The Long Road to Salvation

 Recently, I had the blessed opportunity to see my friend, former top IFBB competitor and fellow kidney transplant brother-in-arms, Don Long. I had not seen Don in quite some time and had a million things to chat about, so I thought, why not do an interview? Yeah, that'd be great! Well, the result of our interview revealed the depths of pain and self-torture Don suffered at the height of his kidney disease. 

In a rare, candid moment, Don gave me the lowdown on how he turned it all around to come back to the light. As a transplant survivor myself, I can intimately relate to the struggles Don overcame. Obviously, this is an extremely personal and intimate issue for me. For you, this will be a chance to see how two of bodybuilding's most promising stars dealt with the abrupt end to their careers and what could have been our lives.

Read on as Don and I unveil how bodybuilding, ironically, was our ultimate salvation.

            Flex Wheeler: Don Long in da house, baby. Get intimate with the fans Don. Drop some background for the peeps. How'd you enter the iron stadium?

            Don Long: After high school, I moved to Washington, D.C.  I worked odd jobs and started my dancing career. 

            FW:     Dancing!? As in twinkle-toe ballet? (Laughs) That's how you became an iron warrior?

            DL:     Naw, man. More like stripping! (Laughs)

            FW:     You mean exotic dancing?

            DL:     Exactly. I was a 19-year old stallion.

            FW:     All of us were 19 when we did that! (Laughing)

            DL:     Yeah, eventually it led to bodybuilding. I ran into real bodybuilders at the gym. I peeped a contest and that's all she wrote.

            FW:     When did you start stepping up that ladder?

            DL:     I did four shows my first year. I qualified for the '92 Junior Nationals. I learned how to get diced. I weighed a whopping 194 pounds. I came back for the '93 Nationals 30 pounds heavier. In fact, that's where I first met you. You told me I did really well up there.

            FW:     I remember that! You were still dancing, right?

            DL:     Yeah, I needed the chedda. I was up to 245 by then. Can you imagine a 245-pound dancer?  

            FW:     I never even got up that far.

            DL:     You didn't have to. At 220, you looked like 250. I ended up getting my pro card at the Nationals that year. It was on!

            FW:     Where'd you make your pro debut?

            DL:     The Night of Champions.

            FW:     The NOC in the Big Apple!

            DL:     Yeah, I thought, "Night of Champions, that's a newcomer show for the rookies." Until you changed that in '96.

            FW:     Yeah, that's when me and Ronnie blasted the stage.

            DL:     Y'all were the veterans. If y'all hadn't been there, I would have won. I placed third.

            FW:     Third at your first pro show ain't nothing to tuck your tail about.  I know cats that never make it that high in their careers!

            DL:     I heard that. I was happy. I thought I could beat Ronnie. Then, he unveiled his new physique at the Florida show against you.

            FW:     He beat me the week before that in Canada.

            DL:     That's what I had heard and I wondered, "How the hell did Ronnie beat Flex?" I was keeping tabs, thinking I was top three all the way. I told the writers I would be in the first callout. Sure enough, I was.

            FW:     That's when we did that legendary photo shoot with Chris Lund.  

            DL:     Speak the truth. We complemented each other. 

            FW:     And next on the agenda?

            DL:     The '97 Arnold Classic was on deck. I stepped up to the next level.  I knew you were gonna win again. I honestly thought I'd give you a battle to the death. Unfortunately, I did not prevail as predicted.

            FW:     Was that when you started feeling like something was out of whack?

            DL:     Not physically. I couldn't pinpoint it at the time. In hindsight, it was obvious. The night before, I was 265 pounds. Then by show time, I was down to 235.  That's 30 pounds gone overnight. Things started falling apart.

            FW:     Did you get checked out?

            DL:     No, no. The seriousness of the situation didn't click. I thought it might have been the diuretics. Of course, I bombed again at the Arnold the following year; I got eighth. I was losing to guys I should have beaten.

            FW:     Did that burn you up? The first time you came out, outside of Ronnie and myself, nobody was able to touch you.

            DL:     I still felt confident. I knew I had the mass. But '99 turned into a repeat of '98. I wasn't getting any closer. I thought stress might be a factor. I was sick to my stomach, coughing up blood. The doctor checked my labs and didn't like what he saw. They ran their tests and before you know it, I'm on dialysis. I was big and hard, yet I'm hooked up to a machine. I was blown away.

            FW:     Did it seem really simple?

            DL:     Not at all! They were talking about sticking a catheter in my chest!  When they said I had to do this for the rest of my life- forget that shit! There I was in the hospital, blood pressure off the charts, swollen from the edema. I was about 330 pounds. I thought it was lights out. But I didn't want to go on dialysis.

            FW:     I've been there, bro. Did you think it could have been the gear? 

            DL:     I really thought it was just a simple flu.

            FW:     Yeah, you were in the first stage of denial.

            DL:     Big time! Then my body dropped the real on me. I got sicker than sick. My sister, who's the backbone of the family, called me long distance and begged me to go on dialysis. After two days, I had surgery for the catheter. All the while, I thought, "This is temporary." My kidneys will check in and I'll be back for the Arnold.

            FW:     I feel you dawg. You can't let go.

            DL:     Yeah, so two weeks later, it's Olympia time. In the hotel room, my nose started gushing blood. I could barely walk 20 steps without wheezing for air. The walk to the elevator was like 10 miles. Screw that. I called the paramedics. The next day, I went home and headed straight for the hospital.

            FW:     You surrendered?

            DL:     Yeah, a little bit. Yet, I refused to fully accept my circumstances.

            FW:     Did they tell you what was going down?

            DL:     They knew the kidneys were dying. I was born with kidney atrophy. 

            FW:     That was the first time you found out about any kidney problem?

            DL:     Yeah. All my life, I never knew I had an atrophied kidney.  After so many years, it was played out.

            FW:     Were you able to accept it now?

            DL:     I still refused to believe it.

            FW:     You're a bulldog; hardcore stubborn!

            DL:     My sister moved me back to Florida to take care of me. I went on dialysis. Talk about a black pit. Here was the one thing that I became great at, only to have it ripped away.  I was one of the best. I had the diligence. I felt like I could have been where Ronnie is now. 

            FW:     Did they ever feel that utilization of sports technology triggered the damage? Or did they say this was gonna happen no matter what? 

            DL:     My doctors were the first ones to say that. The gear didn't help the situation. But there was no question that it wasn't the main cause.

            FW:     When did you discontinue?

            DL:     I didn't. I was still on my off-season gear.

            FW:     You're playing, right? Are you nuts?

            DL:     You know it. Like I said, I thought I could beat it. Even on dialysis, my plan was to let the water out at the last minute. I couldn't let it go. People don't understand what this means for the athlete. It's the will of the competitor.  If you don't have it, you can't relate. I was going in every other week with major migraines. I needed serious meds for the pain.

            FW:     Were you honest with your doctor? Did they know you were still on it?

            DL:     No, not at that time.

            FW:     I feel you again, dawg. Didn't you feel stopping the sports technology would relieve your body from the stress?

            DL:     The only thing it did was lower the blood pressure.

            FW:     So what happened next?

            DL:     A week later, I suffered from congestive heart failure. The toxins had built up. I was slow and lethargic. It really screws up your mental processes. I couldn't even breathe when I lay down. I knew that was it. Slowly, I came around. Outside of my family, nobody knew. I'd kept it on the down-low for six months. Then I called Peter McGough at Flex magazine to go public. It was therapeutic. 

            FW:     You knew what was coming. Were you worried about the repercussions? 

            DL:     People were gonna say that, no matter what. We can catch a cold and it's cause of steroids. This can happen to anybody at any time. Steroids had nothing to do with it.

            FW:     You were stuck in the hospital fighting a physical and emotional battle. What was it like?

DL:     I was in hell. I started all over from the beginning. I lived a month-to-month existence. I learned how to work that dialysis machine by myself. I was very conscientious about it. My bodybuilding mentality took charge. I put that same Mental Focus on my dialysis. I became the most knowledgeable person in my unit. I needed it. That first year was the worst. I was constantly sick. The blood pressure was out of whack.

            FW:     How high was it?

            DL:     The highest ever was 260/160. My vision started deteriorating. My body was getting torn down. After a year, the doctor figured out a better combination. Not perfect, but better. 

            FW:     Let's get to the transplant. When did they come to the decision that none of this is gonna work?

            DL:     They sent me to Memphis for a big nationwide kidney dialysis conference. If your family didn't match, they could donate to someone else and you could take that person's place on top of the list. Only a few states do this; California is not one of them. My sister wanted to donate. She got a month off from the service. They even did all the lab work for her. They were real good to her.

            FW:     How did that hit you, man?

            DL:     Aw, she is my angel. She knew what I was going through. I lived with her through it all. She's the one who took me to the emergency room. She never left my side. My sister is a godsend. Originally, I didn't want her to do it.  But she's the backbone of the family. She's a warrior, a soldier. There was no arguing. We flew to Washington, D.C. and she was out in two days. I waited for the call.

            FW:     When did the bat phone ring?

            DL:     Two days later. Can you believe that? She had it done on the twelfth and I got the call on February, 14, Valentine's Day. The doctor said it wouldn't be the best kidney for me. He advised me to hold off. Once again, I talked to my sister. I ended up waiting another month. 

            FW:     During that time you were still on dialysis?

            DL:     Yeah, I had to go three days a week.

            FW:     Back to the surgery. There were no complications?

            DL:     No complications at that moment. I stayed in the hospital for a spell. When I went in, I was about 250 pounds. Five days later, I was 215 pounds. That was the most shredded I've ever been! Hahahaha. After that, it was smooth sailing. I went home a month later.

Then my labs started elevating. They wanted me back in DC. I was feeling strong. There was no way I was going back. Of course, my sister- the voice of reason- convinced me otherwise. From that point on, nothing was right. My muscle tone disappeared. I was sick all the time. Every four months, I'd be back in the hospital. This went on for a year and a half. In October, the kidney failed. October is a bad month for me. I had just bought a house. I started getting sick again. I couldn't train for the next four months. It gave out and I had to go back on dialysis. 

            FW:     What a blow. How did that feel?

            DL:     At first I kept telling the doctor, "See what you can do, try this, try that, try anything! I don't want to go back on dialysis. I just bought a house."

            FW:     How did you feel about your sister losing one of her kidneys for you?

            DL:     I felt so bad. I wouldn't have let her do it if it was short term. I sold the house and she came to get me again.

            FW:     What's the diagnosis now? Are you still on dialysis?

            DL:     I'm still on it. But I decided to take a different approach this time. I did tons of research. No more of this denial crap. I ate on a regimen. I hit the gym, even if I could only get a measly two reps. Each day, I got a better pump; I got stronger. I walked further and further with my dogs. Now I feel great! I'm healthier than ever. I'm the strongest cat on dialysis.

            FW:     Is there a possibility of another transplant? Or do you not want to go there? 

            DL:     I don't want to do it again unless the research improves. I want a better guarantee. I won't ask somebody to go through that.

            FW:     Why didn't it take?

            DL:     [My system was] overly stressed.

            FW:     You're back to working out. Are you training people again?

            DL:     I'm doing tons of training right now. My energy levels are much better. I bought a sauna to shed the water from my body. The skin is actually a third kidney. It flushes the toxins, allowing me to drink more. It keeps the potassium out.

            FW:     You're not doing the peritoneum?

            DL:     I don't want a tube coming out of my body. You had that?

            FW:     I don't want to turn the story on me, but I had so many stents in my neck and chest, I kept getting staph infections. Plus, I wanted to eat!  Everyone knows I'm a pig. They told me point blank I couldn't handle anything with potassium. That meant no tomato sauce, no pizza, spaghetti, ketchup.  No pizza! Is you crazeee?! A man's got to get his grub on. The peritoneum handled that. When they told me that, I was like, "Bling!" (Both laughing)

            DL:     Most people do it for that reason.

            FW:     Now, how's a brother able to look so good? Cause, this cat here looks good. Are you having the dialysis done here?

            DL:     I did one treatment here on Friday. Then Monday, I'll go back.

            FW:     That's a beautiful thing. It's set up all over the world.

            DL:     All over the world, yeah. I'm gonna use it to my advantage. It won't be a hindrance.

            FW:     You're bigger than the average person. You're twice my size.  When I saw you at the nightclub- oops, I didn't mean to mention that!  

            DL:     Some people have been saying I look too good. Believe it or not, the heaviest I get is about 240, fluids and all.

            FW:     What do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned from this ordeal? You applied your bodybuilding training to your illness, being methodical and detailed. Then you went from denial to going public. 

            DL:     This is where bodybuilding has been a tremendous grace. I'm totally prepared for this type of lifestyle. If this had happened to my brothers, they wouldn't be able to deal with it. I'm programmed for this. You have to be regimented and disciplined to stay healthy while on dialysis. It's just a different war. Instead of trying to be Mr. Olympia, I'm trying to be number one with my life and health. The prizes are different. I seek out new remedies and herbs to keep me strong. I use green tea and aloe vera juice. Staying in the gym and training is a remedy, too. As soon as I take a break, my mind and body slow down.  Anytime the mind is off, the body will follow. Training keeps me focused and healthy.

            FW:     When I went through the fire, the doctors wanted me to be the poster boy for this. But you put me to shame, brother. I've conquered the physical plane, but mentally, it's still a battle. You have totally conquered both the mental and physical battlefields. What advice would you impart to those in similar circumstances?

            DL:     Having positive people around you is the first thing. Understand that denial is normal. Find an outlet to make changes in your life. For me, the greatest thing was bodybuilding. Working out and eating right has kept me strong. If not for that, my body would have collapsed. It's about being In Control of your health. 

            FW:     I went into surgery at 245 pounds. I had to stay in longer due to complications. I came out at 198. I was so sick when I got out. I'd just look at the scale and say, "Jesus, I haven't been this light since I won the California back in 1989!" Are you still doing personal training?

            DL:     Yup, I'm on it hardcore.

            FW:     How can people get hold of you?

            DL:     I'm doing a local thing, but people can reach me via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

            FW:     Would you be amenable to helping the mentally challenged?  Could you prepare them for the struggle?

            DL:     I've talked to several people battling their own wars. I'm always open to helping people. At the moment, I'm on top of my game. I'm comfortable with myself. 

            FW:     Your phone call was like a ray of sunlight. Seeing you so healthy makes me real proud of you. 

            DL:     I'm not here just to tell you my story. You're a special person to your family and the whole industry! I don't want to see negative things happen to you. Always love what you do. In your mind, you may think people look at you differently, but I'm looking at you right now like the fan I'll always be. People remember you as that beast onstage. That's who you'll always be.

            FW:     Dawg, I still can't get that photo shoot out of my mind. I know you were a monster before, but you're still in such great shape. It's your choice to look like this. It's not a negative thing like, "Ah, man, look how small he is." It ain't that at all!  Like Kevin, he's slim and healthy by choice.  Still, we're bigger than average people.

            DL:     It ain't even that kind of party. People don't really care. You've gotta feel comfortable walking around.

            FW:     Man, you are truly a great champion. Your name is in the annals of bodybuilding. I'll always respect that.

            DL:     It was such an honor to even reach that level. Just standing onstage next to you was the highlight of my career. You gave me a pat right onstage, "Welcome to the big leagues." Two years before that, you came up behind me. My wife was going crazy! She said, "Flex Wheeler is behind you!"  She was the backbone. I give her that credit.

            FW:     I want you to know we truly appreciate you. We can learn a lesson from you to persevere and overcome. People will be blown away when they see this. 

            DL:     I hope it shows you don't have to let the negative things win the day. It's just like starting out in bodybuilding. In the beginning, we had hardly any muscle. We had to work to get there. It's a struggle. This is the same work ethic. Conquering the illness is about focusing your energy on staying healthy and strong. We try to be good role models for people who get sick. That's more than enough at the end of the day.