New York Jets legend Nick Mangold was feeling optimistic about his health in the weeks before his death.

“I’m better than I was in August,” Mangold told the New York Post in a story published on October 14. “I’m back to being a functioning human, which is great.”

Mangold died on Saturday, October 25, from complications of kidney disease. He was 41 years old.

The two-time All Pro selection was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 2006, but things took a turn for the worse this summer.

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“I had lost about 35 pounds over two months, and my red blood cell count dropped to about half of what is supposed to be normal,” Mangold explained. “I was very fatigued and having dizzy spells and nausea and everything and so I went

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