First Dose of Moderna on 04/06/21 Lot #021B21A
Second Dose of Moderna on 05/12/21 Lot #039B21A
Indiana
Christina has opted-in to be contactable by the public and other vaccine injured. No hateful emails or you will be banned. Her email is christinahackmanrealnotrare@gmail.com
Q: What was your life like before you got the vaccine?
I was 52 yrs. old. I am a mother and grandmother. I have worked full time, in the engineering department, for the same company for 33+ yrs. I loved to spend as much time outside a possible. In my free time I loved to garden, raise my chickens, go camping, kayak, hike, travel and was learning to fly fish. I was blessed to share an active life with my best friend and be a part of my kids and grandkids lives. We were in a great place in our lives. We had just built and moved into our "empty nest" home in the country. Our youngest just graduated from college. We worked and played hard. I was healthy and active. Covid had changed so much in everyone's lives, but we were still blessed with our health and jobs. Scott and I both work for the same family-owned company. In 2020 our company received the contract with the Ford Motor company to make ventilators. We worked endless hours to be a part of something that made a difference. We were proud to be doing what we could to save lives.
July 2020, I received a call from my sister. Our 79 yr. old father tested positive for Covid. While going to physical therapy he contracted the virus. From July to Oct the only contact we had with our father was through Duo or Zoom. His nurses were our angles. The end of Oct we were told the two of us could come see him. Outside. 10 feet apart. We could not touch him. Less than 24 hrs. later, we were called again, he was put on a ventilator. We were told he would not survive if he was removed from it. Having other health conditions and battling Covid for months was more than his body could handle. My sister and I made the decision to have the vent removed. He died a day later.
When April 2021 came around and our age group became eligible to get our Covid shots I was ready to do my part to stop this deadly virus. Months before when other counties where giving the vaccine I was a little worried. It seemed fast. But by the time it came to the states I was ready. My Dad had died. My daughter is an RN at the Children’s Hospital and still lived at home. She had already received the shot long before it was offered to the public. I have always received all my vaccines. I hadn’t missed a flu shot in 25+ years. I had just got my shingles vaccine in January. So, no worries…. Right?
Q: What was your reaction, symptoms, & timeline?
April 6th, I received my first Moderna shot. Within a few hours I had a headache and felt exhausted. My left arm was very sore. More than my usual flu shot. Over the next couple days, it got worse and traveled down my left arm. Over the next week, my left wrist had severe pain. My left hand and forearm had a numb area running down it. I was exhausted. I started having insomnia, way worse than normal. I would wake up frequently every night with my heart racing. Pounding so hard it startled me awake every time I would doze off. I would be soaking wet with sweat and flushed from head to toe. I had adrenaline surges rushing through my body. I began to have weakness in both arms and legs. It was hard to walk up the steps or my driveway without being exhausted. I noticed I was very “over sensitive - just off”. I started to notice vision changes. I had vertigo.
May 12th, I received my second dose. Again, I had a headache and my arm hurt within hours of the shot. All the symptoms from the first shot continued. On May 22nd while driving, I started to feel very strange. My vision began getting tunneled and blurry. I got sick to my stomach and started to sweat. I could tell my BP was going up. I had to pull over and have help getting out of the car. Over the next couple weeks everything stayed about the same. HR over 110+, BP going up 170+/ and down, adrenalin dumps, I had severe fatigue & weakness.
Then on June 12th everything blew up. All the symptoms accelerated PLUS more. I could not lay flat at all without my HR increasing to the point I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I called the Dr. on-call and was told that my HR wasn’t “that bad” and my BP of 170+ wasn’t” that high”. I have a digital BP cuff in the house so I watched it closely. My BP is usually around 110 to /115. It’s been low my whole life. I could not control my bladder. Running to the bathroom every 15 minutes or less. I had a horrible pain/cramp in my rectal area running down my left leg. I couldn’t stand the feeling being in my own skin. Then I started having cognitive problems. I couldn’t speak right. Word loss. Slurred speech. Memory problems. A crackling noise in my head. Chest tremors. Vertigo. I became very clumsy. Ran into everything.
I got into my primary Dr. on 6/14. She was pretty new for me, as mine of 20+ yrs. retired. She did an ECG in the office. Ordered urine and blood work. It was all fine. She said I was having an anxiety attack and needed to “clam down”. She wanted me to see a counselor for stress and a cardiologist for my high BP. I left crying.
June 29th, I went to a cardiologist. He ordered a heart monitor for me to wear for a month. July 2nd, I had an ECO, it was good. Over 3 weeks in July I lost 14 lbs. I had a hard time swallowing for a while. I didn’t drive a car for a month due to vision changes. I had major muscle loss and back pain. Pelvic/rectal pain that took my breath away.
July 6th, I went to the ER. I felt like I was either going to have a heart attack or a stroke plus I couldn’t sit. I was given something to relax me and had a CT & ECG scan. All normal. I had my first conversation with the ER Dr. about my thoughts and the timing of my vaccine and my symptoms. After she spoke on the phone with my primary Dr. her whole demeanor changed. I was dismissed. I was told to follow up with my primary and have a colonoscopy.
I saw my primary Dr. July 8th. Again, I was told to “calm down” and exercise and see a counselor. More blood and urine work were done. All fine. July 12th, I had a colonoscopy because of the rectal pain. All was normal. The GI Dr. referred me to a Colon Rectal Surgeon. July 13th, I was seen by an Endocrinologist. Having the adrenaline surges my thoughts were maybe it was my adrenal gland. The endocrinologist ran blood work and did a 24-hr. urine collection (I had 4 of those). Full thyroid panel. All my tests were normal. July 14th I was back in the ER in early AM. I begged to be admitted and monitored. Nope. After getting my BP down and HR down, I was given pain medicine and released, told to follow up with primary.
After that I vowed to just die on the floor of my home before I would let one more person make me feel crazy and not worth their time. July 14 still, later that day I had a OBGYN appointment. Pelvic ultrasound done. All normal. July 16th MRI was ordered by my primary Dr. just to shut me up. Normal. July 19th, I had an appointment with the Colon Rectal Surgeon. Office exam found no reason for my pelvic/rectal pain. July 24th, I had a pelvic MRI. Normal. I was diagnosed with Proctalgia Fugax. I started pelvic floor therapy weekly. August 9th- I was done with the heart monitor. It showed all of the accelerated HR spikes but I was told my heart was fine, but something was causing the spikes. Cardiologist didn’t see any reason for more tests.
During the month of August, I had a few weeks where I started to get some relief and things calmed down. I was able to lay down in bed for the first time in 12 weeks. I found quickly that when I tried to get back to more normal activities all the symptoms would flare up. Moving into September I started having less BP and HR problems but they were replaced with severe lower back and left hip pain, neuropathy in my feet and hands. I starting having problems walking. My legs just didn’t work right. I was still having episodes of cognitive problems. The crackling sensation in my head got worse. My neck was tight and my left shoulder was locked up. The tremors lessoned, but still happened a few times a week.
Oct.15th, I started to get sick and tested positive for Covid on Oct.18th. I was sick for a week. Since having Covid all my symptoms have gotten worse. My BP and HR is back to running high. Some days I can’t even think right. Memory loss is really bad.
Nov.4th, I had a yearly mammogram. Normal. Nov 9th, I had a follow up with my primary. She said I had neuropathy and ordered more tests. Nov. 16th, I had an EMG and Nerve conduction test, looking for Guillain Barre syndrome. I passed the tests. Normal. Dec. 3rd, I messaged my primary to let her know I reported my symptoms to Moderna and VAERS, that I had case numbers now. I expressed that I didn’t feel like I had support and my symptoms were not getting better. She gave me a list of mental health specialists and on My Chart, through Epic 15 mins later, I received a discharge letter from her office. She stated that “Doctor PT relationship no longer effective”. That’s it!! I now have no primary Doctor.
Dec. 13th, I drove to Dayton to see a neurologist at the University of Cincinnati. He has ordered two more MRI’s, EEG and more blood work. I haven’t done them yet. What came out of the visit/exam wasn’t a diagnosis at all, but talk of small fiber neuropathy, POTS postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and nervous system disorders. We did talk about vaccine injuries. He has referred me to rheumatology. He is thinking autoimmune disease brought on by the vaccine like RA or polymyalgia rheumatica.
Q: What is your life like now, after getting the vaccine?
My life doesn’t even seem real anymore. It’s all been a blur. I have lost all trust and confidence in our health care system. No one wants to help if you mention the vaccine. I AM NOT AGAINST VACCINES, but I won’t get another one at this point. I limit who I even talk to about my health. It has taken me weeks to write this post because it is way out of my comfort zone. I don’t share my personal views on social media ever. I have been injured physically and mentally. I feel very much alone. I can no longer enjoy the things I love to do. I am limited to mundane things. I am in constant lower body pain. My back, neck and hips are always tight. Some days I can’t feel my legs when I get up or they just don’t work right. The brain fog and memory issues haunt me every day. When I wake up, I never know how the day will go. I struggle doing my job. I repeatedly make mistakes or forget to finish things. I can no longer do Sadako puzzles, which I loved. I have a hard time even cooking and following a receipt. I have missed out on many things with my family. We canceled a couple vacations this past spring & summer because I could not leave the house for months. This fall we did finally go on a couple trips. I was limited to fishing a few feet off the river bank and sitting in a beach chair. NO hiking up the streams to fish or long walks on the beach. Each day I just try to be normal again and when I feel ok, I am very grateful. I am trying to learn to manage the flare ups. That’s the best I can do. I pray it will stop or someone will acknowledge what we are going through and help us heal.
Q: Share your experience with any medical care and any diagnoses you have received:
Please see above where I shared this in my timeline of symptoms.
Q: Was your reaction reported, and what was the response?
I reported it to Moderna and VAERS. I was given case numbers and a follow up email acknowledging my case and report. That is it. I have heard nothing else. I told my primary Dr. that I reported it on 12/3/ and a few minutes later she sent me a "patient-physician termination letter on MyChart.
Q: Is there anything that has helped, and have your symptoms improved?
My symptoms were at their peak in May, June & July. Things calmed down a bit in Aug. & Sept. In Oct I caught Covid and things flared up again. The month of Dec. has been not good but ok. I think I am getting use to feeling bad. I still have memory problems and finding the right words most days. The tremors & flushing have slowed down to a couple times a day. The joint pain and mussel weakness is still a daily thing. I found using a heating pad every evening helps my hips. I take a lot of ibuprofen & Tylenol. I lay on the floor, breath deep and stretch. I did 10 weeks of pelvic floor therapy and that helped with the pelvic pain. The Dr. that did my EMG & nerve conduction test started me on Zinc, super B complex, omega3 fish oil, and vit D3. I am not positive (it’s been only 4 weeks) but I think it has helped some. She highly recommends yoga and meditation for healing. I haven’t tried that yet. Mostly I try to sleep whenever my body lets me. I have gotten a couple deep massages and that really helps the mussel ache but doesn't lost long. My Dr. gave me Lexapro for stress but I haven’t taken it. It just seems like a mask to my injury. I just want to heal and have my life back.
Q: What do you wish others knew?
I want like others to know that I feel your pain and I am sorry you too are going through this. BUT at the same time, I want everyone to know that not being alone in this has helped me more that I can express. When I found this group, I cried. I had been looking for Steph de Garay for a while. (I live near Cincinnati but in Indiana) I had come across her interview with Tucker Carlson by accident. When she described what her daughter went through, I was shocked how it sounded just like what I was going through. After finding this page I couldn’t believe how the stories were so similar like mine. Alone I tried for months to express what was going on inside of my body. I wasn’t believed or was made to feel crazy. I heard the same words, same descriptions, feelings and desperation coming from everyone on this page. We need to be heard and we need to be helped. We did our part and followed the guidance of our medical community and now they need to stand up with us and help us. Acknowledge us. They need to study and learn from our injuries. Fix the vaccine or figure out who should not take it before we continue to inject it into our children. I want to know if I will ever be better or will I live with this forever.
REAL NOT RARE DISCLAIMER:
Real Not Rare does not diagnose medical conditions, offer treatment advice, treat illnesses, or prescribe medicine or drugs. Anything contained on this website or conveyed in the blog stories or groups, is not substitute for adequate medical care, diagnosis, and/or treatment from a medical doctor. It is strongly recommended that prior to acting upon any information gleaned via Real Not Rare or their representatives, you at all times first consult a physician. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individual being interviewed in each story, and do not necessarily reflect the position of Real, Not Rare as a whole.
