A Medical Odyssey: A Nurse's Fight for Care After the Covid Vaccine

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The following account is written in the injured person's own voice to preserve the accuracy, emotion, and lived experience of what they endured.

On March 20, 2021, I received my first Pfizer Covid vaccine.

Two days later, everything changed.

What began as a strange reaction while trying to use my treadmill spiraled into a years‑long medical battle marked by debilitating symptoms, dozens of specialists, and repeated denials of care. I was repeatedly dismissed, or told my tests were wrong. I called patient relations multiple times. I was denied neurology referrals four times. I was denied basic mobility aids despite documented falls and injuries.

As a nurse, I cannot understand why standard medical care was withheld. The fear, avoidance, and refusal to help have affected me physically, financially, and emotionally.

Cardiovascular Collapse and POTS Diagnosis

My case was eventually documented as POTS by Dr. Grubb, with multiple University of Michigan physicians noting it was most likely vaccine‑related. Despite this, doctors at U of M refused to help me.

I developed hyperadrenergic dysautonomia, supraventricular tachycardia, and a heart rate of 182 bpm while lying in bed. The heart monitor was removed five days later with no follow‑up. When I contacted the company, they confirmed the reading was accurate.

I was placed on Ivabradine, clonidine, salt tablets, and nicotine patches.

Neurological Decline

By fall 2021, an EMG showed large fiber neuropathy—improved slightly over time but still abnormal. Later, I was diagnosed with moderate small fiber neuropathy. There was no amyloidosis. This diagnosis was hidden in my chart for four years as a “discreet entry,” per Dr. Little, and only formally added on March 20, 2025.

I developed severe dysmotility, vagus nerve damage, and ataxia, all documented in September 2021. Still, no treatment was offered.

Dr. Fink told me that if my condition were genetic, I wouldn’t have shown improvement. I still have a positive Romberg, down beating nystagmus, and a moderate fall risk on repeated vestibular testing. My vestibular system was described as “shut down” from a central pathology, unable to recognize incorrect vestibular input. I still cannot see in the dark.

Sensory and Autonomic Dysfunction

I experienced tinnitus, hyperacusis (now improved), sensory disturbances, and persistent livedo reticularis. I fainted repeatedly, once splitting my head open and waking up on the floor. My PCP documented bruises all over my body. Despite multiple falls, I was never provided a walker, wheelchair, or shower chair.

I developed dysphagia, choking on small foods. My pupils stopped reacting to light for years; in the ER, I was asked if I used meth.

Four EKGs—two in the ER—showed left atrial inflammation and a possible infarct that was never disclosed to me.

A cholinergic reaction caused acetylcholine impairment. My arm swelled from shoulder to wrist, and my back pain was so severe I couldn’t lie on a mattress. I was told this would be reported; it never was.

Immune Dysfunction and Repeated Dead Ends

A lymph node specialist suggested autoimmune or cardiac causes. I underwent every autoimmune test available—every one negative.

For two years, I experienced hypoxia, requiring 4 liters of oxygen during hall‑walk testing, with O₂ saturations dropping into the 70s when upright. I was told it wasn’t asthma, so no treatment was provided.

I couldn’t pass pulmonary function tests or eye exams for three years.

My immune system showed deficient NK and B cells, with low WBC counts for over five years. I was sent to a cancer center five times, yet no bone marrow biopsy was performed. My T cells remained high. I tested negative for genetic immune deficiency and for 574 different causes of immune deficiency through LabCorp.

I was negative for hepatitis, EBV activation, Lyme, vitamin deficiencies or excess, MCAS, genetic POTS, dysautonomia, encephalitis, paraneoplastic syndromes, leukemia, lymphoma, and clotting disorders.

Organ Findings and GI Complications

I was diagnosed with acute fatty liver despite never drinking alcohol. At 104 pounds, I was told the only explanations would be drinking a fifth of liquor daily or weighing over 400 pounds. All hepatitis tests were negative.

I developed a 5mm ground‑glass lung nodule, a new liver lesion that later disappeared, and long‑stable kidney and cervical cysts that began changing and required monitoring.

On May 4, 2021, rectal bleeding and black stools led to a colonoscopy that found a fast‑growing 14mm advanced adenoma. I entered a yearly surveillance program for three years—nothing further was found. During lockdowns, colonoscopy access was limited. I am now in a 10‑year plan.

An abnormal mammogram on the vaccine side now requires a breast MRI.

Musculoskeletal Injuries and Daily Struggle

An MRI showed a torn meniscus from simply trying to walk. I suffered a hip contusion from standing up. In one fall, a cabinet I grabbed collapsed on top of me.