Dan L. // Moderna
What was your life like before you received the COVID-19 vaccine?
It's so hard for me to tell this story. I have cried so much over the past 6.5 months that my vision has literally changed and I now need night glasses. My husband was a runner, rock climber, hiker, adventurist. He was a brilliant engineer. He was a ball of energy, an amazing father to our young children, and he was always in the garden or up a tree. For 3 months after the vaccine, he couldn't get out of bed. My oldest (8yo) daughter would go missing at night because she would sneak outside to wish on stars for her daddy to get better. Every letter to Santa, wishbone, penny found, candle blown out from my 3 kids was just for their daddy back. Now at 6.5 months, he has some more consistent days and is finally back to work part-time. He is still far from himself, but at least his personality is back and he is out of bed most days.
Describe the symptoms and the timeline of the reaction.
Describe your symptoms and the timeline of your reaction
10/20 normal healthy day, ran a 5k in 18 minutes
10/21 moderna shot
10/22 giant welt on his shoulder and a little sluggish
10/23 noticeable heart racing and very loud
10/27 heart pounding hard enough to seek medical attention, but refused hospital for fear of getting covid, brain fog
10/28 saw primary care who said it would likely go away
First week in November- saw 1st cardiologist
Second week in November at ER for fear of heart attack with chest pain, shortness of breath, tachycardia, dizziness
Week of Thanksgiving- SCARY, couldn't hold a conversation, always out of breath, heart beat so loud you could hear it best to him, chest pain, fever but couldn't sweat. He went completely gray- eyes, skin,
Scary days continued until January
Mid February he starting getting out of bed every day, could drive again consistently
April- started back at work part time because he was going to lose his health insurance. Lots of health crashing
He is approved to work part time through October
The individual experience shared above is offered for informational purposes only. React19 neither endorses nor recommends any treatment(s) noted therein. React19 does not diagnose medical conditions, offer treatment advice, treat illnesses, or prescribe medicine or drugs. It is strongly recommended that, prior to acting upon any information gleaned from a shared experience, you first consult a physician."
Describe the solutions that helped your symptoms
Infrared sauna, natural sunlight, red light on chest, cupping chest, acupuncture (this got his coloring back), Chinese herbs pulsegenic and soothwell, functional cardiologist put him on supplements, leg compression was helpful when bedridden, massages and chiropractic adjustments for the chest pain Supplements- nmn and resveratrol for energy, c, d, b for brain fog, coq10, nac, omega 3 dga and epa Having a life worth fighting for.
Which solutions were not helpful?
Cbd oil, beta blocker tried several- made him feel like garbage and made his hands and feet numb, ibuprofen- spiked his hr, exercise can cause a hard crash
What would you like others to know?
Here was my post to Facebook/instagram in March: Most of you know Dan and I are high school sweethearts meaning I have loved him over half my life, but many of you don't know that I nearly lost him this year. He had a severe and very serious cardiac and neurologic reaction to his first dose of Moderna leading him to months of barely getting out of bed because his heart rate would dangerously spike. Our lives consisted of dark and scary days with emergency room visits, specialist after specialist, tests after tests, nurses coming to the house, alternative therapies, and anything to keep him home with us. My parents flew in 5 times staying for weeks at a time to take care of the kids so I could take care of Dan. After we got him stable enough, we moved him to Florida for the winter to heal in the sun without everyday stressors. I am so grateful for our amazing friends for cooking us dinners, running our errands, sending toys for the kids, driving our kids to practices, taking our kids for play dates, and being a shoulder to cry on. Thank you for the calls, texts, prayers, handwritten cards, flowers, pictures from our youth. I am grateful for my amazing staff who kept my practice going and held me together. I'm grateful for the kids' schools and teachers for looking out for them and being so supportive. I'm grateful for Dan's parents who kept looking for answers and made sure he was getting the best care money could buy. I'm forever in debt to my parents who literally put their lives on hold to be here and keep the whole world turning. And most importantly, I am grateful to Dan who continued (and continues) to fight for his health. We are so lucky that he has turned a corner. He is back in St. Louis. He can drive again. His coloring is back in his skin and eyes. He is out of bed every day. He laughs again. He has slowly started exercising again to retrain his heart. My children have their dad back. He still has a long road ahead, but my husband, my partner, my best friend is back. We are hopeful he will continue to improve and be able to return to work at least part time in a few weeks.
