Cameron Hitchcock
Day 2 · September 9, 2026 · 0:24:34
Key points Cameron Hitchcock, 35, a supply-chain inventory coordinator with a business analytics degree and no prior health issues, is a recognized vaccine-injury case now on dialysis every other day. He says three weeks after his second Pfizer dose around his 30th birthday in June 2021 he woke with a swollen face and hoarse voice, then rapidly swelling feet. Emergency doctors diagnosed nephrotic syndrome with his kidneys leaking protein, at one point measuring 90 grams, and he could no longer urinate naturally. He describes a five-month hospital stay with high-dose prednisone, Lasix, and cyclosporine, gaining weight to 260 pounds and losing the ability to move. He recounts severe blistering on his feet requiring surgical removal of tissue by a plastic surgeon, and eventually being placed on dialysis six days a week. He says his kidneys shut down and he is on a deceased-donor transplant list averaging 12 years, expecting to return to dialysis even after any transplant. He describes a terrible experience with VISP, including losing EI and income during dialysis training, being dropped into the new VIAP program, and long-term disability uncertainty.
Speaker 2
0:01 So our next witness is Cameron Hitchcock. 0:04 And Cameron, will you take the Bible in your right hand? 0:10 Cameron Hitchcock, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God? 0:18 I do. 0:20 I just wanted, and you've already told me this, so I'm just stating it as a fact, but you did not have COVID before what you're going to describe happened. Speaker 2
0:31 And just to introduce you before we have you share your health journey, you're 35 years old. Speaker 2
0:40 So when this happened, you're like 30, 31. Speaker 1
0:43 30th birthday, I got my first symptoms. Speaker 2
0:45 Okay. 0:47 You have a business analytics degree. 0:49 You were employed as an inventory coordinator for a supply chain. 0:52 Basically, your expertise is in supply chain administration. 0:56 your health before the vaccination, you had no health concerns. 0:59 You were on no medications and no restrictions. 1:03 And so like not, like not even a med. 1:06 So you're just like a 30 year old man. 1:09 Yeah. 1:11 29 actually at the time. 1:12 29. 1:12 Yeah. 1:14 And just going on with hard work or doing your thing. 1:18 Can you, and you're one of the few people that actually, 1:24 even the Vaccine Injury Support Program agrees this is vaccine injury. Speaker 1
1:28 I never had the medical professional push back against my claim. Speaker 2
1:32 Right. 1:32 So you're an exception here. 1:34 Is every doctor that touches you says this is vaccine injury? Speaker 1
1:37 No. 1:38 Every doctor that touched me says, I would bring them the medical literature and they would say it's plausible, right? Speaker 2
1:46 Okay. 1:46 Well, this is interesting. 1:48 Sure. 1:49 We'll get back to that because it's part of the story that there's resistance out there. 1:54 But can you share with us what happened with your, and I have to stop. Speaker 2
2:00 You're on dialysis six days a week. 2:02 Every other day. 2:03 Every other day now. 2:04 You actually, we tried to schedule you to testify yesterday, but you couldn't. Speaker 2
2:09 And that's because you don't live in Ontario or Ottawa. 2:13 You had to arrange with the dialysis clinic here in Ottawa. 2:16 Yes. 2:17 to do dialysis because it's necessary for you to stay alive. 2:21 And they scheduled you for yesterday when we wanted you to testify yesterday. Speaker 1
2:26 Yeah, but I think there was like a misscheduling. 2:30 I think I thought I was going in the morning. 2:32 So that's why I told Ottawa Hospital 1.30 would be a good time. 2:37 So we worked around it. 2:38 Either way, I would have had to be here for two nights anyway. Speaker 2
2:41 Right. 2:41 But I'm just, I think it's important for everyone watching you to understand that 2:46 When you travel, you have to make arrangements for a dialysis clinic to give you dialysis when you travel. 2:54 It's part of your commitment to coming here today was having to make those arrangements. Speaker 2
3:00 Okay. 3:01 So you get your second Pfizer shot, either it was June 22nd or 23rd of 2021. 3:09 Can you tell us what happened? Speaker 1
3:14 So you wanted me to tell you when I first got sick? 3:18 Yeah, like start at the beginning and just share your journey with me. 3:22 So it was three weeks after my second dose. 3:25 And I woke up, like I said, on my 30th birthday with a swollen face and a hoarse voice. 3:32 I didn't think much of it. 3:32 I thought I was getting old. 3:35 I go into work and one of my co-workers, he insists every day that I'm getting sicker and sicker. 3:41 And no one else believes him. 3:43 I've been wearing a mask. 3:44 a 95 mask at work just to be safe. 3:48 And then I go home on the Friday afternoon, it's half day Friday, and I could see the indentations of my socks and my feet when I took them off. 4:00 That's strange. 4:02 And then the next day it gets worse. 4:06 My swelling gets worse. 4:07 My feet are bigger. 4:08 I go to 4:10 The clinic, they check me for blood clots, but they can't figure out what it is. 4:14 They say if it gets worse, go to the ER. Speaker 2
4:16 So I'm just going to slow you down. 4:17 Your feet are swelling to the point where you feel the need to go and get medical attention. Speaker 1
4:22 Correct. 4:25 And then later on, I try to take my dog for a walk. 4:28 I can't get down my short street. 4:31 So I'm like, okay, well, I guess this is getting worse. 4:33 It's time for the ER. 4:34 I go in. 4:37 They take about 14 vials of blood. 4:39 Urine test. 4:43 Doctor comes back and he's like kind of weeping. 4:46 And he says, your kidneys are leaking protein. 4:48 You have something called nephrotic syndrome. 4:51 And I didn't really know what that means. 4:54 So, yeah, they x-ray my chest, do more tests, more blood work. 5:00 Quarter liter of fluid. 5:01 That's my first IV I've ever had. 5:04 And then I kind of sit there dumbfounded. 5:06 I'm like, I asked the nurse, this bad? 5:10 She's kind of crying, and she says, yeah, your kidneys are important. 5:13 I go, this seems bad. 5:16 It hadn't been the next day for more testing. 5:19 Put me on Lasix pills. 5:24 Send me home. 5:25 Say your GP has to quarterback this care. 5:31 Then it gets worse. 5:32 I start filling up more, and I'm like, okay, I'm just going to wait for my doctor's appointment. 5:36 My pacemaker says, no, you need to go back. 5:37 I said, I got the pills. 5:40 they saw me, they've done everything. 5:42 She says, no, they can do more for you, you're getting worse. 5:44 So she takes me back. 5:46 This time I go to triage, same nurses there. Speaker 2
5:48 I'm just going to slow you down. 5:50 You had actually, you'd gained about 40 pounds by then, right? 5:53 Not yet. 5:54 Oh, not yet. Speaker 1
5:55 It was still slowly building, but at this point, I had still been able to pass urine with Lasix. 6:05 I go back, the same triage nurse sees me, luckily she sees that I'm blowing up like a 6:10 balloon. 6:11 And then this is COVID. 6:13 The ER is relatively full, the waiting room. 6:16 I think we're waiting five minutes before they bring me back in. 6:19 So I skipped the line in triage. 6:23 They send me in. 6:24 They want more urine. 6:26 And I'm in there for a few minutes. 6:28 I come out. 6:29 I say, I can't. 6:31 I can't. 6:32 So that was the last time I did that naturally. 6:38 So they were kind of expecting that. 6:39 And then 6:41 I spend the day there on a Lasix infusion. 6:46 And they basically tell me if the Lasix infusion doesn't work, it's more effective, you're staying. 6:51 If it's not, we'll send you home tonight, but you're going to be checked into Oakville Hospital tomorrow to be monitored by the nephrologist. 6:59 So luckily I did that that day. 7:02 I was able to. 7:03 And I go home. 7:06 And at that point, I'm only urinating with Lasix. 7:09 Um, so basically, uh, within a week of my 30th birthday, I haven't, I haven't passed urine naturally. 7:18 Um, and so, yeah, uh, they basically, that was it in the Georgetown ER. 7:24 And then, um, they basically checked, they basically checked me into Oakville hospital the next day, uh, and tell me like that just to drive there and, uh, and expect to stay three nights. 7:37 to prepare for a renal biopsy and an ultrasound. Speaker 2
7:43 So you go there. Speaker 1
7:46 But nobody checks into a hospital for a biopsy. 7:49 I found that out later, so it was worse than I thought. 7:54 So what happens? 7:56 I get to the hospital. 7:58 They run a 24-hour urine test to check for how much protein I'm spilling into my urine. 8:04 which is possible because they also added something called albumin, which helps me. 8:08 Albumin and the Lasix helps me urinate. 8:12 The albumin is the protein that's in your blood that I'm spilling. 8:16 So they do that test, and the first one comes back at 90 grams of protein. 8:22 They get concerned at 300 milligrams, and they've never seen 90 grams. 8:28 So the suspicion was that it was either off the charts or it was a misread. 8:32 So they do it again later in the month, and it's 35 grams. 8:35 It's a lot of protein. 8:38 And then, yeah, at this point, that's when I'm up to 260 pounds. Speaker 2
8:42 So I just want to interpret. 8:43 So this protein is not supposed to be in your blood anywhere near these levels, so that means your kidneys are failing. Speaker 1
8:50 Yeah, they're scarred. 8:53 I had nephrotic syndrome, so there's protein spilling out of my blood into my urine. Speaker 2
9:01 Okay. 9:02 How long are you in the hospital? 9:03 They said three days. Speaker 1
9:05 I was there for five months with two. 9:08 They released me twice to try to get me home and, I guess, help in that sense. 9:14 And then monitored. 9:14 But I kept going back. 9:16 I kept getting worse. Speaker 2
9:21 So what happens to you mentally when you're spending five months in the hospital? Speaker 1
9:26 Well, I was on... 9:29 After the biopsy, they diagnosed me with minimal change disease, which can be treated with prednisone. 9:38 I've heard from a lot of nurses that it's a miracle. 9:41 You learn situations like that, and you take the prednisone, and one day your kidneys turn back on because it eliminates the inflammation. 9:51 So they put me on 60 milligrams of prednisone. 9:54 which has significant psychological effects, a bit of a lightweight. 9:58 So it affected me quite a bit. 9:59 It gives you mood swings. 10:00 It causes like a, there's a whole, it affects your whole body. 10:07 And I was also on Lasix continuously. 10:10 So you combine those two things. 10:13 And I was, I just was thirsty. 10:16 Like I've never known thirst like that in my life. 10:19 And I wasn't allowed to drink much water. 10:23 because obviously I wasn't getting rid of it very fast with the Lasix and the albumin. 10:30 So I was extremely thirsty. 10:32 I heard someone on the CBC describe, a guest on the CBC said that they've heard that a high dose of prednisone is similar to something like speed. 10:46 It's a very powerful drug. 10:50 So I was in there the whole time 10:53 You know, it was just a terrible experience. 10:55 It was a nightmare. 10:56 But the whole point of the prednisone, like I said, the reason why they were doing this was because the only other way to get the fluid off me was dialysis, and dialysis would kill your kidney function. Speaker 2
11:06 And at this time, when you're in the hospital, I mean, you basically have lost your ability to move. 11:11 Can you share with us what that experience was like? Speaker 1
11:13 That progressed. 11:15 Throughout the five months, I could walk. 11:18 At a certain point, they weren't sure of the 11:22 if the lack of mobility was from the Lasix pulling the potassium out of my blood. 11:28 So there were some problems with mobility then. 11:30 But then at a certain point, this is my third discharge between my third and fourth admission. 11:37 We're talking around Thanksgiving, October. 11:45 I wake up one morning and I can't sit up. 11:52 And then eventually an ambulance is called and the paramedics strap me to a skid chair, like a sit-up stretcher, and they get me out of my house. 12:06 And I can't even walk to the transfer from the stretcher, from the chair to the stretcher. 12:14 So they have to bear hug me and then bring the stretcher behind me and then 12:19 put me on the structured ambulance. Speaker 2
12:22 I'm just going to pull up two photos because around that time you start getting blistering on your feet. 12:30 Can you share? Speaker 1
12:30 I took that picture the night before I woke up unable to move. 12:35 That's just, that's what nephrotic syndrome does. 12:39 That's when you can't pass urine and the fluid just stays in your body. 12:43 I was drowning in my body basically. Speaker 2
12:45 Okay, so when you're talking about swelling feet, I mean, we all have a picture in our minds, but this is what it looked like. Speaker 2
12:51 So, and my understanding is this, well, let's flip to the next photo. 12:57 Can you share with us what this is showing? Speaker 1
12:59 So this is after I'm admitted to Georgetown again. 13:04 What happened was, I'm not sure if you have the other one where there's the compression stock on it, but I forget why there was a bandage on my foot. 13:14 And then on both feet and then the compression sock. 13:18 And it was causing a lot of pain. 13:20 So it was pushing fluid out of my feet. 13:22 And then basically we got, the nurse came in and he took them off. 13:27 But he said, it looks like there's basically a tourniquet on your feet right now. 13:32 And he said, I can cut this off or I can pull it off and be immediate and stupid. 13:36 I said, save the socks, pull it off, which was worse. 13:38 And then it pushed all this fluid out of my feet. 13:42 And then the next night, all that fluid still, it was like pushing back into my feet and I was screaming in pain all night. 13:48 I had to take pain meds. 13:52 That's the only time I accepted any kind of strong pain med from the doctor, from the nurse. 13:57 But yeah, so then the fluid ended up pushing back into my foot and it was just the most pain I've ever, it was very painful, sure. Speaker 2
14:07 And then you ended up loosing your kidneys. Speaker 1
14:11 Yeah, so they gave me lots of chances. 14:16 They ran this Lasix albumin. 14:19 They added cyclosporine and none other. 14:22 This hopefully solved the problem. 14:28 And then finally, they said, we can't get this fluid off without dialysis like this. 14:33 This isn't working. 14:34 You're not you're not responding to the steroids, steroid resistant. 14:39 So that's when the nephrologist came in with the hospital doctor who I've had before, which was good, and they kind of just said, like, we're done, we're going to dialyze you six days a week. 14:54 Something we missed here was that you can see there's a spot there. 15:02 When I was being transferred again, my feet leaned against the ambulance and caused blistering, and then the wound care specialist 15:10 nurse came in to see me to deal with them because they were turning black almost and he said he's never seen something like that he would have come immediately if he understood what they looked like and then he he had said he had to call a friend he came back with a plastic surgeon uh and they started just i think it was about 30 percent of the surface area in the feet they had to cut it off on the bedside and um yeah that was that was a little i heard a little bit um and then i was uh 15:40 I had wound care for the next two months on my feet. Speaker 2
15:44 And I just need to focus us because we have limited time and I want the MPs to ask you questions. 15:50 So they start dialysis, which then that's the death knell for your kidneys. 15:55 So your kidneys shut down. 15:56 You've been on dialysis now for a long time. 16:01 It's necessary for you to survive. 16:04 And you're on a transplant list to get kidneys. 16:08 But 16:08 When I was interviewing you earlier, you made it clear, you know, even if I get a kidney transplant, I know I'm going to be on dialysis again. Speaker 1
16:16 Yeah. 16:17 I'm on the deceased donor list. 16:20 So they say the average for that is 12 years. 16:23 So that doesn't even get me to 50. 16:25 And then so, yeah, then I'll be waiting again or on dialysis. 16:34 Hopefully they figured out something better than what we have now. 16:37 But. 16:40 Yeah, it's just a kind of, you expected that it's eventually going to fail. 16:45 The way a transplant works is you have to take medication that is also nephrotoxic, that hurts the kidney, and your body's always trying to reject it too. 16:55 So you take this anti-rejection medication that eventually does the kidney. Speaker 2
17:00 Thank you, those are my questions. Speaker 4
17:04 Thanks for being here. 17:07 Through the whole process, does any of the doctors acknowledge that it had to do with the vaccines? Speaker 1
17:15 Like I said, so when I first was going to Oakwood Hospital, I called a lot of my close friends, and one of them looked it up already. 17:24 He was like, this is nephrotic syndrome. 17:27 There's a lot of peer-reviewed literature reporting it after surgery. 17:31 after vaccination, the European Union was investigating it. 17:35 Like it was this, there were governments on this, that people were getting this. 17:40 And then, so I brought that to different doctors and I would talk to the nurses about it when I was admitted. 17:46 And like one doctor even came back, he took time out of his day to print off some medical literature for me to look at, to suggest that that was suggesting this, right? Speaker 4
17:57 Have you applied to the vaccine? Speaker 1
18:00 Yeah, I was approved. 18:02 I had a panel of three doctors unanimously agree that this was – that's what this was. 18:09 I had a doctor – because you can have a doctor apply with you. 18:12 I had a doctor that was good enough to do that. 18:15 So, yeah. Speaker 4
18:17 Sounds like you're one of the lucky ones. 18:20 How was the process with the program? Speaker 1
18:23 It was terrible. 18:25 I went – 18:28 on a medical leave to train for home hemodialysis. 18:32 I was on peritoneal dialysis for most of the time until my nurse told me to go to the ER because I was getting bad. 18:41 I wanted to do it at home, more dialysis, it's healthier, it's safer, it's more freedom. 18:48 So I contacted VISP, my caseworker, and I told her this was happening. 18:56 I said, I need this time off. 18:58 What's the process? 18:58 She told me all the process. 19:00 I followed it. 19:01 I sent her all the documents from HR, from my doctor, everything. 19:08 I get a message, an email, two weeks into my leave saying, oh, you're not eligible until we get a letter from your HR after you're done your leave, and then we'll process it. 19:20 It takes a month to process things, so I wasn't going to get paid for another month after I got back to work. 19:26 I hadn't applied for EI yet because they told me that I was going to get my 90% from this. 19:32 So then I apply for EI. 19:33 I call EI. 19:36 And I say I have this pending payment from VISP coming. 19:40 Because I had that discussion with EI, they put a hold on my EI. 19:46 So I didn't get any money from EI, from Sickness EI or VISP the whole time I was off training. 19:52 I ended up cashing in some at TFSA. 19:56 to get some money because I wasn't getting anything from them. 20:00 I got my EI after I got back to work, and then VISP told me in mid-March, we're just not going to process this anymore. 20:08 So now I'm applying through VIAP, public health, and I still don't have anything for that. Speaker 4
20:14 How long was the process from start to finish? 20:16 How long did it take for you to get approved? 20:17 Which process? 20:18 To get approved from the time you applied. Speaker 1
20:20 About a year and a half to get on VISP itself, about a year and a half or so, maybe two years. Speaker 4
20:27 Well, thanks for being here and explaining all that. 20:29 I think it's important to the people at home that are watching and the people that are here today listening to know what the process is for each individual case and how hard it is for the injured people to get the help they need. 20:43 Thank you. Speaker 3
20:44 And I just want to add to that, Cameron. 20:46 Once again, thanks for being here. 20:48 I don't think what people don't understand is that you went from viably working full-time 20:54 and having a life to not actually being able to have an income. 20:58 And not only do you not have the income, there's no support to have that program to sustain your life. 21:03 I mean, what people don't understand is that when you can't work, you don't have income. Speaker 1
21:09 I was working until, I'm on sickness EI now, I was working until June because balancing home hemodialysis and work, I was going to have a two hour, two hours of driving a day. 21:19 I was getting like no sleep. 21:21 So I was just existing to work on dialysis. 21:25 So it was getting dangerous. 21:28 So I finally asked VIAP again, how does this work? 21:34 They told me. 21:36 And then I told my boss I'm going on leave. 21:38 And then finally they were like, oh, we can't tell you when. 21:42 She called me back after I told my boss that. 21:44 She said, oh, we can't promise you we'll even look at this before the EI runs out. 21:48 So we don't know when we're going to actually start this income replacement. 21:54 So she told me I had to go beg for LTD. And then basically, and then I called them while I was, since I've been on leave. 22:06 Where's my application? 22:07 What's happening? 22:08 But they said, oh, you're in the queue. 22:09 You're in the queue. 22:10 I called them twice. 22:11 I called them again last week. 22:12 And they said, oh, no, actually, we need you to fill in an application. 22:15 And then I said, well, can you guys promise me it'll be, can you guys tell me when it's going to be done? 22:20 They're like, no. 22:22 they still don't know when they're going to have this income replacement ready. 22:25 And I mean, basically, my plan is to be on it until transplant, then I'll try to find another job or go back to work, right? Speaker 3
22:32 So in the meantime, Cameron, so for those that don't know what LTE is, it's long-term disability, right? 22:36 Yeah. 22:37 And that's through the company program that you had the insurance you had through your company. Speaker 1
22:40 And I asked them what happens if they deny my claim, and they said, oh, we don't know. 22:45 You have to try to get on something else. Speaker 3
22:47 Right. 22:47 So they're waiting for you to deal with that. 22:50 As a reason not to offer you. Speaker 1
22:52 No, they're just telling me they have no timeline. 22:54 They can't tell me when they're going to get it. 22:56 There's no reason. 22:57 Besides this, they don't have the manpower, right? 22:59 I believe Public Health Agency of Canada had a layoff of 200 people before they got this program. Speaker 3
23:03 Sure. 23:04 But what I meant is that your insurance company is saying, we want you to deal with this first before we'll talk. Speaker 1
23:09 No, my insurance company is just saying, that has to do with an administrative thing when my probation ended at work and when I'm eligible. 23:16 I don't want to get into that too much. 23:17 Okay. 23:18 Yeah. Speaker 3
23:19 It's complicated. Speaker 1
23:20 A little bit, yeah. Speaker 3
23:22 I think people need to understand that. 23:24 It's not just an injury. 23:26 It's how do people replace their income. Speaker 1
23:28 And it's also the medical system itself. 23:30 I know people have talked about it, but there's been shift changes in the dialysis clinics, at least that I'm aware of, that's negatively affecting all dialysis patients and the morale of the nurses. 23:46 I've heard stories of people like, 23:49 having their time shortened just to manage the logistics of it. 23:55 You know, Canada has a whole problem where it's not just us. 24:00 Like, I've talked to people who are chronically ill, disabled, who are afraid to advance their careers because they say they feel like they found an employer that's going to accommodate them, and they're afraid to go get another job. Speaker 1
24:12 You know, there's an institutionalized intolerance of sick people in this country. 24:16 You don't understand that until you're sick, right? 24:20 Well, thank you. 24:20 Thank you for sharing, David. 24:21 Thank you for coming today. Speaker 2
24:25 So our next witness is going to be called by lawyer Ariam Bohemian. 24:28 Okay.