Shanks (23) competed in the national surf life-saving championships in Gisborne at the weekend, almost nine months to the day since a kidney transplant.
The St Clair club lifeguard, the cousin of former world champion cyclist Alison Shanks, has come from his deathbed in June last year to paddling through waves this summer.
''Sometimes, I forget what I have been through. But then when something gets hard, I remember that nine months ago I was not sure I was going to live,'' Shanks said.
He was a normal fit, young man until about 2 years ago.
''I just started feeling a bit nauseous and getting sick all the time. My ankles were swelling up. So I went to hospital and had a few tests.''
The blood tests and a biopsy revealed he had a kidney disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
Doctors advised him in June 2013 he may need a transplant in about 10 years but until then he should be fine.
But the decline was much quicker than that.
This time last year, he was a zombie.
''I just could not do anything. Just sitting around watching TV.''
Shanks found a willing donor in his cousin, Chris Sangster, of Cromwell, and on June 16 last year the transplant occurred in Christchurch.
Since then, he has not looked back.
''We ended up doing a 10km race together six weeks after the operation. I kept on trying to do different stuff. Did a 12-hour adventure race, running, biking and kayaking. I was doing things I wanted to do. Wanted to see how it would go and surprisingly it was going great.''
Getting back into surf life-saving was the big goal, he said.
Initially, he took it slowly, as the twisting in paddling rubbed against his scar. He still takes more than a dozen pills daily for his transplanted kidney.
''I started paddling again in September and initially I was just going to be the coach. But it has got better and better. So when the nationals came up I coached and competed, too.''
Although he did not win any medals at the weekend, just to be able to compete was a victory in itself.
''I got out to the first marker on the paddle and I was doing quite well. I thought, `Not many people can do this, let alone ones that have had a transplant'.
''I don't mean that in an arrogant way, but it was pretty cool.
''If you get a kidney from someone, then you can't waste it. It's not my kidney to waste.
''I owe that to Chris.''
