's great. So I mean it's obviously
you've got a heart out for other people. You know,
you've got other people in mind. Let me, So you
moved to Atlanta and uh, it's it seemed like I mean,
I thought one thing that was really interesting and then
(07:44):
was that you did a ton of traveling when you
were down with football. Yeah, that's another thing I love
to do. I wanted to see the world. After going
to the Hula Bowl if my first experience out of
the content of the United States, I knew I wanted
to travel. And my wife was who had a look
at the real estate career. She was tied of working,
and we both said, let's just try. We sold our
(08:07):
house to just travel and maybe we would thought about
living in another country abroad. So we traveled for about
nine months. I went through I started in South Africa,
went to Tanzania, by Swanna, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt, and
then we went over to the UAE, went to Dubai
Abu Dhabi, and then we went over to Southeast Asia.
(08:30):
So we went to Malaysia. We loved Bali. We almost
moved to Bali, almost bought my moms bought aloft in Bali,
and but we ended up getting pregnant in Bali and
my wife said she's not having her baby yet outside
of the United States. So we moved back to We
went back to Florida. We didn't like it, but she
didn't like it there. She didn't want to raise a
(08:50):
kid there because Florida South photos a little while, and
so we moved to Atlanta and we liked the people here.
They're really nice. It's a little or and so we
decided to make a line of home. So you I mean,
since football's over, you've done so much. I mean, you know,
you've you've traveled the world, You've done and started a
(09:11):
nonprofit and uh, you know, done so much. And it
seemed like you had no inkling any health issues that
what was going to happen a year ago on New
Year's Eve. It just seemed like that that you didn't
there was no idea that that was coming. I actually
didn't feel anything. I didn't feel sick. I didn't feel
(09:32):
like any things bothering me. But I had a lot
of fluid information in my body, you know, flight of
that's from football. And I was overweight and I've gained
probably like twenty five pounds as I retired. In the
combination of that, and I used to take motion every
day before practice, and motion really beat up kidneys. A
(09:55):
lot of people don't know that, so be careful when
you take motion or any ibprofit. And it's the combination
of that, and had been having high blood pressure. I'm
treated for like a year. It wore at my kidneys.
And January twenty twenty twenty two, because I had a year,
I had a New Year's party. But that morning, round
(10:16):
four o'clock, I woke up to show the breath. I
went the CVS to try to get something. Nothing works,
so I just went to the fire station around the corner.
They checked me in to my hospital Line of Georgia
and the doctor told me my kid needs for functioning
at twenty five percent. I need to go on the alysis,
say sign. And I've been on the aalysis ever since.
So just a both out of blue. Yes, no sign. No,
(10:40):
my blood pressure is a little high. But I had
just finished when I got the news. They called me
after they ran my like they called me after they
ran my results and told me to go to the hospital. Now,
I was just finished doing a workout at the gym,
so I was I was feeling great. I just didn't
like it's one of those diseases like you don't really
you don't feel it. You don't. It's no unless you
(11:02):
really go to the doctor and you know what's you know,
you take your in tests for daily. It's hard to
really know until it's too bad, Like it's one of
these diseases to sneaks up on you and you don't
really know. You having into it's too late, you have
to code of dialysis. So so you went from you know,
basically having a normal lifestyle to dialysis. How many days
(11:24):
a week I do it? Now? Well, I go to
the center. Now I used to do it on my
own at the house. Well, I can do it every
day for two hours, but now I go to the
center's three days a week for four hours at four
and a half hours a day. And I like the
center better because the nurse is there and she can
make sure my levels are correct. Because in getting the
(11:45):
kidney donated there is a lot of stipulations. You have
a report card, so you have any issues with the doctors.
They document everything. So if I got mad at the doctors,
they write that down, if I said something into the
nurse and they look over it, and the kidney looked
over look over your records, and that's how they pick
who gets the next kidding me according to their report card.
(12:05):
So you got to ridge, really, So I decided to
go to the center because the nurses can keep me
in line and keep my levels normal and I won't
have any problems, and so I could be It can
speed up the process of getting an organ donation. So
four and a half hours a day or three times
a week you're there. Yeah, that's an awful lot of
(12:25):
time to sit and think, isn't it. Yeah? Yeah, but
I tend I took it my wife told me, I
should take that time and figure out something I can
do to be a productive So I wrote. I wrote
my first book about our travels. It's called who the
Hell Are We? Just traveling trying to figure out who
I am, do what I'm trying to do Africa in
(12:47):
South Feast Asia. And then I wrote a kid's book
about my daughter's travels, and that because I took a
manion picture of the first an ABC book about my
daughter's travels. So I take the time and try to
do things productive for those four hours, keep me focused
on what I want to do in life instead of
looking around me and seeing everybody who's suffering and feeding
(13:08):
into that energy because it can really drain you. M
So I try to keep a positive outlook even though
I'm going through trying, trying times. Well, congratulations on doing
all that writing. I can speak from experience. Writing a
book is not easy. No, it's not at all. I
thought it was gonna be. It was. It was just work. Yeah,
(13:30):
it's a lot of work. That's great, uh, and certainly
some great experiences you have to draw on. But so, uh,
you're now basically uh in a holding pattern? Is that right?
I mean you you're you're hopeful of getting a kidney
donation and and you're on the list, and that's where
(13:54):
you are. It's just a wait and see game. Is
that correct? Well, it's two it's two options. So if
you can get lucky to find a living donor, like
somebody who wants to donate a kidney, the process I
shorter because I'm an old. I'm an old, I'm an
old blood type. It's a lot. Everybody can't receive my kidney,
but I can't receive everybody's kidney, So my way time
(14:17):
is five to eight years. The other other blood types
is anywhere from like um, four to five years. I've
been getting a lot of support from the Ravens and
different people in Baltimore, and I had two Baltimore Ravens
fans who decided they wanted to donate, and so right
now they're going to the process and I'm having I'm
(14:37):
crossing my fingers that everything goes smooth and hopefully I
can get a kid anybody. End of the year. Oh man,
So Ravens fans heard about your situation. Yes, it was
a Good Morning the Americans Show. And then I did
an ESPN piece and I had one call from Good
Morning America show and then one just call from the
(14:58):
ESPN right up. So it's seemed like the you know,
the more I talk about and get the word out,
more people are like really like really trying to help.
And I really appreciate, um, you know, the support of
the city. That's some sterious stuff. Man. Yeah, you know
you got fans of the Ravens trying to donate a kidney.
(15:18):
That that is. That's pretty intense. That's amazing. Man. Like
I have a lot of great members in Bontonmre. Like
I have my son there, I got married there, my
first team there, so a lot of my have a
lot of my most memorable moments, won the Super Bowl there,
a lot of my most memorable moments. And hopefully I
get a kidney there, it would be great. Yeah's add
(15:38):
on to a great thing that the city has contribute
to my life. So when you're on uh, you know,
when you're on dialysis, are you able? What kind of
life are you able to have? Can you work out?
Can you is it your diet matter? You know? What
are you able to do? What? You know? How normal
(16:00):
is your life? And this is what mindset comes in
because when I originally did it. They told me I
couldn't work out and do anything. So I didn't do anything.
I was losing muscle and I was just getting you know,
getting my blood clean and coming home from work. Then
I met coming home from the analysis. It feels like
work sometimes. And then an NFL ref freached out to me,
(16:23):
Russell Russell what was his last name for god? This
is the NFL ref freached out to me via a
friend of my family. And he had the analysis and
was refereeing and working out throughout this whole process. And
he told me, working out it is great for dialysis
patients because you swept more because you don't use the
(16:44):
read you don't you don't, you don't go, you don't
year anything now because they take the water out of
your blood, because that funs amason. So he told me
working out and eating a plant based diet helped him
throughout this process and he was able to steal keep
his in a referee and job and working and stay
productive physically. And so I started working out and I
(17:07):
started eating play bass, and I noticed that I don't
I feel healthier now after dialysis that I did before
when I was doing nothing and eating like I used to.
So you're able to work out in I mean you're
you know, I mean I can't. You know, I can't
do five hundred pounds like I did when I was
the Ravens. But I could still put a couple of
(17:28):
bars and do a few through reps and you know,
just tone up. And the main thing is cardio because
a lot of times when they clean your blood, it
puts pressure on the heart. So I wanted to keep
my heart muscle strong, so I do a lot. I
try to do least cardio three to four times a week,
you know, just to keep my heart strong and keep
(17:48):
my blood pressure with you know, my blood pressure, which
one of the reasons caused me. They created my kidney failure.
I try to keep done inline. They just took me
on the blood pressure mass because I've lost over one
hundred and I made one hundred and thirty five pounds
lost sign started dialysis. He lost one hundred and thirty
five pounds. Yeah, people would recognize me that something. Now
(18:10):
I'm like two hundred and fifty. I'm like two hundred
and forty three pounds, man, I got up to three
fifty when I retired. I played on three thirty through
fifteen three, three fifteen and three thirty, and I got
to three fifty when I retired and I've lost no.
Two forty three. Have have you heard from any of
your teammates? Yeah, so I got a really cool call
(18:33):
yesterday from Marma Lewis. Marmain Lewis called the check on man.
He saw the ESPN interview. He called me and you know,
we talked about old times, backed a few jokes, told
about some memories from memories from when we when I played,
and some of his memories of me. And it's pretty cool.
Man felt good to talk to him and he last
(18:53):
he gave me his number and told me to call
him if I need to talk about anything. I talked
to Keith Washington keep Watchington checks up on me via
Facebook probably once a month checks on me. Jermaine Lewis
has called me if you would text me a few times.
Other teammates with different teams like we commit you and
(19:15):
have a few people to reach out. I have about
ten to fifteen teammates reach out to me after seeing
that to see an interview on good Money in America. Yeah,
I reached out to him me and they didn't know
because I didn't really tell anybody. You know, as tough
football players, we're not trying to keep every biggest secret.
But I find I found it liberating just to tell
(19:36):
people and get the word out, and it helps me,
you know, feel it helps talking about it, dealing with
it all by yourself. How are you feeling? Are you?
Are you optimistic? Um? The nurses asked me, like, what
am I doing? Because everybody else in there is tired,
(19:58):
but I'm the only one in there doing something. I said,
I don't know if it's from my trainings from football,
you know, mental toughness, but um, sue, I'm a fighter man,
so I'm I'm gonna do everything that the doctors tell me.
I'm everything I'm gonna. I'm a research and I'm on
(20:18):
a Facebook group of kidney vegan kidney wellness and they
talk about recipes and different things you should do to
let them back the side effects. And I've been doing
everything that everybody's been telling me, and I feel pretty good.
Some days, I feel the hydrated. If they take too
much flood off of me, so it's like the hydration,
I get headaches and you feel sluggish. But you know,
(20:40):
after you drink a couple of you know, a couple
of ounces of water. You know, you box back in
an hour or so. But for the most part, I
feel pretty good. I'm not you know, I'm optimistic. I've
getten you know, a lot of love and support from
the community, which helps a lot. My mother has been
coming around more, which you know. I love Mimi because
she's always cooking, so that it's nice. You could it's nice. Um,
(21:03):
I mean I've said it's nice. But I'm doing okay, man,
I'm doing okay. I'm not going I'm thinking, I'm okay.
I'm optimistic. I'm rambling right now. Sorry, but no, you're
not rambling at all. That's good to hear. And I mean,
you got you got a tough fight on your hands.
So I think you need every right, whatever fight anybody
has right you. You take all the things you have
(21:24):
going for you. You need them all, right, support, family,
whatever it may be, whatever it is to get you through, right, Yeah, exactly.
And the support has really been lifting my spirits and
I feel great. I have good days, man, I've been
having really more good days than bad days. We all
(21:46):
have both, but I've been having more good days and
bad days. And you know, so I don't know. Yeah, yeah,
well listen, I appreciate it, thank you, and I want
to wish you the best of luck with this. Thank you.
It's really a tough fight you're in, and I know
it's tough times. And so I am glad to hear
(22:08):
that the you know, the word has gotten out and
that the Ravens and the Ravens fans are responding. I mean,
that's a pretty cool thing. Yeah, that is really cool.
It's really cool. Yeah. So, um, I'm excited. I'm optimistic. Um.
The one lady who donated from the Ravens, she was
donated to her mother. Her mother was older and her
(22:30):
mother she lost her mother, and she wanted to donate
her kidney in the name of her mother. To me,
I was like, man, she had me and my wifes
and tears her story and so I'm really thinking, let's
receive a blessing from her, because it just seemed like
it was meant for her to give me. It was
meant for her to donate because she wants to do
(22:51):
it and she's really passionate about it. And uh, man,
that was amazing to hear that. I broke down a
glass a few times I broke down, and so I'm
const my fingers optimistic and hopefully I can get back
to life as normal as normal's life is right now
(23:11):
as I can once I get this kidney transplanted. Well,
all the best to you, Lionel, and and there's a
lot of people out there rooting for you. Thank you.
I really appreciate this. Okay, that's it for this special
episode of What Happened to that Guy. I'd like to
thank Lionel for giving us all the time we needed
(23:32):
and for sharing his story and for shining a light
on the subject of organ donation. It is not a
topic the Ravens take lightly. A lot of people don't
know this, but fifteen years ago, Dick Cast, the team president,
donated a kidney to an ailing friend from law school.
(23:52):
Maybe in the end, some connection to Baltimore and the
Ravens will help Lionel get the new kidney he needs.
Certainly hope so. And I'm wishing them the best. Thanks
for listening. This is John Eisenbergen
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