Story told by Duncan
We weren’t sure whether to take the COVID vaccine as we had heard conflicting information from across the spectrum. But at the time it looked as if many people took it and nothing bad happened to them.
We were listening to alternative sources, who claimed that camps were being built for the un-vaccinated. We were fearful of these claims, and with four children we couldn’t risk being separated or subjected to imprisonment.
We were both perfectly healthy before the COVID vaccination. I, Duncan, worked as a landscaper but wasn’t pressured to take the vaccine to keep my position. My wife Emma was a respite carer for children and vaccination for her workplace was mandated by the government.
On the 10th of November 2021, we went to a pop-up clinic in Gladstone at Tate College.
As we waited, we witnessed someone taken out on a stretcher after receiving the COVID vaccine. It was alarming to say the least, and my wife suggested we leave. But the pressure was on from all sides, so we felt like we had no choice but to do it.
We both received the Pfizer vaccine, mine in my right arm and my wife in her left. This was around 10am in the morning and initially, there were no side effects. We got home in the afternoon and continued our normal routine. At 2 pm, the left side of my face started to twitch and feel funny. I brushed it off and tried to forget about it.
That night Emma began having chest pain which progressed in severity. I rang an ambulance, and they attended to my wife and ran an ECG on her. They told us that the heart looked okay, and then said, “That’s just the vaccine working, it’s kicking in and your immune system is responding, it’s a normal reaction”.
Still, they took Emma to the hospital to be on the safe side. Her troponin levels were checked for myocarditis and pericarditis. Otherwise, no scans were performed, only an X-ray which we didn’t get the results from. Emma was discharged and we went home.
The next night, I also began having chest pain but rode it out, and by the next day it had settled down.
It was the 12th of November when I was mowing the lawn and suddenly my heart rate shot up drastically. I could feel it in my chest and the back of my head, and I became dizzy. I stopped the mower and asked Emma to confirm the irregularity of my heartbeat. I rang the COVID hotline and told them what was happening. They advised that I should go straight to the hospital and have it looked at. I rang for an ambulance, and upon arrival, they performed the standard checks of my pulse, blood pressure and an ECG test. One of the ambulance officers then turned around and said, “What are we here for?” He said everything looked fine, to which I replied, “It’s not”. I told him my heart had never done this before, palpitating and beating out of my chest, I could tell something was not right. He asked, “What do you want us to do?”
I was in disbelief that I had to tell them that I needed to be in the hospital, I could overhear the, “Looks like he’s a little bit anxious,” discourse between the paramedics and triage staff as I entered. I told them I wasn’t anxious at all, and I just wanted to find out what was going on with my heart and chest pain.
They put me in a cubicle and hooked me up to machines. The woman in the cubicle across was experiencing the same symptoms and I also overheard the doctor telling her it was from anxiety. They took blood and urine, checked my troponin levels, and performed a chest X-ray.
After three hours the nurse came back with the news that everything looked okay and I was to go home. I wanted to know what my troponin levels were and at first, they wouldn’t tell me. Then they told me my levels were unremarkable, good. “Well what are they?” I asked. They said, “It doesn’t really matter. Let’s say we measure from 1 to 10 and yours is at 1.” I asked for the paperwork which they said I’d be given upon discharge, but I never received any discharge notes at the time, or afterwards.
A few days later I sat on my verandah in the morning, still experiencing these pulsating palpitations in my heart just hoping it would go away. I started to eat breakfast when my heartbeat started rising again. I knew this was odd as I was not doing strenuous activity and had woken up not long ago. I wanted to return to the hospital but knew they would only send me home again, so I didn’t go.
The next day, on the 14th of November, I felt significant pain in my chest and my left shoulder blade. I was also experiencing numbness in my face and ringing in my ears. I drove myself to the hospital, I explained my symptoms to them and they took my pulse, blood pressure, and some urine and put me back in the emergency waiting room. After two hours I was led to a cubicle where my blood was tested but came back clear.
I explained the stinging pain in my shoulder blade, with pressure on the front and back side of my chest. The doctor asked if I played any sport. I replied that I played tennis sometimes, and he suggested that I had probably just pulled a muscle playing tennis. I strongly disagreed as I hadn’t played tennis for three months. I told him I thought this was because of the vaccine as both my wife’s and my symptoms only began afterward. He took me into a private room and shut the door, which seemed unnecessary, but it was probably because I had mentioned the vaccine. He went on to tell me the chest X-ray showed my left arm looked “puffy.” “Do you mean inflamed?” I said and asked what to do for the inflammation, but he was constantly dismissive of any questioning and said it should look after itself.
I mentioned to the doctor I had a colonoscopy booked for a month later but was informed I’d be denied access to the scan if I wasn’t double vaccinated. He strongly urged me to take the second vaccine and I strongly told him that would not be happening. The doctor tried to direct me to a different brand, suggesting the Novavax vaccine. I didn’t want anything to do with the vaccine. I felt suspicious that none of them were safe. Again, the doctor told me that I presented as anxious. No one was taking me seriously.
Every day, Emma and I wake up with a stuffy nose, similar to having allergies. I’m frequently short of breath, I have constant tinnitus, and my forehead from the middle to my back left ear is tingly and I have further numbness in both hands and arms. I have eye floaters which I’ve never had before, and my back and neck are cracking all the time. I get heart palpitations and I lack clarity in thought, with severe brain fog. I had to force myself to be able to think straight at the beginning.
I was prescribed muscle relaxants, steroids, and anti-anxiety medication. I decided I would take a relaxant on the first night which made everything worse, heightening my symptoms and pain. The anti-anxiety pill knocked me out for three days to the point I was not able to function.
Having children and responsibilities, I cannot live like that. It’s not safe or fair.
I saw a naturopath, who took a live blood analysis and told me what was going on in my body. My blood cells were stacking up, which explains a lot of fatigue, brain fog, and short breath. She recommended supplements that seemed to help my heart but I had to give them up due to their expense.
I was referred to a cardiologist but I simply don’t have the money to pay for it. The wait for a public appointment is over 12 months away when I could be seen privately in just two weeks, but I can’t pay the fee. I’ve seen numerous doctors and I still don’t have a diagnosis. I wasted time on physio and acupuncture when I could have been trying more thorough treatments.
I’ve seen a lot of injured people on support forums using HBOT therapy. I badly wish I could try this treatment but the nearest place is too expensive and I simply can’t afford it.
I had to stop working within the weeks after my vaccination due to my symptoms. It’s been 13 months now and we are struggling, emotionally and financially. My wife has to be home to look after the children, so this means we have lost our entire financial income.
We had to use our superannuation a few years ago for something else so we have absolutely nothing to fall back on. I have rent to pay, electricity bills, and have four kids. We have 70 dollars left over for food every fortnight and have to go to the food bank every few days. We have had to sell our personal belongings, including our mobile phones.
My wife and I have lost everything. We don’t know how we will give our children a nice Christmas this year.
Being vaccine injured we lack any support from our local community. People simply don’t believe us or want to know. They don’t seem to believe in vaccine injuries at all, thinking this has to be some kind of pre-existing condition when we were both perfectly healthy before. I never had trouble mowing the lawn or simply eating breakfast in my entire life.
The mentality is, “I’ve had four and I’m fine”. No-one believes us. I am living in flight or fight mode constantly and my mind is filled with doom and gloom. I have never asked for help in my life before but now I have to. If anyone can help us in any way then please contact me. We have no choice but to ask for help now.