Exodus Simmons, son of late rapper DMX, is living with stage 3 chronic kidney disease according to his mother, Desiree Lindstrom.
As reported by PEOPLE, Lindstrom, fiancée of the late rapper, opened up about the diagnosis of their 5-year-old son during a recent appearance on the It’s Tricky with Raquel Harper podcast.
Lindstrom, 29, said that Exodus is in stable condition as the family continues to monitor his diet and take him to medical appointments, the outlet reports.
“Exodus is stable. He’s been stable since I had him,” Lindstrom said, adding: “He still has stage 3 kidney disease, and I’m just continuing to keep his potassium down,” explaining that high potassium foods can be harmful for those with chronic kidney disease.
“He goes to the doctor very often,” she continued. “I make sure that his creatinine levels are at the levels he needs to be to keep him stable.”
March is National Kidney Month, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, which reports that an estimated 37 million people nationwide have chronic kidney disease, and as many as 90% of them do not know they have it.
Following World Kidney Day on Thursday, March 10, Lindstrom shared the clip from the podcast via Instagram.
“Exodus is an amazing child! Blessed to be his mother through this journey,” she wrote in the caption, before urging people to learn more about the disease and thanking the National Kidney Foundation and a New York City-area hospital for their support.
“Hey Exodus, what is today?” Lindstrom asked her grinning son in a video she also posted on Friday. “Happy National Kidney Day!” he replied.
According to PEOPLE, Exodus was born in 2016 to Lindstrom and DMX, real name Earl Simmons. As reported by theGrio, the legendary “Ruff Ryders” rapper passed away in April 2021 following a heart attack.
Exodus is the youngest of the three-time Grammy-nominated artist’s 15 children, as reported by theGrio.
According to Kevin Longino, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, racial disparities in “poverty, education, food insecurity, and housing” remain a large influencer of worsened health outcomes for communities of color.
“Communities of color, particularly Hispanic or Latino and African American or Black people, face a disproportionate burden of kidney disease and kidney failure,” Longino said, as reported by the foundation on Thursday.
Longino, a kidney transplant recipient himself, added that because of these systemic disparities, “it is absolutely critical people become aware of their risk.” He said the foundation is attempting to address these disparities through the “Are You the 33%?” quiz, a free, one-minute quiz that can help people gauge if they may be among to the 33% of adults with the disease nationwide.
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