Raquel Wonders if She Will Ever Be the Same

By:  Norma Erickson, Vaccines Examiner

Raquel was the typical girl next door. She enjoyed spending time with her family and playing with the other children in the neighborhood. Raquel’s biggest concern was studying to get good grades in school. She loved to travel and enjoy the great outdoors.

Raquel was 14 when she got her first shot of Gardasil in November of 2008. In February of 2009, she received her second shot. Five minutes later, she was dizzy; ten minutes later, she was experiencing tachycardia (rapid heart beat) and seizures. A few hours later, she is in intensive care unable to breathe. Raquel is in a coma.

For the next two months, Raquel remains in the intensive care unit battling between coma and convulsions. When she is released from intensive care to a regular ward, Raquel can no longer walk.

During her stay in the hospital, doctors rule out the possibility of encephalitis, viral infection, and bacterial inflammation. Left scratching their heads as to a cause, they say it is a pseudocrisis and release her without further treatment. Raquel had to be transported home in an ambulance because she could not yet sit in a wheelchair, although one was provided for her. She and her family were left trying to deal with convulsions and paralysis on their own.

Raquel’s parents take her to a private neurologist who determines she suffers from demyelination, a loss of the myelin that insulates her nerve endings. She is given a prescription for anticonvulsive treatment and a myelin rebuilder.

In May, she is released to rehabilitation. By the end of July, she can finally walk again.

In October, her doctor decides to gradually decrease her medications because she has been seizure free for several months. In November, the nightmare begins again. Raquel is once more confined to a wheelchair and has to try to fight her way back to a somewhat normal existance.

Raquel has missed a lot in the last year:

• She remembers very little about her two month stay in the Intensive Care Unit.
• She missed the touch of her parents for months, while they could only view her though a window and communicate via blackboard.
• She could not wish her brother “Happy Birthday,” she was intubated that day.
• She could not celebrate Easter with her family, she was in the hospital.
• She could not celebrate her 15th birthday with family and friends, she was in the hospital.
• She missed five months of school.
• She can no longer enjoy many of her favorite foods, Raquel is on a special diet.
• She misses participating in normal everyday activities with her friends.

From the day she received her second shot of Gardasil, her life has been totally changed. She spent a lot of time wondering if she would survive at all.

Instead of looking forward to growing up and making plans for her future, Raquel has but one thought on her mind, “I do not want one more girl to suffer what I have suffered!”

ORNELLA DIAZ

Age when she was vaccinated: 13 years old.

City- Country Avila- Spain

Diagnosis: Incapacitated

Symptoms: Since Ornella got the vaccine she is unable to do physical education.  Her medical tests show a low level of potassium – she has tremors, she gets sick, she has headaches and has experienced loss of sight and dizziness.  After being admitted to the emergency unit of the hospital she was discharged after 7 hours resting. She has been advised to see a psychologist but her mother says her daughter is not a crazy girl.  Her condition worsens almost always when she has her menstrual cycle.

Dates of vaccination:  9/22/08 first shot and received the second shot on 11/24/2008. She did not receive the third shot.

She was vaccinated with Gardasil. Batch:  First shot NG432200; Second shot N643220

Not recovered:  She still has crisis.

HPV vaccine has changed our lives.

It is terrible we are always worried when she starts shaking and has tachipnea (rapid shallow breathing) because we have to go to hospital. I believe that they should investigate a little since there are children who have common symptoms. I hope they take care of them before it is too late.

RAQUEL DOMINGUEZ

Town- city- country:  Alboraya 46120. Valencia. Spain.

Diagnosis Hospital Clinico de Valencia: initial paroxistic movements and pseudocrisis. Raquel was unable to walk. Neurologist who is treating the girl at the moment has diagnosed: Demyelinitation, left hemiparesis and ataxia as consequence of inflammatory process in the trunk or cerebellum due to an auto-immune process. Pseudocrisis. Incapacitated

Symptoms: Seizures, loss of consciousness, headaches, tachycardia, disconnection towards environment, loss of strength (mainly left side), blurred eyesight after the crisis, dizziness, joint pain (mainly neck),vertigos, weakness in the legs, irregularities in the menstruation (she always had regular periods, now this is not the case), loss of feeling in hands and knees, urticaries (skin condition), incapacity to walk (after the crisis), incapacity to take physical exercise.

Visits to Emergency Hospital Doors 5/16/2009,11/7/2009,11/26/09

Hospitals where she has been admitted Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia , Casa Salud Hospital (Valencia)

Hospitalizations Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia: From 2/4/2009 to 5/6/2009 (she was practically two months in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit). Hospital Casa Salud (Valencia) From 5/6/2009 to 5/13/2009

Dates of vaccination 1^st Shot: 11/18/08;  2^nd shot 2/4/09

Vaccinated with Gardasil. Batch 1^st Shot: NH45150 2^nd Shot NH 52670

Duration of the disease From the 2/4/2009 to today 2^nd of February 2010.

Evolution of the Disease Five minutes after receiving the second shot she becomes dizzy,  after ten minutes she begins with tachycardia, temperature 38´2ºC and seizures, so the doctor decides to inject a valium and call an emergency ambulance. She is removed to hospital where she stays at the emergency doors from 14:00 to 18:00 (they make a TAC and a lumbar puncture) and finally she is admitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit as they cannot stop the seizures despite the fact that she was given valium. That night she was intubated (attached to a breathing machine) because she had an apnea – breathing problems and in a coma. The second day the doctors tell us that perhaps it is an Encephalitis because the lumbar puncture was positive, so they prescribe her antibiotics. After they repeat the test and say it is not Encephalitis. Our daughter stayed in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit practically two months. She was intubated on four occasions since she did not respond to anticomicial treatment (an agent that prevents or relieves convulsions). Two days after our daughter was in hospital another girl (the other Valencian girl) was admitted to hospital for the same symptoms as our daughter: seizures, loss of consciousness. She also stayed in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Doctors give us different diagnoses, first they told us that it was a virus, after that the inflammation had to be in the trunk, finally they told us that it was an immunological problem and for that reason they give her corticoids (a steroid) and immunoglobulins.

Drastically from the 15^th of March the specialists change their diagnosis to Pseudocrisis. When Raquel is on Ward we realise that she can not walk. Doctors decide to withdraw anticomicial treatment, and from that moment on she begins having seizures practically every day. She remains in Ward another month and she was discharged from hospital without treatment and with ataxy – loss of the ability to coordinate muscular movement (she was in a wheelchair as she could not walk at all). After we take her to another hospital, a private neurologist states that she had demyelination* due to an inflammatory process on the trunk or encephalus, ataxy and left hemiparesis (weakness on one side of the body). *Dymelination is a loss of myelin, the substance in the white matter that insulates nerve endings.   He gives her anticonvulsive treatment and a rebuilder of the myeline. After leaving that hospital at the end of May she begins a rehabilitation programme (she stayed in a wheelchair for three months). At the end of July she begins to walk. In October 2009 the neurologist prescribes to decrease the medication little by little. In November (after six months without seizures) she has another crisis and after that she is unable to walk. On the 27^th November she has another crisis, so the neurologist increases the medication. Until 4^th January 2010 she cannot walk. Now she goes practically every day to the swimming pool as requested by the rehabilitator.

Not Recovered

From the day in which she received the vaccine, her life has changed totally. She does not remember practically anything that happened in two months while she was in the Intensive Paediatric Care Unit. When she was there she sometimes felt she was going to die. When they intubated (breathing machine) her she suffered a lot. She could only see her parents for a little while a day. When her family came to see her, she saw them through a window, she communicated with them with a blackboard. When we thought she was recovered because they told us she was not going to have more seizures and she was sent to an ordinary ward, there she became ill again and she was sent back to the Intensive Paediatric Ward. She could not see her friends until she was better.

The first time she tried to walk, we realised she could not. She could not congratulate her brother on his birthday as she was intubated, or speak to congratulate her grandmother or her cousin on their birthdays. She has a very bad memory and cannot remember when she was in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit – (she cannot remember many things that happened to her during her stay in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit). When she was on the Ward she was happy because she was with her parents but there was always a nurse with us. She was in hospital at Fallas (Valencian festivity) at Easter and even on her birthday. We made a party to celebrate her birthday in hospital. After leaving that hospital she went to another, luckily she was there only one week. When she arrived at home she was in a wheelchair for three months, it was terrible, she could not go to school for five months, she could not go out with her friends, she could not do the things other girls do at her age for six months. She started taking medicines and a special diet.

In September she was happy because she started school, she had very good marks but in November she was ill again, when she saw she was in hospital again she felt bad. More when she realised she could not walk and she had to use a wheelchair again. She and all the family felt they were repeating the nightmare no school, no friends, no walking. Often she wonders herself why this has happened to her. She has grown very much, no longer she worries about trivialities.

All the family are living together to care for her, but it is very hard to see how your daughter is suffering so much and you cannot do anything to help her, besides we feel that Health Authorities do not care about what is happening to our daughter and the other ones. Really we feel disappointed and helpless.

Our daughter says she does not want another girl to suffer what she has suffered, that sentence is always in our mind.

CELIA ELHAZAZ

Age when she was vaccinated 14  years old.

City, community and postal code: Colmenarejo, 28270 Madrid, Spain

Symptoms: At the moment: Slight vasculitis in legs. Occasionally she has fatigue in her legs and headache. Previous to October 2009: Vasculitis going from moderate to intense with very frequent bouts in legs, gluteus (muscles) and forearms. Strong headaches and abdomen pain with duration lasting for several days.  Celia experiences extreme fatigue in legs and generalized fatigue in her body. She also had very bad joint pain and when we went to emergency doors she was unable to walk. Generalized deterioration in her mood (mood swings).  Also there has been a lack of concentration in her studies.

Visits to Emergency Doors In 3 occasions: Hospital of Torrelodones, Hospital of Moncloa and Clínica Kirón Hospitals.  A day hospitalized for accomplishment of tests and treatment. Rest with consultation January-July. In addition a treatment with an immunologist in Gerona followed on from the consultation. Hospitalizations 1/20/09 in the Kirón clinic.

Dates of vaccination 9/22/08 and 11/17/08 (on this date besides papillomavirus they injected adult tetanus-difteria to her)

Vaccinated with Gardasil:  Batch NG43220 and NG52730

Duration of the disease:  From the 6^th of January 2009 to the present time

Not Recovered.

Gardasil has changed our lives

Celia was an excellent sports girl in several sport disciplines (rythmic gymnastics and volleyball) finishing champion of the Scholastic Community of Madrid in both, year 2008/2009. Last year she could not do physical education (the teacher made an adaptation with a theoretical test). Due to her fatigue she was practically all afternoons in bed trying to study with great difficulty and trying to  concentrate in order that she would pass her exams (the previous year she finished the course with A’s and B’s), failing some subjects. Physically her condition has deteriorated and she has been sad all the year. She also had undergone special urine and hair analysis which revealed a lack of lithium and other minerals in her body and that is what the doctor told her and which could explain her condition.  It should also be recognised that there are two doctors working on the chelation of the girls since most of them have high levels of heavy metals. At a personal level her daily routine consists of taking all her different medicines since her process began (January 2009) and since August she follows a diet without gluten or casein (in milk products) and she has other food restrictions which makes it very difficult for her in front of her friends (she takes with her to school the food which has been prepared for her at home- before she ate in the school dining room).  This year she has begun to practice physical activity again, but with a much more moderate rate.

LUCIA MARTI

Age when she was vaccinated: 15 years old

City, community and postal code:  Javea (Allicante) 03730 Spain.

Symptoms: fainting, stifling sensation, anguishes (on the following day after vaccination, but we did not give importance to it) Urticaria on legs, thighs, pubis area (rash like hives).  The hair began to become rough and to fall out.  The skin began to become dry. Then, nummular excema, seborrheic dermatitis, trembling hands, respiratory fatigue problems, heat sensation in all the body have been experienced – cramps in feet and hands. – cramps in legs and swelling in wrists, knees, feet, diminishment of visual sharpness (loss of vision in left eye and annoyances in the right eye) began in the evening, on the following day she had recovered the vision. – Migraines, allergies (nickel), strange noises in the heart, palpitations, dyspnea (shortness of breath), irritability. One day she got up in the morning with her mouth twisted towards the right side (it lasted for hours).  At this moment she does not take any medication, because the doctor has realised that the medicines make her worse. Tests to discard lupus, pruritus and vasculitis have been carried out (because the girl bruises easily). She has been diagnosed with Mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus) - they had to give medication to her for this condition).  Warts appeared on her elbows and hands and the doctor took her off her medication and these warts disappeared.  It was like she had become allergic to all the medicines.  An appointment is being made for Lucia to see a neurologist.

She had a reaction with the first shot: itch in eyes, swollen eyes, swollen mouth, difficulty with language etc…  She began to feel tired, once she became dizzy. She no longer can do sport. She was a bright student and began having problems with concentration and learning. Lucia was having problems with sleeping, and there were strange noises when she was breathing, sleepwalking, and on occasion there were strange actions like taking to falling asleep on the carpet.  She has many moments of confusion. At the moment she is no longer allergic to NICKEL (this is a very rare thing because it is not normal for allergies to come and go). Now she has digestive problems and she is having a gluten free diet daily.  The palms of the hands are coloured pink and they are very hot. From the first moment after the vaccination she felt joint pain and headaches as well as having broken nails, which do not grow. She also suffers from bleeding gums and toothaches. For the past 18 months, she has been attending the doctor, emergency unit at the hospital and specialists and this was just after a single shot of Gardasil.

Diagnosis:  Diabetes, Encefalea (headache). Loss of sight in her left eye, next day she could see, but had blurred eyesight in her right eye.  Also has arterial tension.

Not incapacitated

Visits to Emergency Doors: to the doctor more than 40 times and emergency doors of Denia Hospital.

Dates of vaccination: 22^nd July 2008 with Gardasil. Batch: NG39340

Not recovered.

HPV Vaccine has changed my life

Ever since I had the Gardasil vaccination my life has changed so much and is so different to what I was like previously as now I cannot do half of the things I did before. In July 2008, after receiving the vaccine I began to have diseases I had never had before and symptoms that I do not know from where they came. One day my hair started to fall out, according to the doctors this vaccine has given me a seborrheic dermatitis and I have been tested for allergies which shows that I am allergic to nickel (heavy metals).

From that moment to the present day I have had to go to emergency doors several times because I do not feel well and I always have headaches, joint pains, attacks of anxiety, difficulties in breathing, alterations in the temperature of my body (that is to say, that I always feel hot although it is cold). It is very hard for me to write since my hands are swollen. I have also experienced problems with my eyesight. I sometimes lose my sight and everything is blurred. In conclusion my life is not like it was before since now I must always take medicines when I am not well, but they all give me adverse effects, and as a result I do not take anything at all because I become worse. What is more I have to follow a special diet and I cannot now eat things that I like.

HENAR LÓPEZ

Age when she was vaccinated: 14 years old.

City, community and postal code: Madrid, Madrid, 28024 Spain.

Diagnosis: None, or vasovagal (syncope) instability

Incapacitated:  sporadic with relative immobility.

Symptoms: Dizziness, faintings, loss of consciousness, nystagmus (involuntary eye movement), painful weakness in legs, loss of strength, cramps and tingling in legs, insomnia, cannot taste salty flavours, relative loss of thermal sensitivity.  Small menstrual periods.

Hospitals where she has been treated: Hospital Clínico San Carlos Madrid.

Hospitalizations: from 5^th  February 2009 to 10^th  February 2009, from 18^th  February 2009 to 4^th  March 2009.

Dates of vaccination: 1^st shot: 9/19/08; 2^nd shot 12/4/08 (Adverse reaction after 1^st shot; she recovered and received 2^nd shot but suffered more serious adverse reactions after the second vaccination)

Vaccinated with Gardasil:  Batch: 1^st shot: NG43220 2^nd shot: NH55880

Duration of the disease: 16 months (from first dose to the present time)

Not recovered

She was vaccinated with Tetanus, which is a GlaxoSmithKline product, and Gardasil together on 9/19/08.

My life has changed very much. For many months I was suffering dizziness and fainting and I sometimes suffered loss of consciousness, for that reason I could not go to school or live a normal life as I used to do. I was also admitted to hospital and was there for almost a month. Ever since I received the vaccine I have lost strength and physical vitality and cannot do any exercise. At the moment I am no longer suffering from dizziness but I suffer from painful cramps in my legs which prevent me from sleeping and getting a good rest. Consequently I sometimes feel tired and for this reason I cannot go to school. I also have very irregular periods (and don’t have them very often). Others: I cannot taste salty flavours and I have alternative sensitivity to the cold/heat.

ANA PATRICIA RUIZ

Age when she was vaccinated:  17 years old

City, Community and Postal Code:  Selaya 39696- Cantabria. SPAIN

Diagnosis:  Chronic migraine

Incapacitated:  she suffers strong headaches everyday

Symptoms:  Headaches, nausea, dizziness, tiredness.

Visits to Emergency Doors:  02/17/2009; 03/12/2009;  03/16/2009;  03/25/2009

Dates of Vaccination:  1^st Shot 07/7/2008;  2^nd Shot 01/5/2009;  3^rd Shot 04/30/2009

Vaccinated with:  Gardasil – Batch 3^rd shot NH52670

Not recovered

HPV Vaccine has changed my life

On the third shot of the vaccine my forearm became swollen and I had headaches.

It is true that from the first shot I was not feeling well and I had headaches, but my mother said it was normal. The headaches did not stop but I started having them every day and they were stronger than the previous ones, my doctor advised me to go to the optician to find out if it was caused by a sight problem.

With the third shot everything was different, my forearm was swollen, it hurt the injection site too much and I started having strong headaches that went together with nausea and feeling dizzy. I was several days in bed. The doctor diagnosed headache due to stress, and he prescribed analgesics, but although I took them my headaches got worse and worse and for that reason he sent me to the neurologist.

My friends told me that I was feeling bad since I got the vaccine.

Up to now nobody has confirmed that my illness has a direct relation with the vaccine, which annoys me.

From January 2009 I have had headaches every day, in all this time I have only felt well on 23^rd and 24^th October, without any pain. I could not often attend High School. The last time I went out at night with my friends was on New Years Eve 2008.

Now I am enrolled in the University of Navarra, which allows me to be near the University Clinic.

Suffering constant headaches and studying is very hard, and it makes me feel anxious, I feel very unhappy.

KARLA HOLGUIN

City, Community and Country:  Valencia, Spain

Symptoms:  Loss of consciousness, seizures, strong headaches, joint pain, problems with her kidney, syncopes, blurred eyesight, dizziness, fainting, weakness in her legs, chest pain, angustia (nausea), loss of strength, strong pain in her feet,  incapacity for doing physical exercise.

Visits to Emergency Doors: on several occasions

Hospitals where she has been treated:  Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia.

Hospitalizations:  From 6^th February 2009 to 27^th March 2009.

Dates of Vaccination:  2^nd shot 6^th February 2009.

Vaccinated with Gardasil

Partially recovered

HPV Vaccine has changed my life

Karla is a girl who has never before been ill. On 6^th February at 8:30 am she went to school in a perfect state. At 9:30 am she got the second shot   At 10:00 am while she was in the playground of the school, she fainted and lost consciousness. For half an hour she did not answer, so they called an ambulance. She started with temperature, seizures and she lost her sight. From that moment on the nightmare began, she was admitted to the same hospital, first at Emergency Doors and after in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. While we were at Emergency Doors a doctor called the School Headmaster and the parents and asked them not to discuss the fact that there was another girl who also had a reaction to the HPV vaccine in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the same time as Karla.

Her stay in hospital lasted nearly two months with several admissions to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. She was even intubated (on a breathing machine). She also had problems with her kidney.

The doctors gave us several diagnoses: they said it could be a toxic reaction, an immunological reaction (for that reason she was given immunoglobulin). Drastically, they changed their mind and said it was a psychological problem, that she had “Pseudo crisis”.

Nowadays, Karla is at home, she has been suffering strong headaches, although she is much better now. But she cannot have a normal life like other teenagers of her age, she could not go to school for three months, she could not go to the cinema with her friends since she had always muscular pains in her feet, tremors in her hands and other symptoms that we did not expect and which came suddenly.  We always had to be on alert.

We want to say to all families who have teenagers that they should not allow their daughters to have this vaccine.  See what happened to our daughter.  NO HPV VACCINE, PLEASE!

Mª TERESA MARTI

City, Community and Country:  Burjasot-Valencia – Spain

Symptoms: Last 4^th February 2009, Maite received the second shot of Gardasil HPV vaccine. The same day, after the shot, she fainted (at the Health Center) and she had side effects such as tiredness and pains in her legs. After two days, as the symptoms became more severe, we went to emergency doors of the hospital “Arnau de Villanova” (Valencia) on 6^th February, the physicians carried out medical tests and they diagnosed a possible adverse reaction to the HPV vaccine. She always had a cold. On 12^th

February, we went back to emergency doors as her condition deteriorated. More medical tests were carried out by the hospital physicians.  This young girl spent a whole month not being able to walk and was very anxious, so she had to take a lot of medicines. When she went to school she had to go back home after one hour because she was not feeling well. She was ill for two months, so she could not do the things she used to enjoy doing.

Now she is recovered.

NEREA MARTINEZ

Age when vaccinated:  12 years old.  1^st shot 11/22/07; 2^nd shot 1/24/08; 3^rd shot 5/22/08.

Vaccinated with Gardasil

Nerea is now 14 years old. In March 2008, after receiving the HPV vaccine, she fainted three times and her arm was swollen.  From that moment on she became ill, very tired, with 37ºC temperature and mainly with headaches. She has lost her hair, and she always has a pain in her throat.

In May and June 2008, she had mouth-genital aftosis (her mouth and genital parts of her body were covered with a sort of fungus which has been very difficult to treat), the doctors said it was due to a lowering of her immune system. From September 2009, she has had syncopes in which she loses consciousness and falls down. Every time they are more frequent and stronger. She is admitted to hospital for two weeks, physicians carry out medical tests and they are all normal. The doctors inform her that she does not have either of the two conditions, narcolepsy or epilepsy. She is a bit down, as the doctors say that her condition could be psychological.

She had a completely normal life before receiving the vaccine, with her friends and good marks at school. Now she is not the same girl.