Disclaimer: For those unaware, my wife Emma had a severe reaction to the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine which was mandated for her work as a teacher in Queensland in late 2021. The following information is true as I know it to be and is my own personal reflections and does not represent anything beyond that.
Introduction
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I’m generally a fairly private person and try and keep a reasonable distance between personal and professional life. Having said that, I feel what my wife (and myself/family) have been through have left me in a position to be a voice for others who may not have the capacity with the hope that what occurred in our society at that time never happens again. For what it’s worth, we are not ‘anti-vaccine’ – if we were our own children would not be vaccinated and we would not have been vaccinated ourselves (I went on to have further Covid vaccines, Emma has a contraindication to further ones).
It was a journey through hell for my wife Emma, myself and the family which started in mid-December 2021 when Emma (who had been juggling motherhood and teaching since 2006) had secured another contract to be a Prep teacher to start in 2022 and was required to be vaccinated for Covid-19. Due to my current employment status, I’m not in a position to discuss the way this was rolled our or the communication that took place. Needless to say that if you wanted to work, you were required to be vaccinated.
Initial Reaction
After her first job-mandated Covid-vaccination on the 13th of December 2021, Emma collapsed in a syncope episode and had to be brought around by doctors and nurses who were present in the clinic. Initial symptoms of heart palpitations and arrythmias as well as constantly feeling ‘faint’ upon standing (what we now know was Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) progressed into a myriad of debilitating symptoms that included itching, fatigue, nausea, headaches, insomnia and intense panic in what we now know was an immune-related reaction called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) triggered by the vaccine and which affected all her body systems. By far the toughest times were when she stated to me that she genuinely ‘felt like she was dying’, which 3 or 4 times led to her being taken off in an ambulance in front of our young children.
Perhaps naively we then had Emma stay for tests in a large city hospital, assuming that being a larger hospital they would have an awareness and ability to discuss the type of reaction Emma had. Unfortunately, as we now know APHRA’s own standards pretty well precluded doctors talking about anything deemed ‘anti-vaccine’, which included possible vaccine reactions:
“Any promotion of anti-vaccination statements or health advice which contradicts the best available scientific evidence or seeks to actively undermine the national immunisation campaign (including via social media) is not supported by National Boards and may be in breach of the codes of conduct and subject to investigation and possible regulatory action.” (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency [AHPRA], n.d.).
Over this initial 3-4 month period that this all occurred we had multiple trips to ER, and saw multiple well-meaning doctors several of whom dismissed Emma’s symptoms as not vaccine induced (nurses would generally tell us privately that they had seen a lot of people present with similar symptoms, and that they believed it was vaccine related).
Challenges Faced
The challenge for us as a family was not necessarily that Emma was unwell (tragically millions of families experience this every day). The challenge was the lack of clarity from experts, the cost of some relationships and the financial cost (despite having Private Health Insurance, none of the costs which at this point total $100,000 + lost income) were covered. We were fortunate down the track to have Emma approved for income protection through our superannuation fund. The less I say about the Federal Vaccine Claim Scheme the better as it has widely been regarded by those injured as ‘perversely narrow’ due to the fact that it only basically covers myocarditis/pericarditis or anaphylactic reactions, when there are literally thousands of people like Emma who had an immune regulated reaction which doesn’t fit their presumably deliberately narrow definition.
Work Cover also falls into this category and has turned out to be a protracted 2 year legal/emotional battle, that we have not yet won despite Emma’s medical evidence which includes:
Formal diagnoses of MCAS (Mast-Cell Activation Syndrome) and POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) which have both been linked to the vaccine by scientific research.
As more research has come out (and cynically; I believe the ‘climate’ surrounding vaccine injuries has changed) Emma has had her condition validated by a number of doctors and specialists. Here are some excerpts:
* Regular Dr ***- Completed the initial WorkCover claim and stated that the injury was consistent with “Pfizer vaccination- mandated for work”
* Treating GP Dr ***- “Emma has many of the symptoms of MCAS: flushing, itching or hives, abdominal pain, nausea, muscle pain… Another disabling Emma’s health is POTS. These are real diagnoses, and they are linked to the vaccine through research. “Are real and result from a multi-system dysfunction following her Pfizer Covid vaccination.”
* Cardiologist and Fellow of the ******* Dr ****: "“My impression on first meeting her is that she has symptoms which are very similar to many of the patients I am seeing with vaccine adverse events (and for that matter, long COVID) which broadly fall into a category of dysautonomia and small fibre neuropathy. These include cardiovascular manifestation such as orthostatic intolerance, tachycardias and ectopic beats, gastrointestinal autonomic dysfunction which include gastroparesis and constipation, disturbances of sweating, temperature regulation, limb neuropathy symptoms and vascular instability symptoms such as urethra neuralgia.” And again from the same Dr *****: “very Low venous oxygen levels…consistent with someone who should be in ICU”.
* Dr **** in a letter to treating GP Dr ***: “I would certainly agree with you that her presentation seems consistent with an immune mediated disorder triggered by the mRNA vaccine.”
* Abnormal immune blood test results from American GP specialists long covid clinic *** which includes Emma's blood test and document including the following quote: “According to Emma’s *** report, she has elevations in RANTES and sCD40L (platelet activator) which suggest potential for vascular inflammation and elevations in IFN-g suggesting potential for pro-inflammatory macrophage activation. Her elevations in CCL4 are potentially indicating T-cell recruitment to sites of inflammation. Our research suggests that the potential etiology behind PASC and post-vaccine symptoms is due to S1 subunit of the spike protein from the initial infection or the vaccine in CD16+ monocytes. These monocytes express both CCR5 and fractalkine receptors and cause vascular inflammation. This has been described in our two paper peer-reviewed and published in ***”. These are the abnormal immune cytokine/inflammation markers as per this blood test:
scd40l - 5 times higher than normal
ccl5 150% higher than normal
IFN gamma higher
CCL4 (MIP-1 beta)
From someone who previously had no significant issues with her physical or mental health, Emma was left physically and emotionally debilitated. The lack of diagnosis, clarity, recognition and prognosis certainly harmed her recovery even further. In my opinion, the way that this situation occurred, via a mandate amplified it further. In the era of inclusion the irony of the situation was not lost on me- we speak of inclusion, and then when people have a different health/medical belief (yes that is allowed- science is not always black/white; it certainly wasn’t in Emma’s case), suddenly they aren’t included, they are segregated.
If Emma had taken the vaccine voluntarily and not under coercion it would have made the whole situation somewhat more palatable. If she had chosen not to be vaccinated and then got extremely sick (or heaven forbid died) of Covid-19 at least it was her bed, and she had laid in it. Instead we were lying in a bed not entirely of our making, where knowledge of potential adverse side effects such as those she was suffering were not publicly available to us and for points of this journey we have felt like a 21st century version of the trolley problem (popularised by Thomson, J. 1976):
Support and Recovery
The community which kept us sane at this dark time were forums we found filled with people with not only similar symptoms, but similar progressions and timelines. Reading their horrific stories was traumatic but also gave us hope that a number of them were beginning to see symptoms dissipate to some level after a few months and that we were not alone. The other similarity with these fellow patients was the number of experts they had seen and the lack of clarity they were left with also.
We were fortunate that a couple of months into this saga we saw a fantastic functional doctor in Brisbane. She ran more comprehensive blood tests and put Emma on a range of treatments similar to how those with ‘long Covid’ are treated. Emma would say that the products most helpful to her recovery were antihistamines and low-dose naltrexone (LDN). Regular fasting (16:8) and eating a low-histamine diet has also helped along with a range of blood-thinning medications/supplements. The recovery is anything but linear, but ultimately time and rest is proving to be the best healer at this point.
For myself personally I had to dig really deep. For the majority of 2022, I was juggling full-time work, parenting three children at home, doing the vast majority involved in the housework and caring for Emma (often with her waking in the night with her symptoms/pain). I was also researching this condition and compiling the necessary paperwork for the claims scheme and superannuation/work cover paperwork. This was nearly completely untenable at times. I didn’t gain much pleasure talking with others about it (with rare exception) as there was a lack of total understanding from people as they either didn’t gain the gravity of what was occurring, couldn’t do much to assist due to the complexity of the situation or I was simply trying to keep my own head above water.
Fortunately Emma is improving in recent months, and in the last year a number of articles are coming out in journals and even mainstream media as well as a class action against the Therapeutic Goods Administration (https://www.covidvaxclassaction.com.au/). This is certainly a case of ‘watch this space’ as more comes out over the coming years. We were extremely blessed to have good support from family and some close friends. These people know who they are and don’t need to be named, but thank you.
I would also like to acknowledge the work of Dr Rado Faletic and the Coverse team, who, whilst injured themselves, set up the registered Australian charity Coverse in 2022, which is “dedicated to improving support for Australian residents who have been injured by a Covid-19 vaccine”. Their website is here: https://coverse.org.au/
Conclusion
I implore those reading this to acknowledge that this vaccine wasn’t ‘safe and effective’ for everyone. We wish that people (including ourselves) had the courage, and gall to do our own research at the time and not have been caught up in the herd-mentality utilitarian approach that many governments took at the time. Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth, for instance, has now said officials suffered “group think” and fatigue during the pandemic, which contributed to poor decision-making and a failure to consider alternative health options (Sullivan, R. 2024).
My hope is that those who were injured (including Emma) get the recognition and support they require from our governments. My heart also goes out to the many who lost loved ones at the hands of this vaccine and pray that the next time a pandemic occurs the Hippocratic Oath is at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
Mark Hansen July 2024
References
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). (n.d.). COVID-19 vaccination and immunisation information. Retrieved from https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Resources/COVID-19/Vaccination-immunisation-information.aspx
Sullivan, R. (2024, January 15). Controlling COVID at all costs went too far: Ex-deputy health chief. Australian Financial Review. Retrieved from https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/controlling-covid-at-all-costs-went-too-far-ex-deputy-health-chief-20240115-p5exce
If you are interested in further reading, please try some of these:
1. Couzin-Frankel, J., & Vogel, G. (2022, January 20). Rare cases in which coronavirus vaccines may cause long COVID symptoms. Science Insider. Retrieved from https://www.science.org/content/article/rare-cases-coronavirus-vaccines-may-cause-long-covid-symptoms
2. Kwan, A. C., Ebinger, J. E., Wei, J., Le, C. N., Oft, J. R., Zabner, R., Teodorescu, D., Botting, P. G., Navarrette, J., Ouyang, D., Driver, M., Claggett, B., Weber, B. N., Chen, P.-S., & Cheng, S. (2022). Apparent risks of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome diagnoses after COVID-19 vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nature Cardiovascular Research, 1(1), 1187-1194. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-022-00177-8
3. News.com.au. (2022, June 13). Outright lying’: Australian scientist hits out at TGA after ‘life-changing’ COVID vaccine injury. Retrieved from https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/outright-lying-australian-scientist-hits-out-at-tga-after-lifechanging-covid-vaccine-injury/news-story/c57a554e4f7b6750e8ae6ff2db6c9514
4. Safavi, F., Gustafson, L., Walitt, B., Lehky, T., Dehbashi, S., Wiebold, A., Mina, Y., Shin, S., Pan, B., Polydefkis, M., Oaklander, A. L., & Nath, A. (2022, May 17). Neuropathic symptoms with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.16.22274439
5. Scholkmann, F., & May, C.-A. (2023, May 3). COVID-19, post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS, “long COVID”) and post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (PCVS, “post-COVIDvac-syndrome”): Similarities and differences. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10154064/
6. Semmler, A., et al. (2023, November 11). Chronic Fatigue and Dysautonomia following COVID-19 Vaccination Is Distinguished from Normal Vaccination Response by Altered Blood Markers. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10674626/
S N, N. et al. (2022) SARS-COV 2 spike protein S1 subunit as an ideal target for stable vaccines: A bioinformatic study, SARS-CoV 2 spike protein S1 subunit as an ideal target for stable vaccines: A bioinformatic study. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8279943/
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