Hopes of joining the NFL were shattered for Southern Mississippi football star, Derrick Nix, after he sprained his ankle in September 2000 — an injury that put his health on a downward spiral.

Since the injury, Nix has battled a 50-pound weight gain from fluid retention, blood clots in his lungs, high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, light-headedness, vomiting, and acute renal failure.

Nix, 23, now suffers from focal segmental sclerosis, a kidney disease that has left him on dialysis, awaiting a kidney transplant, and has most likely put an end to his football career.

Nix has filed a lawsuit against Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia Corp. and Merck & Co., manufacturers of Celebrex and Vioxx.

Following his ankle injury, Nix was prescribed Celebrex to ease the ankle pain, and Vioxx to reduce the swelling.

After an urine test indicated kidney problems, Nix was taken off Vioxx and given prednisone, a steroid used to treat kidney disease.

Nix continued to play football, despite his diagnosis and worsening condition, until he was in acute renal failure and subsequently, began dialysis.

Although his nephrologist doubts the drugs caused his condition, an underlying condition may have been aggravated by the drugs.

“I hope to get a part of what Icould’ve done, a part of what Icould’ve been, a part of where I could’ve been at,” Nix said when asked about the lawsuit. “It still won’t replace my kidney or my being in the NFL, which is something Ideserve.”

SOURCE: USA Today, www.usatoday.com, May 16, 2003.