I am a 27-year-old from Melbourne, Victoria. I am a father. Prior to the vaccine, I was happy and very active. I’m a musician and worked full-time doing physical hard labour. I was strong and very healthy.
The Victorian Government mandated the vaccine and my workplace said we couldn’t work until we had it. I had to work to pay my rent and I have a child to feed so I got the Pfizer on 29th of October 2021. The moment I got it, my body felt weird and I felt a low frequency 2 hours later. Apart from that I was confident I was okay until two days later.
I was out with my friends and started to feel like it was too bright and felt like I was going to pass out. I felt really cold but also sweating a great deal. My chest felt what I can only describe as ‘out of place’. My hands were clammy and I couldn’t talk and had to leave my friends.
My heart instantaneously became worse and started beating out of my chest. It also at times slowed so much that it felt life threatening. I was terrified about how my body was reacting. My partner was so worried about me and would wake me up every night to see if I was okay because I was sweating so much. I was unable to sleep because my heart and stomach felt as though there was no oxygen flow to my body. I’d stay awake in bed trying to control my breathing. This happened everyday for weeks and though I tried to rest, it kept coming back.
My Auntie’s brother and my own mate died after their vaccine so I was really scared. I chose not to sleep because I was afraid I’d die too. The times I slept, I had horrific nightmares and terrors that were extremely disturbing and mentally exhausting. Life became unbearable.
I tried to recover myself by drinking lots of water, juice and ate lots of fruit. I focused on resting and building my health. I became more aware of my body and listened as much as I could while taking care of myself to get better.
I was meant to get the 2nd vaccine the following month but I was feeling so horrible that I worked around getting it. I avoided it for five months and was starting to feel better. However, I couldn’t avoid it anymore. I had to get the 2nd vaccine to keep my job so I could pay my rent and feed my family. There was no way around it in my current situation.
I was so scared. I got the 2nd Pfizer on 16th of March 2022. I didn’t feel as many heart symptoms and I hoped I’d be okay this time.
Three days after, I woke up and couldn’t lift my arm. I was paralysed. I panicked as nothing was moving. I managed to get a ride to the Emergency Department. The doctor treating me said he had no idea what was wrong with me. He tested my blood pressure and gave me a chest X-ray, but both came back clear.
I mentioned I thought it was the vaccine but he seemed to dismiss the idea. He didn’t mention reporting my reaction, nor offer to report it to the TGA. He didn’t say it was linked and wrote down that I had chest problems and prescribed me Panadol.
Over the next few months, my heart continued to cause me problems. Just during light walks it felt like I was going to black out and out of nowhere my chest would suddenly beat out of place. But then, it would slow to nothing while laying down.
I now listen to my gut. I now pay more attention to my body and its messages. I kept focusing on improving my health with cleaning up my diet. Eventually, after six months, I am starting to feel a better.
I can now go for walks, work and hang out with mates. I am not fully recovered, but a lot better, around 85 percent. I still live with fear of not knowing the damage that the vaccine did to my body and I still need to do tests for myocarditis. My mate was diagnosed with pericarditis after his vaccine and I know others who have died.