Molly Valdez - Johnson & Johnson Severe Adverse Reaction

Molly Valdez
Johnson and Johnson 17th September 2021
Severe Adverse Reaction
Aged 21 Years Old

I am currently battling an extreme adverse reaction from receiving the Johnson and Johnson Covid vaccination.

I received the Johnson and Johnson vaccination on September 17th at 12:00pm. After 10-15 minutes post vaccine, I began feeling the normal vaccine reactions such as a head ache and nausea. I felt nothing of it and pushed forward. After 30-45 minutes post vaccine, I felt I was on the verge of vomiting and I began feeling tingling on the left side of my body from my foot up to my buttocks, my left hand and left cheek. I rationalize it as the vaccine moving through my body but I decided it was best for me to go home. I clocked off and started my drive from Newberg to my home in Tigard.

On my way home, about an hour post vaccine, my father called to check in, at that time I realized I was talking strange, my father even recognized the change. I looked at myself in a mirror while at a stop light and noticed the left side of my face has gone paralyzed. In extreme fear I began crying, told my father I would let him know how things go but I was close to home and wanted to make it safely so I hung up and continued home. Once I arrived home, the tingling reached to a numb feeling and it became increasingly difficult to walk. I laid down for a few hours hoping it would resolve but it hadn’t. I informed my work and decided to head to the ER. I had my brother pick me up and we made our way around 3:30pm.

They saw me right away for a possible stroke. Blood was taken and rushed to the lab, I was taken in for a CT scan and was put into a room for a telehealth appointment with a neurologist. After meeting with the neurologist and doing a brief exam as well as reviewing my CT scan, he thought it was best to give me medication to stop an active stroke, however, it had a very high death rate if given to a patient who was not having a stroke. I declined the medication and we proceeded with an MRI.

Once the MRI was complete, the ER doctor and neurologist met and went over everything. They came to a conclusion that it was not a stroke but was a complex migraine and told me to take an Advil and it will be gone in the morning. Frustrated with this diagnosis and inability to walk, I was sent home with no assistance out of my bed and to my husbands car, mind you, I was hobbling.

Waking up the next day, i could barely feel most of my left side, though my face had mainly recovered, my smile was still crooked. I could feel tingling on my right foot and I was scared it was spreading. My left arm and left leg were very weak and the numb, jello sensation had moved to my left shoulder/collar bone and I could not walk without assistance so I bought a cane. I took an Advil as directed by the ER doctor and took a long nap at about 12, waking up around 4. I visited a friends home with my husband to vent our frustration regarding the last ER visit. We all decided it was best to call my PCP to inform him of the new and worsening symptoms and asked for guidance.

He told us to go back to the ER to rule out Guillain Barre Syndrome which is a common side effect with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. So, we rushed back over and arrived at 7:30pm but weren’t admitted till 11pm. Through the wait, I was experiencing muscle spasms throughout my left side and a jello like sensation in all my joints and major muscles. The ER doctors did a full exam and agreed that there is significant weakness and drooping on my left side and some on the right and that it would be best to be admitted to the main hospital to me monitored and run further testing. I was assigned a room at midnight.

In short for my 2 days spent in the hospital, my symptoms worsened and I failed each neuro exam the nurse and doctors performed. I saw a physical therapist and occupational therapist and they both urged me to seek inpatient rehabilitation for a week or more to regain my strength again. However, I declined and said I would seek physical therapy separately because I did not want to be away from my family and pets during this emotionally stressful time.

I had another evaluation with a neurologist and he believed it was conversion syndrome but since I was having signs of nerve damage, it was not a confirmed diagnosis. My PCP recommended me seeking another neurologist outside of the hospital to get nerve conduction testing to finally get a confirmed diagnosis and get on the road to recovery.

So here I am today, September 24th, 2021. The weakness has spread further on my left side to my neck and jaw, making it hard to eat and tiring to keep my head up. I continue with physical therapy exercises the PT and OT gave me in the hospital and am awaiting an appointment with the neurologist.

THE LEAD UP TO THE VACCINE

In April 2021, I caught COVID-19 and was hospitalized for Covid Pneumonia where my right lung was full of fluid and no antibiotic was working to rid the infection. It was truly scary and it took a huge toll on my system that made it extremely challenging to recover and I still have lingering respiratory issues from it.

Due to working in the medical field and governor Kate Browns mandate for health care workers, I was required to be vaccinated, provide a medical exemption or voluntarily leave my position at my company where I would be unable to collect unemployment. I spoke with my primary care doctor regarding vaccine options with my medical history in mind. We both came to an agreement that with having the natural antibodies of COVID-19 and how my immune system reacts, it would be dangerous to get the vaccination at this time.

My doctor predicted that if vaccinated with the MRNA vaccinations and how they disguise your normal cells into COVID cells, the natural antibodies and normal cells would get confused and it could cause two different reactions. 1. I would have a severe auto immune reaction, making my cells attack everything, even the healthy cells, resulting in another auto immune disease to surface. Or 2. The stress the vaccine would put on my system when reacting with the natural antibodies and my weakened immune system, it could send a negative signal to my brain, causing my brain to tell parts of my body to shut down, as it tries to process and take care of the stress response that the vaccine is putting on my cells and immune system.

MY MEDICAL EXEMPTION WAS WRITTEN BUT DENIED BY MY WORK

He wrote me a medical exemption form and I swiftly turned it in over a week before the deadline. Then I started running into issues. ***The members of my works committee denied my medical exemption and agreed that there was not a valid reason for me to not get the vaccine because there have been cases of diabetics and immunocompromised people getting the vaccine and being fine. However, on the CDC website, it states that there is not a lot of research regarding immune compromised ones and folks who have auto immune diseases, it states that it is in discretion of the person and their doctor whether they deem it safe and at this time, it was not safe for me.

A member of the committee spoke in detail with my primary care doctor regarding his reasoning behind granting me an exemption. However, his reasoning was not enough and the member of the committee stated my doctor was giving misinformation regarding the vaccines and was putting his patients at risk. In addition to that, he consulted another physician from OHSU without my knowledge and shared my conditions and story to this doctor and they decided (without ever seeing me as a patient) I am fine to be vaccinated. Angered at this time, I went and got antibody testing done to prove there is no need to receive a vaccine and was still denied the exemption.

I was stressed and upset and my hope was running low. I loved my job too much and I did not want to put added stress on my co-workers in looking for a new employee. **I was given until September 17th to make my decision to either get vaccinated or leave my position. So, I caved and got vaccinated.

I received the Johnson and Johnson vaccination on September 17th at 12:00pm.