Anguish
By Lisa
Gardasil has impacted our lives in ways we never could have imagined. Paralyzed is the one word that describes how I have felt for the past two years as my daughter, Jennifer, has been very sick. It began with severe abdominal and pelvic pain and eventually wound up with neurological issues, including seizures and complex migraines that mimic a stroke. My poor daughter has been to the emergency room on several occasions, been admitted to the hospital for testing and observation, and had multiple appointments with 15-20 specialists in two years with an insurmountable amount of testing, only to find no answers.
Jennifer has been her own health advocate, as we couldn’t find a physician willing to review her history to determine the cause of her issues. All of the physicians wanted to just treat the symptoms. My poor girl has spent many hours researching her symptoms, presenting them to physicians, and requesting that certain tests be performed, while I was paralyzed. Her strength to do all of this alone amazes me.
Physician after physician told us she was fine. Jennifer was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, complex migraines with aura, Vitamin D deficiency, dehydration, gastro paresis, pelvic floor dysfunction, and gluten and dairy allergy/intolerance.
Many times she was just “brushed off” as having panic attacks, depression, or anxiety. But, why? Both Jennifer and I knew that something caused this normally very healthy young lady to become ill with very random symptoms. She was always very active – a cheerleader all through high school! She enjoyed working out! Now she couldn’t make her child a meal or do laundry without extreme fatigue.
Jennifer has missed Christmases, birthdays, weddings, vacations, and other important events. Even when she attended events, she wasn’t really there. The lights, sounds, smells, and temperature are never quite right for her fragile body. Weather changes really mess with her health.
Dustin, Jennifer’s husband, planned a wonderful trip to Disney World in September of 2012. In order for Jennifer to watch her daughter enjoy the attractions, she had to be pushed in a wheelchair. This once vibrant young lady was too fatigued and weak to walk around Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and Sea World. Paralyzed.
On August 26, 2013, I came across a Facebook post that said “Beware of Gardasil!” I thought to myself, “Oh my God, could it be? My Jennifer had all three injections. Did this vaccination make my baby sick?”
I immediately researched the side effects of Gardasil. The first site I reviewed was MERCK’s website. I will never forget it. It said the serious and non-serious side effects were headache, nausea, dizziness, unusual tiredness, weakness, or confusion, seizure, generally feeling unwell, bad stomach ache, etc. Oh my God, I think this vaccination made my daughter ill.
Despite her ailments, my daughter was a very good historian and documented her health issues in a timeline. Her timeline did not include the dates of the Gardasil injections, because we had no idea that these had made her sick.
I was appalled when I added the dates of the Gardasil injections to her timeline. It was so clear at that minute. I was 100% certain that Gardasil made my daughter ill. Now, what?
I have felt even more paralyzed since we determined the cause of Jennifer’s debilitating health issues. Thankfully, God has blessed us with knowledgeable people that are helping to guide us in a treatment plan for Jennifer. Hopefully one day soon I will be able to overcome this feeling of paralysis.
Read Jennifer’s health timeline here. Judge for yourself.
I am so sorry to hear what you and your daughter have gone through. Our daughter also had the Gardasil vaccine and within 16 days was a quadriplegic on life support. Four years later she still struggles. She has made a remarkable recovery, however, we too have been in and out of doctors offices, ER’s and was always told there was nothing wrong, the tests come back clear, it is all in her head. Then we heard about a doctor that specialized in adverse reactions to Gardasil. You can meet him in person, or do all of your appointments over Skype. He is not cheap, but as you know, neither is going to the doctor and in and out of the ER. We met him in September 2013 and she started her homeopathic/natural treatment in October. She is feeling better and we are very hopeful.