**14 June 2021 **
It's a date that is etched into my family's memory forever. The day I decided to silence my instinct, and heed the advice of a medical professional.
**Let me rewind a little. **
When images of people dropping dead in China first reached Spain, I immediately went into hyper-drive. You see, I had a previous memory of such images with SARS. A young man at my church died, and his last conversation with his family was through a cellphone, alone in his quarantined hospital room. We were told that his final days were terrible, and that his lungs finally gave up. It was a scary, and lonely death.
Fast forward to 2020 when many governments enforced harsh locked-down rules, and slowly loosened them when they felt the number of cases had sufficiently dwindled. By the time the first vaccines had been administered to the elderly in the US and UK, people were exhausted, and just gagging for normality. We all watched the news, some of us watched MSM as that was all we knew there was. Conversations mainly centered around how quickly the vaccines were being rolled out in US and the UK, but how slow it was for other countries. In Spain, specifically in Catalonia, people were anxious to receive this 'life-saving' vaccine that would finally end the pandemic. So when the government announced the vaccine roll-out would be according to age groups, we all finally had an idea when we would finally be 'free'.
However, just as the older population started receiving their shots, a few stories of vaccine injuries started to surface. I remember watching this a lady in the US shaking uncontrollably. Her son had recorded and published it. Then a few more showed up, but they were never ever discussed on any news sites.
I was now on the fence about the vaccines. When I mentioned the vaccine injuries, there was little response. One of my friends even said that 'they' would never release a vaccine if it wasn't safe. Her parents had received the vaccine, and they were fine. In fact, no one we knew had any issues, or so we thought. My friends who were older than me, dutifully got in line and received their shots and they were fine.
*So why was I hesitant? *
My mum who used to be a nurse and her group of retired nurse friends were concerned about the vaccines. They felt it was too rushed, and there just was not enough data to be able to make a thorough, informed decision. So my parents decided to just wait it out, and not get the shots. There was also the kerfuffle with the doctor that was promoting the use of Hydroxychloroquine that really made me start having doubts. Of course all that was quickly quashed by 'fact checkers'. Something felt off and I could not put my finger on it. So i did tell many that I really was not sure I'd get it.
Early June 2021
I received a text message saying that my age group could register for the vaccine. And all the ladies in my group chat were texting to confirm that everyone had registered. It was such a strange chat, and I remember feeling a lot of pressure to conform. At the same time, there was rumblings about not being able to participate in activities. My main concern shifted towards my young daughter. Would she be left out of activities if I was not vaccinated? Would she not be allowed to go to school or participate in sports? Would she not be invited to birthday parties or other social gatherings because of my decision not receive the vaccine?
I decided to put all emotions aside, and really look at this rationally. There were lots of articles available online to read about how the vaccines work, the benefits and some of the side effects. Here's an example of what Yahoo put out in May 2021
After a lot of thought I decided to contact my family doctor and speak with her directly. I told her that I was concerned, especially since I do suffer from seasonal allergies. She patiently went through my medical history and said that since there wasn't any history of an anaphylactic shock, I was indeed a good candidate for the vaccine. There would be nothing to worry about. So feeling a little more confident, I decided to register to receive the vaccine.
14th June 2021
After dropping off my daughter at school, I made my way to the arena where they held the mass vaccination. The queue was never-ending, I could not believe the sheer number of people.
I was assigned a booth, and waited my turn, but quite a while passed and no one called me in. A security guard finally asked me to move over to a new booth and not a minute after I got called in. Once my health card was scanned and the nurse asked me a list of standard questions ( if i were pregnant, ever had an anaphylactic shock, etc.) and once I had said no, proceeded to administer the shot. She then gave me the barcode receipt and asked me to sit down for 15 minutes outside before leaving.
During the 15 minute wait, I texted my mum to tell her that I decided to do it. Even sent her these pictures I've posted here. I can only guess now what she must have been feeling as she received those messages. It's exactly what I feel every time I see someone post their vaccination pictures on FB or IG these days.
The following 48 hours
After heading home I continued as per usual with some admin work and gardening. Although there was some pain in the injection site it did not impair my ability to continue any of the tasks. The next morning there was some weakness and more pain in the entire arm. After dropping off my daughter I was only able to do some basic chores around the house and spent the most of the day resting. By evening, I could feel a heaviness, and struggled to participate in any conversation. I picked up my daughter and we both had an early dinner and an extra early bedtime. At night, I was woken up by a sudden cramp-like sensations, and struggled to get back to sleep after that. By the next morning, there was a definite shift in my energy level. (Just a quick side note here: my husband returned to France a few days earlier for his mother's partner's funeral. So he wasn't around for all that was about to unfold.)
After sending my daughter to school, I met up with a couple of friends for coffee and a farewell lunch after at a nearby mall. By lunchtime, I felt weak, and had completely lost any appetite. It was difficult to swallow the food and all I wanted was fluids. At some point just before leaving the mall, my legs started to 'give in'. So I told my friend I needed to head back and rest before picking up my daughter from school.
On the bus journey home, I felt a surge of pins an needles creep up my legs. It was slow, but obvious.
**The sudden loss of coordination **
By the time I got off at my stop the pins and needles had moved up my to my spine. It was difficult to breathe or even walk. I took about 15 steps across the road into the plaza and then I could no longer put one foot in front of the other. My mind was was completely sharp and I could think very clearly, but my body was not responding like it normally would. I had to tell my legs and body to turn, and to sit down on a bench. When I finally sat down, I was overcome by pins and needles and then electrical sensations started shooting all through my body. I reached for my water bottle, but i could not drink, I felt nauseous. My body started to bend over and I felt my muscles tighten, my hands became rigid.
A guy having a drink at the plaza noticed me and I manged to mutter 'ayudame' - help me.
More to come in Part 2
This is based on my personal story about being vaccine injured. I made several journal entries which have helped remind me about most of the details. I do not wish to debate the effectiveness of vaccines, nor argue about how foolish I was to ignore my instincts. No one knows more about the damage done than me and my family. This is my story, so please respect that.