‘His whole body is swollen’: 2-year-old’s ‘allergies’ turn out to be rare kidney disease

PULASKI, Va. (WDBJ/Gray News) - Parents of a toddler are raising awareness of a rare kidney disease their child is facing.

Kamden Lambert’s parents, Matthew Lambert and Michelle Shelor, said when their son was born doctors noticed issues with his kidneys.

“He was diagnosed with a kidney dilation disorder,” Shelor said. “But it is super common in boys, it’s not like rare or anything.”

And for the first two years of Kamden’s life, everything seemed fine. But in January, everything changed.

“He just wakes up and his whole body is swollen to where he is just not the same child,” Matthew Lambert said.

Alarmed, Kamden’s parents took him to a doctor.

What they were told seemed simple enough: allergies.

“They told us immediately that it was just allergies and that it was a common thing,” Matthew Lambert said. “And it was a common symptom and that it could be something other than allergies but that it was most likely 100% allergies.”

But Kamden’s symptoms only worsened. He stopped urinating, his swelling persisted, and his breathing became irregular.

Desperate for answers his parents sought other opinions.

They eventually landed at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital where Kamden was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal kidney disease that mimics allergy symptoms.

According to the National Institutes of Health, fewer than five in 100,000 children worldwide develop it each year.

“It’s a disease that causes the kidneys to basically break down and release harmful proteins and enzymes in the body that cause a really bad reaction and flare-ups that are really harmful,” Matthew Lambert said.

Thanks to the diagnosis, Kamden’s parents say he is now on the road to recovery while dealing with the disease.

The boy’s parents also say they are determined to make sure no other child goes undiagnosed with such a disease.

“It’s important,” Matthew Lambert said, “If it gets passed off as allergies or mistaken for something else because of how rare it is, it could be fatal if left untreated.”