I had a sore toe but now I need a new kidney

Marathon runner, just 27, shocked by diagnosis of chronic disease

- LEE GRIMSDITCH, JACK FIFIELD

A MAN was left stunned after a supposed broken toe led to the discovery that he needed a new kidney.

Niven Hopkins, 27, was left in pain after his foot suddenly swelled massively in July last year. After he was able to see a GP, he was initially diagnosed with gout.

Niven, from Bolton, said: “I couldn’t walk, I struggled to get a doctor’s appointment for the first couple of days so I couldn’t take any medication or anything, I just kind of had to battle it.

“I managed to see the doctor and he said ‘we weren’t expecting someone like you to walk in, so young and healthy, we were expecting someone a bit older or overweight’.”

But Niven’s situation took a dramatic turn when he received an early morning call instructing him to rush to the Royal Bolton Hospital after his blood tests were analysed.