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Hitchcock’s Rapid Onset of Nephrotic Syndrome After Pfizer

Day 2 · 1:20:27 · Shawn Buckley · Cameron Hitchcock

  • 🎂 Three weeks after second Pfizer dose, on his 30th birthday, face and voice swelled; feet soon showed sock indentations.
  • 🧪 ER found massive protein leak—nephrotic syndrome; nurses wept as kidneys failed and natural urination ceased within a week.
  • 📈 24-hour urine protein hit an unprecedented 90 g (later 35 g); he was admitted for renal biopsy preparation.

Detailed timeline from swelling to life-sustaining dialysis path.

← Cameron Hitchcock Sworn: Healthy 30-Year-Old on Dialysis | Five-Month Hospital Nightmare: Prednisone, Thirst, and Immobility →

Transcript

Shawn Buckley · 1:20:27

Either was June 22nd or 23rd of 2021. Can you tell us what happened?

Cameron Hitchcock · 1:20:33

So you wanted me to tell you what, like, when I first got sick?

Shawn Buckley · 1:20:37

Yeah, like, start at the start at the beginning and just share your journey with—.

Cameron Hitchcock · 1:20:41

So it was 3 weeks after my second dose, and I woke up, like I said, on my 30th birthday with a swollen face and a hoarse voice. Um, I didn't think much of it. I thought I was getting old. I go into work and one of my co-workers, he insists every day that I'm getting sicker and sicker, and no one else believes him. I've been wearing a mask, a 95 mask at work, just to be safe. And then I go home on Friday afternoon, worked half day Friday, and I could see the indentations of my socks and my feet when I took them off. So that's strange. And then, uh, the next day I— it gets worse. My swelling gets worse. My feet are bigger. I go to the clinic. They check me for blood clots, but they're out of— they can't figure out what it is. They said if it gets worse, go to the ER.

Shawn Buckley · 1:21:35

So I'm just going to slow you down. Your feet are swelling to the point where you feel the need to go and get medical attention, correct?

Cameron Hitchcock · 1:21:43

Okay. Uh, and then, uh, later on I try to take my dog for a walk. I can't get down my short street treat. So I'm like, okay, well, I guess this is getting worse. It's time for the ER. I go in, um, they take about 14 vials of blood, urine test. Um, doctor comes back and he's like kind of weeping and he says, uh, your kidneys are leaking protein. You have something called nephrotic syndrome. And I didn't really know what that means. Um, So yeah, they X-ray my chest, do more tests, more bloodwork, order a liter of fluid. That's my first IV I've ever had. And then I kind of sit there dumbfounded. I'm like, I asked the nurse, this bad? She's kind of crying and she says, yeah, your kidneys are important. I go, this seems bad. They come in the next day for more testing, put me on Lasix pills.

Cameron Hitchcock · 1:22:43

Uh, send me home, say, uh, your fam— your GP has to quarterback this care. Um, then it gets worse. I start filling up more, and I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna wait for my doctor's appointment. My sister says, no, you need to go back. I said, I got the pills, they saw me, they've done everything. She says, no, they can do more for you, you're getting worse. So she takes me back. This time I go to triage, same, same nurse is there.

Shawn Buckley · 1:23:07

I'm just going to slow you down. You would actually You'd gained about 40 pounds by then, right?

Cameron Hitchcock · 1:23:12

Not yet.

Shawn Buckley · 1:23:13

Oh, not yet.

Cameron Hitchcock · 1:23:14

It was still slowly building, but at this point I had still— was able to pass urine, um, with Lasix. I, um, I go back, the same triage nurse sees me. Luckily she sees that I'm blowing up like a balloon, and then this is COVID, the ER is relatively full, the waiting room, uh, I I think we're waiting 5 minutes before they bring me back in. So I skipped the line in triage. They send me in, they want a urine test, they want more urine. And I'm in there for a few minutes. I come out, I say, I can't, I can't. So that was the last time I did that naturally. So they were kind of expecting that. And then I spend a the day there on a Lasix infusion. Um, and they basically tell me if the Lasix infusion doesn't work, it's more effective, uh, you're staying. If it's not, we'll send you home tonight, but you're going to be checked into Oakville Hospital tomorrow, uh, to be monitored by the nephrologist.

Cameron Hitchcock · 1:24:17

Um, so luckily I did that, that day I was able to, and, um, and I go home, and at that point I'm only urinating with Lasix. Basically, within a week of my 30th birthday, I haven't passed urine naturally. Basically, that was in the Georgetown ER. Then they basically checked me into Oak Hill Hospital the next day and tell me just to drive there and expect to stay 3 nights. To prepare for a biopsy, a renal biopsy, and then ultrasound. So you go there, um, but nobody, uh, nobody checks into a hospital for a biopsy. I found that out later, so it was worse than I thought.

Shawn Buckley · 1:25:13

So what happens?

Cameron Hitchcock · 1:25:14

Um, I get to the hospital, they run a 24-hour urine test to check for how much protein I'm spilling into my urine. Which is possible because they also added something called albumin, which helps me— albumin and the Lasix helps me urinate, uh, because the albumin is the protein that's come— that's in your blood that I'm spilling. So, uh, they do that test and the first one comes back at 90 grams of protein. Uh, they get concerned at 300 milligrams and they've never seen 90 grams, so the suspicion was that it was off the chart. It was either off the charts or it was a misread. So they do it again later in the month and it's 35 grams.