get to the emergency room immediately.
At the hospital, a doctor told Kennedy that he was a stroke waiting to happen.
Following a urinalysis, doctors could see that Kennedy had a problem with his kidneys. A biopsy showed he had FSGS, or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a relatively common form of kidney disease. When a kidney’s filters are damaged, they become scarred and are no longer able to filter blood appropriately.
Doctors told Kennedy he would eventually need a kidney transplant. Not yet, though. The more immediate concern was getting his blood pressure under control.
Kennedy hired a trainer and a chef. He also took blood pressure-lowering medication.
“Why was this happening right when the life I had wanted was starting to explode?” he says. “In the music industry, you have to always be at 100%. If you aren’t, it’s almost like the success and accolades you’ve earned never happened. Everyone just wants to know what you’re on to next.”
Kennedy felt like he was living two lives. Maintaining the focus and energy his work required was challenging, but he refused to let anyone know about his health concerns.
“I didn’t want people looking at my vulnerabilities,” he adds.
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His outlook became so bleak that he took down all his award plaques. Although the collection was rapidly growing, to him they were a reminder of how hard he’d pushed his body.
“It felt like they were representing destruction,” he says.
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A gift from his brother
In 2017, at age 33, Kennedy received a kidney transplant. His donor was his brother Kevin Seals, who had
