Advocates in Action: Kristi Dobbs
Hello all, it is Amy Collen again, and this month I bring you Kristi Dobbs, one of the founders of React19. Kristi currently serves as secretary. However, don’t let that title fool you. Kristi has worn many hats during her time with React19, from treasurer, to story gatherer, to advocate. Anywhere there was a need, Kristi filled it with her time and her voice.
Kristi’s vaccine injury story is a common one to many of you. She didn’t hesitate in getting the vaccine. She was confident in her research and fully trusted those in charge, like Anthony Fauci. However, within 30 minutes of her Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine dose, she experienced a severe reaction:
“It started with a feeling of lightheadedness, extreme…heart pounding out of my chest palpitations. And by the time I lifted my hand to call a nurse over [and] they got me hooked up to…the machines and everything…my blood pressure was so high… we thought I was going to stroke out.”
The staff at the vaccine clinic gave Kristi some Dr. Pepper and kept her hooked up to monitors for about 45 minutes. At that point, Kristi’s blood pressure stabilized. So, they chalked it up to a panic attack or a hot flash and sent her on her way. Kristi convinced herself this is what happened, and never questioned the possibility of injury. There wasn’t a reason to. She firmly believed vaccines were safe and effective. In the past, she even questioned the validity of those who claimed to be vaccine injured, such as someone she knew who was injured by the HPV vaccine.
However, when she got home, her symptoms quickly progressed. She developed a sharp pain in the middle of her back which became the central point for her internal vibrations. She then developed other symptoms as well, such as:
“Nocturnal convulsions, menstrual irregularities, swollen lymph nodes, temperature dysregulation issues, extreme fatigue, headache, muscle pain, just anything and everything. My body just hurt.”
Nevertheless, she was in denial. She initially attributed her internal vibrations to the heater kicking on in the middle of the night and shaking the bed. However, because of her horrible back pain, she decided to schedule a visit with her chiropractor.
Kristi’s chiropractor, a high school friend, after hearing about Kristi’s back pain and internal vibrations knew something wasn’t right. She asked if Kristi had done anything different recently, and Kristi told her she received the vaccine. “She was so mad at me… and at that point she said, ‘Bingo that’s it, you [need to] get looked at, ….[and] figure out what this has done to you.’”
Kristi consulted with at least 15 doctors from emergency to urgent care, but they had nothing to offer her. The NIH (National Institute of Health), at first acknowledged her injury, but eventually dismissed her case after four months of treating her. They initially gave her a treatment plan to give to her doctors, but later claimed they couldn’t find any proof of injury, and that her bloodwork was normal. In other words, dismissing her case and leaving it to doctors that didn’t believe vaccine injury existed in the first place.
At that point she gave up on Western medicine and did a search for a functional medicine doctor instead. Thankfully, she found one in her hometown, along with her mother’s immunologist who, although not seeing any new patients, was intrigued by her case and took her on as a patient. Kristi credits God with bringing these two doctors into her life.
Thankfully, Kristi’s husband and immediate family believed her injury. And those family members who did not, were convinced when after 8 months, Kristi’s blood test started showing high levels of autoantibodies, along with blood clotting, and inflammation. Kristi was also diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and small fiber neuropathy.
It was during this time when she found Danice’s comments in the journal, Neurology Today, where they claimed there were no neurological reactions to the vaccines. Danice disputed the claim, as she herself was suffering from a vaccine induced neurological injury. It was here where Kristi connected with Danice, and fellow commenters Brianne Dressen, and Sheryl Ruettgers. All had suffered from a vaccine injury. And this is where the seeds of React19 were sown.
The email thread on Danice’s comment grew and grew, until finally Danice and Kristi started a private vaccine injury group on Facebook. This group then broke off into other injury groups. Kristi, along with the rest of the volunteers with React19, soon became in her words, “a voice for the voiceless”:
“We are trying to advocate for those that are bedridden, that are… going to doctors that aren’t listening to them, that are screaming from the rooftops to their family members to [not take any more boosters]. [We are] trying to shout from the mountaintops what we know, and what we have been through, so…we can save even just one other person from our… fate.”
And, sadly, although they have plateaued some, the numbers keep coming in. Kristi finds that the majority of injured contacting React19 are middle-aged women. Most are medical providers. These women, after having no reactions from any of the vaccines or boosters, suddenly find themselves injured after the 3rd, 4th, or even 5th dose.
At first, Kristi worked tirelessly to speak for the injured. She attended the Ron Johnson roundtable and flew to Washington DC for the Mandate Rally. She held a variety of positions with React19. Eventually her husband told her that she had to cut back, she had 4 children at home that needed her, and that she had done enough. She listened and did cut back, but as you can see by this article, her voice and advocacy are still very much alive and well. “All I ever wanted [was] just to pull somebody out of a dark realm and… let them know that I hear, I see, and I believe them. That’s always kind of been our motto.”
I asked her what folks can do to help. Kristi had two words, “Donate or volunteer.” Kristi told me how perilous the situation is for some folks, and how important donations are. “We have people living out of their cars, they have lost their home, and they literally have no money left… they need lifesaving treatments to help keep them afloat.” As of now, any government compensation for the vaccine injured is almost non-existent. React19 has paid out over half a million dollars in compensation for vaccine injuries.
Thankfully, Kristi is about 90 to 95% recovered from her vaccine injury, and is able to work part time starting back in April of this year. Nevertheless, she continues to be a voice for the voiceless, and a strong advocate for the vaccine injured. She is a Christian woman who commits herself to making sure people don’t suffer the same fate she and so many others did. And that is commendable.
Thank you, Kristi, for all of your tireless efforts, and giving a voice to so many! The world is a better place because of you.
Amy Collen
At the moment I am working on my book Coronavirus Chronicles (working title), raising my two wonderful teenage boys, traveling, baking, immersing myself in Judaism, and writing for React19, a grassroots vaccine-injured advocacy group. In the past I also wrote for the musical group New Monkees, and on special education and disability issues.