Before the jab, I was recovering from a major car accident that almost took my life about two years ago. A meth and alcohol affected driver ran a red light and T-boned me at 100kmph, breaking seven of my ribs and severing the tendons and ligaments in my left ankle. I also suffered a 15cm internal diaphragm tear, a broken pelvis, multiple lacerations to my arm and head and had bruising on most of my internal organs. After all this, I was 1.5 years into recovery and back playing soccer at WA’s third highest level. In the first season back, I won the top goal scorer award, so it’s safe to say things were looking up for me finally.
I was extremely hesitant to get the jab due to not trusting the science completely and not knowing about the side effects for young men in my age group—I’m 27-years-old. In the end, I got it so I could attend a close friend’s wedding, and so it didn’t affect my car accident claim when it came time to return to work. I wasn’t even checked for the certificate of vaccination at the wedding, and the mandates have now been dropped three weeks before I start work again. Knowing this now, regret would be an understatement for getting the jab.
I received my first Pfizer on the 14th of January 2022 and my second Pfizer on the 4th of February 2022. I had no side effects at all from the first jab, so it took any concerns away when going for the second. Only three weeks after the second jab, I went for my usual daily jog and noticed extremely sharp pains on exertion. About the halfway mark through my jog, I would have to hunch over immediately with 10/10 pains, almost what I would imagine an active heart attack would feel like.
Because I had pre-existing injuries from the accident, I tried to push through the pain thinking it was nerve damage or pains from where I broke my ribs. After mentioning this to my GP—who I see regularly due to the accident—she advised me to have an ECG. I had the ECG and the results were normal. She then referred me for an echocardiogram and exercise ECG. This is when I received a call from my GP who said that my exercise ECG was showing I am borderline heart attack and needed to go to Emergency ASAP.
Luckily, I had a friend staying with me on the day I received the news to go to ED. So he took me to Joondalup Health Campus on the 4th of April 2022, where I spent hours undergoing ECG monitoring and X-rays. After five hours, I was discharged with a diagnosis of pericarditis and ischaemic angina as side effects from the jab. This was documented and sent off from the hospital as the official diagnosis—it was caused by the jab.
The hospital experience was fine but left me concerned with the lack of further direction. I was told “if you have any further heart pains or if they get worse, please come back to ED”. This concerned me as I explained I was actively having them as they were saying this, but because my ECG was fine, I was discharged minutes after this discussion.
My bad experience with the medical professionals started when I was referred to a cardiologist who was rude and abrupt. He seemed to assume I was an anti-vaxxer because I had waited for a while before getting the first jab. Throughout the first meeting, he appeared more interested in me getting the booster than he was in helping me. I was referred for two scans—one an MRI, the other a CTCA. Both have since come back clear and my only direction from here was to continue on Colchicine, Pantoprazole, and Ibuprofen and hope things ease in the coming months. He again did admit this was linked to the jab and said, “Well, it’s a new disease which means an even newer jab, so it was never going to be perfect. I strongly advise you to still get the Novavax as your booster as being covered for Covid still outweighs this little annoyance.”
I tried to explain “this little annoyance” has had a greater mental impact on me than the huge car accident from which I am still recovering nearly two years later. Overall, the experience was not pleasant; it left me feeling that the healthcare professionals we rely on have no idea where to go from here once the scans come back with no obvious abnormalities. Furthermore, who will be held to account if something even worse comes from this forced jab?
Since the medication and diagnosis, the Colchicine, Pantoprazole and Ibuprofen have provided some relief. But I have noticed when I have run for even a day, the symptoms of resting and exertion heart pains come straight back. I can’t see this being fixed in one-and-a-half months as the cardiologist predicted, but we will see. Overall, it’s been about three-and-a-half months experiencing resting pains, mainly when I lie on my back. I have not yet tried to exert myself for anything more than a 1.5km walk. I can no longer play soccer or even continue my physio rehabilitation to further my recovery from the car accident. It has put my life on hold and has me worrying about every heart pain I have, never knowing if it could be the last. It is terrifying. I’m truly grateful to have my girlfriend by my side through my car accident and now this.