I am a 36-year-old from South Australia, a wife and mother of two children. Prior to having the vaccination, I was healthy, content and led a busy life. I loved spending time with my family and was passionate about animals. I had just started my own business which was becoming very successful. I was also rescuing wildlife whilst waiting to return to veterinary nursing study including a course in herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians).
I am up to date with all the standard vaccinations, as is my family. However, on this occasion my gut instinct told me not to get the COVID-19 vaccination and I was very nervous and hesitant about getting it. I felt forced to have it because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to go to my children’s school or excursions, or volunteer to do reading. I was also scared that if my children needed a doctor’s appointment or hospital visit that I would not be allowed in. I couldn’t risk that, so I got the first vaccination on the 6th November 2021 (in my left arm).
Following vaccination, I was quite dizzy for a week or so. I also had a low-grade fever, felt exhausted and noticed my heart went slightly strange, beating a little bit stronger. My GP whom I have seen since I was a child, listened to me and ran an in-house ECG. The results came back as fine. By the time my second vaccination was due, the only symptom I
was experiencing was exhaustion. I went in on the 4th December 2021 and wasn’t as nervous because I was convinced that if anything bad was to happen that it would only be similar to what I experienced with the first. How wrong I was…
For the first four days I had a mild fever and extreme exhaustion, but I thought that would be the worst of it and wasn’t concerned. On December 8 2021, four days after having the second vaccination, I was driving on the main road with my family to the kids’ Christmas concert. I started having weird palpitations and asked my husband to drive. We swapped sides and by the time I got into the passenger seat, I was convinced I was having a heart attack. My husband called an ambulance while trying to keep the kids calm. My heart had stabbing, sharp pains and felt like it was beating out of my chest. It also felt like it was beating one beat too many or was skipping a beat. It was hard to tell. I was dripping in sweat, was having trouble breathing and had sharp pains in my jaw. It felt like I was being choked by a tennis ball in my throat.
The ambulance came quickly and I begged my husband to continue on to school as I didn’t want to ruin the kids’ concert. He called my mum and got her to meet me at hospital. Upon arriving I was still the same but then, a new symptom started. I was getting sharp shooting pains down my left arm, which left a numb/tingly type feeling. Thankfully they took me straight through and ran some tests – ECG, bloods, chest X-rays. Everything came back normal. I was starting to feel better with respect to the sharpness of the pains but still had strange palpitations.
The ED doctor I saw told me that he had no doubt it was a reaction to the vaccine and that he has been seeing more patients with a whole range of strange reactions, including cardiac, and more than patients with non-vaccine related issues. The nurses I saw all said the same thing. In fact, being in emergency, the only thing that separated the patients was curtains. I could hear other patients telling their stories to the doctors and nurses and the only person I heard who wasn’t in there due to the vaccine, was an elderly lady who had had a fall. Of course, I couldn’t see the people who were in ED, but I could hear a mix of male and female voices.
They sent me home, telling me to rest and come back if it happened again. The symptoms continued to happen on a daily basis. I was in hospital more than I was at home. I had further tests. A CT scan on my chest, ECG, more bloods, another chest X-ray…… Everything kept coming back normal. However, almost every doctor I saw, as well as the nurses, assured me it was a reaction to the vaccine. They just didn’t know what to do about it. My cardiologist and GP both said reactions happen at about the third to fifth day (post-vaccination).
I followed up with my GP, who referred me to a cardiologist. The cardiologist did Holter monitoring and an echocardiogram. I was diagnosed with pericarditis,
costochondritis and sinus tachycardia. I was prescribed prednisone for three days, three days before Christmas. On Christmas Day, I was to start colchicine medication. I took the first colchicine tablet Christmas morning and my lips felt a bit strange after that. On Christmas evening I took my second colchicine tablet and went to bed. I woke up around midnight and I couldn’t move my limbs as they were numb. I couldn’t feel my lips or my tongue. I had to go back to emergency and they called an after-hours cardiologist who confirmed that neurological or gastrointestinal side effects can occur with colchicine. I was advised to stop it immediately.
I went home again and continued to worsen. On top of all the initial symptoms I’m now also having a hot sensation at the back of my heart. Along with the hot sensation there is a ‘pulling’ sensation. I’ve been pretty much bed ridden for almost 4 months. I can’t drive, cook, clean or watch the kids. I collapse after a shower. I have difficulty sleeping as I’m in pain and I’m getting sore on my right side as it’s the only position that I can sleep (propped up). The other positions affect my heart too much.
Since the second vaccination, these are the symptoms I have experienced daily:
- exhaustion to the point of falling asleep sitting up
- headaches
- hair loss in chunks (alopecia)
- sore and enlarged lymph nodes under my armpits
- lump in throat
- choking sensation
- shortness of breath and difficulty breathing
- pressure on chest
- sharp heart pain
- dull heart pain
- hot/tight/pulling feeling at back of my heart
- sharp pain in the left side of my jaw and neck
- sharp and dull pains in my left arm
- numbness and tingling in my left arm
- crushing/compression feeling on front of my heart/chest
- general body aches and pain, especially on the left side
- fever during pericarditis flares
- heart rate spikes and changes
- palpitations
- nausea
- dizziness
- squeezing sensation at bottom of my heart
- swelling of joints
All of these are worse when I am lying flat on my back or my left side.
Additionally, I have just found large lumps under my arm in the lymph node area and in the crook of my elbow.
The cardiologist has said there is nothing more they can do for me. I’ve been given a new referral by my GP to another cardiologist. I won’t stop searching until this is fixed. My bloods now show inflammation in one of my markers, so I’m obviously getting worse. My heart has now been doing long ‘pauses/stopping’ for which I again presented to emergency. This shows up quite clearly on the ECG. Since I had the vaccine I’ve been to emergency over 11 times in four months. I had an MRI this week for which I am awaiting results (at time of writing). The person who administered it told me that they are seeing a continual flow of many people having cardiac MRIs since being vaccinated. My next test is a stress test in May. I have been told that it’s not until this test is done that some vaccine-related injuries are showing up in the results.
I have been, and am still, going through hell. I feel lucky though, that I have such a supportive GP and that the health staff along the way have not gas-lit me about my injuries, but instead confirmed they are seeing these injuries in many people. However not a single doctor has mentioned reporting my injuries, so I reported them myself to the TGA.
I was meant to be returning to veterinary nursing this year and had just started a small home business selling exotic pet food, which was doing well. I now can’t do either and we continue to go into debt trying to get help for me, but we are running out of money.
I feel so much frustration. I am so sick of the invisibility of these injuries and them being covered up. The more stories that are shared, the more people who can be helped and the better chance there is of truth coming out. I am angry too, at the media and government, going on so much about COVID-19 but being silent about the vaccine injuries. We did what they told us to do and ended up getting hurt, but then they shut us down when we try to bring it to their attention.
The COVID vaccine has left me bedridden. I’m not living. I’m suffering and I am a burden to my poor family. My kids don’t have a mum that can run around and dance with them or drive them to school. They have a mum that sits on the lounge or in bed and is gasping for air. They have a mum at point of collapse due to her heart going crazy just from a walk to the toilet. This has ruined my life and the life of those around me. It has caused physical, emotional, mental and financial turmoil. I just want to be me again.
I don’t know what scares me more; the prospect of living the rest of my life like this or the fear that the damage caused by the vaccine will take my life. Nothing is the same now. My oldest child asks, ‘Is mummy going to die?’ This is devastating to hear as a mum. My kids are now getting used to me being in hospital and hooked up to gear. The impact that this is having on my children is devastating.
I encourage you to question everything. I didn’t listen to my gut. I wish I had. Also, a lot of people seem to not listen or care unless something happens to them. I’d love to see people rally behind one another and to have open minds and open hearts. My message to others like me who have been injured – DON’T GIVE UP. Keep fighting until you have medical personnel in your corner and until you get answers, and you get better.