First Dose of Moderna on 02/24/21 Lot #002A21A
Brooklyn, New York
painted portrait credit: @covidvictimsportraits on instagram
UPDATE 08/08/22:
It has now been almost 18 months since my vaccination and I am still suffering. No one seems to be able to address the pressure in my head or the chronic vertigo/balance problem I have now.
I am healthier than I was but nowhere close to the health I had prior to that one dose. The constant relapses and episodes of intense head pressure is overwhelming. I am still afraid to travel anywhere far because I relapse a lot.
Sometimes, I have these sensations in my head now, they feel like mini explosions in the brain. So hard to explain but it just feels like you’re going to stroke out and it feels as if my brain is shaking. Like an internal tremor inside my skull, if that makes any sense. This vaccine attacked my brain/CNS. All my problems stem from my brain. It doesn’t matter that they can’t find the problem on an MRI, I KNOW what I am experiencing. I also didn’t have gliosis before. Now I do.
More doctor’s appts coming up this summer. Another heart doctor and an appt with a neuro-otologist.
I’m tired! I’m tired of doctors telling me my tests are fine and I’m very healthy. I’m angry! I’m angry at every doctor who can’t diagnose the problem so they write anxiety in my charts. I DON’T HAVE ANXIETY! I was EXCITED to take the shot. There was no anxiety about getting this shot at all.
ONE shot of Moderna has changed my health forever. I am chronically ill now…period. No one wants to admit it, no one wants to take responsibility, no one cares. I don’t care who is unable to understand what has happened to me BUT it has happened and it sucks!
If someone could fix the chronic vertigo I could at least feel somewhat normal again. Do you know what it feels like to be completely still and you feel like you’re on a moving boat? Meclizine had no affect on me and an ER doctor told me because it’s “in your head”.
Never go to the ER in Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn NY, they have the rudest staff and are in complete denial of vaccine injuries.
I just pray we get real answers before we die, some apologies and accountability. I’m not crazy! I was extremely healthy before this and on paper I STILL am…cause that’s how healthy I was my whole life…but now I am sick.
None of my neurologists have been willing to do a spinal tap and I just learned about a SPECT scan.
I know some people were having some luck with IVIG treatment and HBOT therapy but who can afford that. Most of us cannot. It’s so expensive smh.
What a nightmare. The gaslighting is unbelievable. This is my REAL life and it sure doesn’t feel RARE when YOU’RE the ONE! I pray all of us continue to heal someway, somehow.
Original Interview 12/16/21:
Q: What was your life like before you got the vaccine?
My life before covid was great. I was in great shape and a distance runner(two marathons). After I got covid I became a covid long hauler and was having some issues but getting better with time. It was frustrating but extremely manageable.
Q: What was your reaction, symptoms, & timeline?
I was so excited to get my vaccine on 02/24/2021. I had some tingling in my arms after but nothing too crazy. Later that week, I started getting some intense headaches and dizziness. On 03/19/2021 I suffered a TIA ministroke and lost complete feeling in my right side and went straight to the ER. This was just the beginning of my problems.
Q: What was your life like after you got the vaccine?
My symptoms started to progress. Chronic floating vertigo, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chronic pins and needles in my limbs, hands and feet, internal tremors, burning sensations in my legs, severe episodes of muscle weakness where I can barely move my limbs and my hands curl. It has been a nightmare. In May and June I was in full crisis and suffering daily while trying to hold down my job and get answers from my doctors. I had no idea that I could become chronically ill from this vaccine.
Q: Share your experience with any medical care and any diagnoses you have received:
My medical journey has been very unhelpful. The truth is no one knows what happened. I’ve been through an enormous amount of blood tests and MRI’s to rule out autoimmune disorders. My neurologist did tell me that all my issues and timeline all point to the vaccine but that it’s hard to prove. He believed I would get better as the vaccine waned and he was correct. Though I am still suffering, my episodes are much less and more tolerable. I still get episodes and I still have the chronic vertigo which I am learning to live with, but the old me is gone. I don’t think my health will ever return and it makes me extremely sad. There is no real hope or help for my injury.
Q: Was your reaction reported, and what was the response?
My reaction has been reported to VAERS, Moderna and all of my doctors. Moderna had nothing to say really, they haven’t even followed up. It’s obvious that they don’t care. My neurologist told me there was nothing he could really do for me except some seizure medication. It has definitely been a long journey full of disappointment. My story is real and people treat it like it doesn’t matter cause it didn’t happen to them. It’s amazing that I tried to do my part to help the world and the world has turned their backs on me.
Q: Is there anything that has helped, and have your symptoms improved?
Honestly, just time. The two seizure medicines did not help. Eating healthy has not helped or exercise. Sometimes allergy medication helps when I’m having problem breathing, but it’s really just been time. I’m now 10 months out from one single dose that changed my life and every month has been better than the previous. I’m still sick but it’s more tolerable.
Q: What do you wish others knew?
I wish people knew that we are NOT antivaxxers. We are vaccine injured and just because you’re not doesn’t make our story less important. I was one of the first to get this vaccine and I’ve suffered tremendously for that decision. It is so frustrating to have a “new” illness that no one cares about and many are in denial about. We deserve treatment and we deserve to be heard.
