Vaccine Injury of My Two Young Daughters

My oldest, now 12 was a bubbly, social child. She loved school and her friends were extremely important to her. She was a great student. She always had minor health issues - she fatigued easier than others and would get migraines that would make her sick a few times a year and she would stay sick for at least a week. She had signs of chronic fatigue/lymes. My youngest daughter, now 8 would RUN everywhere , she was super athletic. She loved horseback riding and school was at the top of her list of favorite things.

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY I hear " I don't feel good" or " my head hurts so badly" or "please make it stop" or "why is this happening to me" or " my heart is racing" or " I am so tired mommy" the hardest is in the middle of the night which happens often " mommy I just don't feel good, what can you do?" " I don't want to miss seeing my friends"
Now I hear it double
My youngest daughter, now 8 has similar symptoms. I have always known this would happen since Campbell was sick. Mother's intuition. She is athletic, loves horses, animals, her friends and cousins. The fact that I know what she is up against is breaking my heart into tiny pieces literally every single second of the day. We had a wonderful weekend away together, just me and her a few weeks ago. Every time I looked at her I thought , "enjoy this moment of no pain or fatigue Prestley, these may be your last moments without it." My future concerns are for school next year and for possibly having to tell my school-loving 8 year old that she will have to be home schooled because ONCE again society doesn't get this. No matter what her 504 says school will quite possibly be too over stimulating. She might have a subsitute that will make her run when her system is run down. How am I going to tell my school- loving 8 year old she will have to stay home like her older sister?
And then, there is my wonderful son stuck in the middle. Traumatized by the loss of his best friend Prestley. Scared to death that she will end up sick in bed all of the time. He is the only one going to school. He is mourning the loss of his sisters and terrified it may happen to him. Living a life of stillness and boredom at home. Seth and I are doing everything to keep him busy and happy but it's hard when the two girls are constantly laying down and that is the norm in our house. We don't know how to navigate everything with him and make sure he gets a normal life while at the same time we so desperately need to run away from this "normal life" that is exhausting and making my girls sick. He knows when I cry, I try to hide it from him but he is very perceptive and can feel my sadness. I am constantly trying to hold it together for him.
So let me start this journey for my sweet Campbell and how we got to this difficult place.
Birth 7/21/2011 - congenital hypothyroidism - no issues, just monitor with bloodwork and levothyroxine, met all milestones
18 months - 4 years old - normal child, some viruses but no red flags except for she needs more rest than other kids - rest time all afternoon for 2 to 4 hours. Difficult toddler with her own "opinions and stubborn" but only to mom and dad. Super sweet to others, kind, teachers love her. I noticed she tires easily . Slow to wake in the morning, no appetite until afternoon and picky eater.

5 years-8 years old
Attended K and 1st at private school, high average kid with work and social was important, lots of friends. Still low appetite until later in day, rest is necessary after school. During travel such as airplane travel she would vomit on airplane or car. One trip to Florida she was a flower girl in the wedding, got a debilitating migraine and vomited during the ceremony because she couldn't tell us. She would miss school maybe once every two or 3 months for more days than an average kid would take to recover from what we thought was the stomach bug. She would complain of tummy ache, headache, nausea, very thirsty, no appetite and this would last 6-9 days sometimes. Dr prescribed antacid and did bloodwork for WBC but nothing would show up. I was worried. I was ignored. She had about 9 months of good health after that. Age 7: Campbell's friend ran into her at the playground, Campbell vomited a few minutes later and had a hard time staying awake while I took her to the ER. Scan was completed - concussion. She seemed to recover. Age 8 - missed maybe 8 days of school until Covid hit and then health was maintained fairly well. I felt something was wrong, I took her to the pediatrician after she complained of what we now call "brain fog." He basically laughed and told me , "I didn't want to go down that road."
2020 I still felt something was wrong. I used to hope that something would show up in her bloodwork and we could say , "ah there's the problem!" - Saw immunologist - immunoglobins , liver function, celiac normal. Antibodies against diptheria and tetanus toxoids revealed low antibody against diptheria. Majority of antibodies against streptococcus pnemonia were low and re administered strep Pneu vaccine. Her health did improve for a few months after but unsure why. Tested for Epstein -Barr virus (my mother had tested positive for this and was sick and had been around Campbell - Campbell was sick after contact with her but it could have been post extertion) Her test never showed Epstein - Barr
2021 9 years old 2 Covid Pfizer Vaccines 6 weeks apart, 4th grade, rounds of what we thought were tummy bugs, same symptoms, fatigue, vomit, head and tummy ache. This maybe happened 4 times throughout the year, mostly after she had been really active. Never had covid that we know of. Good student, still lower appetite, especially in morning. Had cortisol tested, I started worrying about frequent sickness and fatigue. Endocrinologist ran some tests but nothing. Thyroid antibodies for Hashimotos ( I myself as Mother have this). Lymes tested again, celiac panel again. She was really getting tired of all of the blood tests and unexplained sickness.

5th grade - missed 10 days of school for same symptoms of fatigue, malaise, vomit, headache. I started looking into Chronic fatigue. Basically I self diagnosed her. I had to explain to the school nurse what was going on as well as her teacher. It just glazed over their heads. Campbell now tells me how painful it was for her to complete PE class when she felt like throwing up or Field Day when they played. The teacher's just said " oh just get water you'll be fine." In their defense, they didn't know and I would have probably done the same thing as a teacher. But the after affects of those adults (myself included) have been incredibly damaging to her confidence in others to listen to her needs.
April 2022 - Campbell started having huge tantrums - extreme anger and would refuse to go places. The day after these outbursts she would be sick. Migraine, tummy ache, nauseated for about 4 to 5 days with extreme fatigue. She would be thirsty but not very hungry at all. She still held everything together for her friends ( she loved her friends so much and they were so important to her). Her overall attitude had changed, she looked mad a lot. As mom, I think her body was really hurting and she was constantly being pushed - teachers would make her stay outside in the heat. She had to participate in PE and she felt so sick but no one understood. Riding in the car would make her nauseous which leaves to me believe why travel creates so much anxiety for her. We were crumbling as a family, she was either sick or angry and my other kids were scared. The pediatrician didn't know what to do. He told her to "stop being a turd" and then put her on Zoloft and I got her a counselor. That really bothered Campbell. BUT no Doctor in my area had anything to say that would help. I researched about chronic fatigue all the time and got her into Mayo Clinic ( I called in May) and she had an appoint Aug 29th. Until then she basically laid in bed a lot with extreme headaches if she did too much or over exerted. Her body just really stopped being normal. Her appetite was low. I was crying everyday because nobody could or would help. Just had to wait until August. She had lost so much weight and muscle. We just hoped it would fix her. On my 41st birthday , we left her brother and sister and Dad for a week and I flew her to Mayo Clinic in Rochester. She vomited on the way in a bus and I caught it in a blanket. The poor child was so scared of what she was getting into and just so sick.
Our plane tickets were well over $1,000.00 and of course that doesn't include hotels, food etc. and it helped a tiny bit but most of it was just upsetting because they just wanted me to make her eat and exercise. Here are the tests they performed:
Tilt table - positive for POTS
carnitine, 25- Hydroxyvitamin D2 and D3, CRP reactive protein, metabolic panel, ferritin, Iron and total iron binding, ECG.
That's it. We spent 4 days and were told she has POTS, eat extra salt, lightly exercise and push through it. Also, part of her appointment was with a psychologist. I wish I could erase that from Campbell's memory. She started talking to us about Campbell's appetite. She then told me as a mom I needed to, "sit Campbell down in front of her food and do NOT let her get up until everything is gone." Ever tried eating while currently having the stomach bug? That's what every day is for her. I should have punched that lady in the face. I sat at the bar that night while Campbell was upstairs resting and I just started bawling crying right there in front of everyone. I knew nobody had an answer, I knew this whole trip was a waste and I had never felt so alone ( again Seth is feeling all of this with me).
When we got home we were optimistic for a while. We tried a new Regular medicine doctor to work with locally. She also had a brain w/ contrast MRI. Everything shows up normal. She is pretty traumatized by doctors appointments at this point. We were NOT warned about the fact that Campbell had to have contrast fluid pumped through her veins via IV while having this MRI. But , I stupidly listened to the doctor and made her do it. I cried the whole time she laid going through that loud machine with a needle stuck in her arm there scared shitless.
2022 - 2023 She started having major stomach pains and eating even less because of nausea. I read about gastroparesis and she had to drink a liquid and they watched it go down her intestines. Of course she had it but there wasn't much we could do but try meds that we weren't happy about trying. The doctor thought maybe she had diabetes so off to the ER we go and spent another $ 1,200 and traumatized all 3 of my kids.
I kept researching and figured she probably has Mast Cell Activation Syndrome which could mean she allergic to something in the world making her sick. For a while no doctors believed me and until finally one agreed to submit a urine test. The time we spent calling, advocating and making appointments is ridiculous.
I found a mom that had a daughter with similar issues from a concussion and hoped to God this was what was wrong with Campbell and maybe he could fix her. I made her drive to VCU hospital. She was so worried she was sick with a migraine before we left. The next day at the appointment we walked into the Children's Hospital check-in. Campbell was white as a sheet. I ran to find a trash can so she could vomit. I remember thinking , "good! now nurses and doctors will see how sick she is so they can really try to help us now." But we were just given a barf bag and poor Campbell had so sit through tests trying not to vomit in her wheelchair. The doctor was not good for - he thought she needed to be moving more and going to school - Once again, " NO SHIT." Why wouldn't a 10 year old want to go to school? But after him we thankfully saw the cardiologist there who just understood everything. He knew what she was going through. We had a few meds to try and he agreed she wouldn't be healthy or strong enough at school . Summer was going to be terrible, exercising can be damaging but also "this probably wasn't going to go away, but sometimes it does."
Campbell has been homebound from school. She can do about an hour of work a day on a very good day because of extreme fatigue and mental fog. We work on movement, friend time at least once a week, counseling, and keeping her happy. She requires a lot of rest.

Over the summer (2023) she made some gains at the beach. Every time we prepare for any travel - a beach trip or grandparents, even the ones locally, it takes every bit of emotionally energy for us as parents and everything from Campbell. Our 2 younger children feel it and have the same worries. Because of all the times I made her go to see people or go on vacation against her will (because she felt like vomiting) she has extreme anxiety over any car ride. The movement messes with her autonomic system as well as the noises and smells. Any tiny bit of stress on her exhausts her whole autonomic system which can make her sick for a few days. This is why plans are so hard on our family and especially poor Campbell. We have to prep her, make deals with her, have systems in place to keep her comfortable as it is one of her worse nightmares. She also doesn't trust other people. "Other people" and I mean ANYONE can push her when she doesn't need it. " Oh just get up Campbell, Just eat Campbell you'll be stronger, just get some sunshine" "this will definitely fix all of her illness, right?" She is working on advocating for herself but also people's reactions of disappointment that are almost hard to help. But she sees them. She knows she isn't living up to other's expectations.
After much frustration with the medical system not acknowledging what my daughter has, I felt so lost and so alone. So terrified for her and her future.
A friend of a friend reached out and suggested a functional medicine doctor over last summer. We had nothing to lose. The doctor costs about $1,000.00 per visit plus all the medicinal herbs and labs that we pay out of pocket. He listened thoroughly to our story and was most concerned about the Covid vaccine messing up her autonomic system as well as Lymes. The bloodwork showed both, Seth and I were able to breathe for a minute. HOWEVER these blood test aren't "valid" in the medical world. I didn't care, it just really made sense. We started on the plant herbs for detoxification. Her mental anguish and anger really escalated for a week right around Christmas. It was one of the hardest parenting times for us. To see your kid so angry and so violent was damaging to our hearts and our worry was through the roof. At the same time our youngest was sick really often and I had been taking her to the pediatrician and getting completely blown off. They refused to test her for lymes and blamed everything on a virus. I was ignored once again even though her sister was so ill. Her local GP doctor had me take her to the ER and once again I prayed that they would find something wrong that we could at least put a name to. But nothing showed up but dehydration from extreme diarrhea. I remember coming home that night from the hospital. Campbell was detoxing and wasn't acting "normal" she went into a tantrum and I locked myself in a room and cried on the floor. I was shaking and crying wondering how much more our family could handle. How much more could Tanner and Seth be able to handle of all of this?
Poor Prestley was sent to numerous lab draws and countless appointments just so I could get a doctor to acknowledge that she may be having similar issues. Prestley was also terrified of becoming ill and started to be anxious and sad at times. Our household just felt like it had been hit with a bomb. The deep, painful feelings Seth and I felt daily just hurt so bad. What will their future be like? Do we need to move away from everyone and just live in our own bubble? But what about Tanner and his needs?
Campbell's cardiologist easily diagnosed Prestley with Dysautonomia/long covid or PANS. Again and medical doctor will not admit that the vaccine messed with my kids at all. Her functional med Dr is treating her for vaccine injury as she has very high levels of antibodies in her blood work as does Campbell. The other day Prestley tried so hard to go to school. She wanted to complete a social studies test. The nurse called me that morning and said Prestley was in the nurse office and didn't feel well. The nurse asked if she could "push through" and make it to her test. I kindly and firmly said, "NO" if she is sick she needs to rest. Prestley met me at the office and cried in my arms and I started crying too. She said, "mommy I tried, I wanted to finish my test but I felt so badly." My heart broke for the millionth time.

So where are we now? Trying to "pace" Prestley to prevent her from being miserable with headaches and fatigue. Trying to keep Campbell comfortable and assure her that one day she will feel good again. Yesterday she only got up to use the bathroom she was in so much pain and misery. Seth and I are at a low, hurting, worried, very isolated from anyone else. It is way too hard to have friends (except a few good ones) but it is hard to be around normal people. As they talk about their busy schedules and their children's busy schedules. It is really painful to look at social media with families with happy, healthy kids doing sports, competitions or dances. It literally can make me want to get sick or cry and I should be happy for those kids and their families.
There are a few moms with similar situations I have met online. We are searching everyday for answers, cures, moments of goodness for our kids. But oddly, we all have people in our lives that are hurting us while we are hurting so badly. Makes no sense to me really. I can assure you that no person would talk to a parent with a child with cancer as I have been talked to by people I assumed cared for us. It is like taking the knife stuck in my heart and twisting it over and over. My sweet children deserve so much more than this. Not pain and sickness everyday.

Listening to their bodies, letting them advocate for when rest is needed.