Man, 28, with end of life kidney failure shares signs he missed
At the age of 26, Niven Hopkins felt sudden pain in his foot and assumed he’d broken a toe.
But the next morning, the Preston lad woke up to find his foot to be even worse and headed to the doctor for some blood tests.
Trying to carry on and going on a Lake District trip away that June in 2026 with what turned out to be gout, he ended up being diagnosed with kidney failure a few days later.
Niven was confused by the diagnosis at first, not feeling unwell and being a ‘fit and active’ young man, working a physical job as an engineer.
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However, looking back, he says there are signs he missed earlier on that something wasn’t right with his health.
Kidney failure is also known as chronic kidney disease, a long-term condition where the kidneys don’t work as well as they should.
Niven told Newsweek that he had been rang by the hospital at 4am, telling him to come in immediately.
His blood results had shown kidney failure.
“I didn’t feel unwell—apart from my foot, I felt fine,” he recalled.
“But from that moment, everything moved fast. I was admitted to hospital, going through test after test, trying to understand what was happening to my body.”
More tests and a biopsy were ordered and ‘completely out of the blue’, Niven found himself ‘facing a life-changing diagnosis’.
“Later, genetic testing confirmed it was a rare inherited condition,” he explained.
“My mum had previously needed two kidney transplants, but until that moment, I never imagined it could affect me like this—especially not so young.
“Eventually, I was told I had stage 4 kidney disease.”
And now, two years later, Niven is living with stage 5 kidney failure and sleeps connected to a dialysis machine for nine hours every night.
He is currently looking to find a donor, with the hope his dad can do it. But for now: “ I’m focusing on keeping faith and continuing with dialysis.”
‘Warning signs’
Looking back at the age of 28, Niven said he can see ‘there were warning signs’. However, he ‘ignored them all’ at the time.
“One of the biggest was fatigue. I was always tired, but I just put it down to working hard, training a lot and being busy. I thought that was normal for someone my age,” he explained.
Another major one was what’s referred to as ‘foamy urine’.
Niven explained that you might not normally think twice about it, but if bubbles don’t disappear from your urine quickly then it can mean protein is leaking – indicating a problem with kidney function.
“I had it for a long time, but I never knew what it meant,” he added.
“I also had back pain, which I dismissed as gym-related. I assumed I’d pulled something lifting weights or running.”
Niven also experienced ‘brain fog’ which ‘crept up slowly’ and he hadn’t linked it to being ‘anything serious’.
“On their own, all these symptoms seemed small. Together, they told a bigger story—but I didn’t know how to read it,” he said.
NHS symptoms of chronic kidney disease
The NHS explain that in the early stages, there are usually no symptoms of kidney disease.
It might only be diagnosed if you undergo blood or urine tests for another reason and the results show a possible kidney problem.
At a more advanced stage, symptoms can include:
· tiredness
· swollen ankles, feet or hands
· shortness of breath
· feeling sick
· blood in your pee (urine)
You should see a GP if you have persistent or worrying symptoms.
Topics: Health
Jess Battison