Man, 27, with sore toe 'stunned' by 5am phone call telling him to 'get to hospital immediately'

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.

He said: “I got a call at like five in the morning saying ‘you need to go to the hospital right now, your blood tests are indicating your kidneys are failing.’ That was a big shock, obviously. My girlfriend was in tears."

Niven spent around six days in the hospital, where he underwent numerous examinations and was put on a drip. It was during this time that tests revealed his kidneys were operating at approximately 15 per cent functionality and he was diagnosed with stage four chronic kidney disease. His condition was so severe that doctors couldn't even perform a biopsy on his kidneys.

Niven, who is now on the waiting list for a new kidney, said he didn't know what caused of his condition, despite doctors suggesting it might be due to a high-protein diet.

Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and, Breaking News group by clicking this link

He added: “I’m still not 100% sure that’s correct, personally I don’t think that. I wasn’t overly