First Dose of Pfizer on 05/09/21 Lot #EW193
Ontario, Canada
30 yrs old
photo credit: @covidvictimsportraits on instagram
What It's Like Living With an Injury/Sudden Chronic Illness:
Q: What was your life like before you got the vaccine?
Before the vaccine, I was an active young mother, who loved the outdoors, especially hiking and kayaking. I loved working as an educator with the school board in my area supporting students with special needs.
Q: Would you like to share your reasons for getting vaccinated?
With intense pressure from work and working in a school and then the threat of losing my job, I finally caved and received my one and only dose.
Q: What was your reaction, symptoms, & timeline?
My life and health forever changed on May 9th, 2021. Sadly I didn't listen to my gut and let the pressures of my workplace, as an educator, get in the way of making the choice. Happy mother's Day to me.
Immediately after receiving it, I knew something was wrong. I felt dissociated, and I started having visual disturbances, but I chalked it up to nerves. Later that evening, a huge welt to appeared on my back. It was painful. I went to the hospital, but they could give me no explanation other than it was potentially shingles caused by the vaccine. The following day, I started having chest pains, palpitations, dizziness and vertigo. This went on for months, as well as having issues with my temperature, tolerating heat, having flares where my cheeks would burn hot as fire and related to be described as ongoing allergic reactions.
These reactions went on until I ended up in an episode of anaphylaxis, after which point I then started having tremors, internal tremors and head pressure. Following days of this, in and out of the hospital, having repeated fainting spells (loss of consciousness), the pain went to the right side of my face and right eye, and since then I've been progressively losing my vision in my right eye along with being in chronic severe pain in my face and eye 24/7.
At this point I have been diagnosed with POTS. I deal with chronic severe pain in my face and eye every waking moment, as well as vertigo. I'm literally going blind, and they have no idea how. It has been totally debilitating and has changed my life course. I've had to change my plans as a young mother as I haven't been able to function. All I would like is to receive proper medical treatment and for no one else to suffer like myself. I have been suffering for 13 months.
Q: What is your life like now, after getting the vaccine?
Life now is difficult, every day is hard. I am constantly wading through intense chronic pain and inability to live life the way I once did. I am unable to do all the things for my family and child that I hoped to do, like adventures and even just going to the park can be too much. I suffer and smile through the pain each day and continue to struggle to work full-time like I once did and require a lot of accommodations. I'm currently working on getting help with accessibility tools. I need shower chairs at times, tools to help me get ready and help from friends and family to do regular house tasks.
Q: Share your experience with any medical care and any diagnoses you have received:
I have been in and out of the hospital around 15 times. They continue to struggle with a proper diagnosis. I am currently seeing over five different specialists, and what I have been diagnosed at this time is with nystagmus, carotidynia, visual snow syndrome, vision loss, chronic migraine, POTS. Those diagnoses don't even touch the surface of all of my symptoms.
I have been denied care many of the visits to the hospital, as well as being ignored, especially if I mention the vaccine. I am still fighting to see a variety of specialists, and I have had to switch doctors to get appropriate care, yet they still don't know how to help me even if they do believe me.
I have pots, carotidynia, nystagmus chronic migraine vision loss, 24/7 nerve pain in right side of face and eye, blood pressure issues, tremors, swelling of my limbs, neuropathy and so much more.
Q: Was your reaction reported, and what was the response?
When I first had my reaction immediately after receiving the vaccine, my healthcare provider told me it would pass. When it didn't pass he ignored me again and laughed when I even suggested it was POTS and caused by the vaccine. When I asked him to report it, he refused.
I'm in Canada, and we need a doctor to report for the most part. It doesn't make it easy.
Q: Is there anything that has helped, and have your symptoms improved?
I continue to live in constant pain, and new things pop up all the time. The only thing that has gotten better with time is my POTS symptoms. Or I believe I may have had mild myocarditis in the beginning, because it is my chest pains that have gotten better with time, but I do still in fact have POTS symptoms. I'm not sure what helped with that.
Q: Have you had Covid before? What was your experience if so?
No, I haven't.
Q: What do you wish others knew?
I wish for others to know the risks that they are taking when they do take this, and that it could happen to them. When I had taken the shot, I was not given proper informed consent. It is criminal what has happened. I want others to know the truth and the real risks that they are taking when they take this, and how it can steal away your life in an instant.
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