Maria did what she believed was the right thing to protect her mother and took the V in 2021.
She has been struggling with ongoing symptoms for over a year with little assistance from the medical fraternity to effectively deal with her symptoms.
I am a 60-year-old mom and gran with two children and three gorgeous grandchildren. Prior to the 
, I was healthy, slightly overweight and on blood pressure medication, with my blood pressure being stable. I had no other health issues and could manage stress easily. I have a full-time job and my 91-year-old mom lives with me.
I had 
in December 2020. I had the family over for Christmas day and we had a wonderful time. On the 26th I woke up feeling awful and thought I overdid the Christmas preparations. I went to see my GP and tested positive for . No other member of my family caught , not even my mom. I recovered fully and had no aftereffects from .
I got the because my nephew, who was a doctor, advised me to take it for the sake of my mother. He made me feel guilty and said that if I got and passed it on to her that “she wouldn’t make it”. I foolishly listened to him. Sadly, my nephew has since passed after getting – he was fully (double) and suffered a lung clot.
I got the first 
on 16 August 2021 and the second on 28 September 2021, both in my right arm. I had no reaction after the first. But after my second I felt awful. I was advised by the medical staff that this was normal and needed a few days for these symptoms to settle. Needless to say, I continued with weird symptoms – a burning sensation in my legs and arms, I felt abnormally anxious, and I kept shaking. I experienced weight loss and headaches and in December 2021 I went to a specialist. He stared at me blankly when I said all these aches and pains and weight loss were since the . His diagnosis was that I was depressed, and he prescribed an anti-depressant. I was hesitant at first to even take the meds, but eventually I was so desperate for some sort of relief that I started taking them in January 2022.
In March 2022, I went back to my GP in tears with all the same symptoms and more weight loss. I was then admitted into hospital where they ran blood tests, brain scan, and MRI with no answers – all the results came back clear. My medical aid is now refusing to pay for these procedures. I was given medication (Topolex and Nurika) for what I call my “fried nerve endings”.
In August 2022, I went back to the GP because I was still not feeling good at all. He referred me to another specialist who sent me back to hospital for bone scans and more blood tests. The outcome of the tests was that only my adrenals were slightly off, but it was not serious enough to be treated. His diagnosis was that I was stressed and advised me to change jobs!! I was gobsmacked!
In September 2022, I noticed floaters in my right eye. I made an appointment with an eye specialist and had emergency surgery scheduled – my retina was detaching and had to be repaired (it had 23 holes) and I had a cataract removed. Interesting to note was that my cataract advanced from 8% to 40% in a 2-year period. Obviously, once again, there were no answers as to how and why this happened.
It is now a year since my . I take prescribed meds and lots of natural vitamins. I have lost approx. 22 kg and hopefully won’t lose anymore. I still suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, pains in my back, shoulders, and neck, and awful headaches. The burning sensation in my arms and legs come and go. My legs and/or feet often have pins and needles. My pain is probably about a 6 out of 10, or maybe I’m just getting used to it. I’m extremely sensitive to noises which I never had before, and somehow, I keep going by the grace of God.
I have been seeing a holistic therapist once a week. She massages all my achy parts – shoulders, neck, head, feet, etc. I also started yoga in January which has helped my breathing when I don’t feel great.
At this point my medical aid savings are all long depleted and I pay for all the meds myself as an out-of-pocket expense.
Sadly, at no point would any of the doctors or specialists acknowledge that any of what I was experiencing was related to the . That part is so frustrating – I know my body and what I was like before and after the .
My message to everyone is to not blindly follow. Listen to your instincts. I would never have had the if I did.
You can reach out to Maria directly through her account or drop her some love and support below for so willingly sharing her story and journey.