Vivien Buckley
What was your life like before you received the COVID-19 vaccine?
I was active with tap dancing, art and writing classes (before shut down.) I’ve tap danced for 45 years. I looked after my granddaughter every Monday for 9 hours straight. I exercised power walks and weights. I’ve exercised for 45 years. Used to be high impact aerobics. Kept my 3400 sq ft home clean. Recently retired as a Realtor. In the summer gardening.
Describe the symptoms and the timeline of the reaction.
I have an autoimmune disease called relapsing polychondritis but not on immune suppressant drugs as well as a slow progressing gene eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa.
I got my vaccine at 3:00, after dinner and clean up suddenly I had a brown zig zag line appear in my right eye peripheral vision but then it went away. 2 weeks later I noticed changes to my vision but wasn’t overly alarmed. May 9th somehow I got strep throat. Went on antibiotics. On May 13th I was convalescing on the couch when I had this huge rush of floaters. I started getting worried. I tried to find an Ophthalmologist but because of shut down it was months away.
Starting around mid June to the beginning of August I was living a true nightmare. Pain in my left eye, painful to move my eyes side to side. It felt like electric shocks going through my brain, amber vision, depth perception and balance issue and I was losing vision.
When I finally got in to see the Ophthalmologist August 20, he didn’t believe my vision loss had anything to do with the vaccine. He sent me for an ERG. When the results came in he called me and said , “ this is serious, this is really serious-bilateral retinal dysfunction is wide spread. This is a serious problem involving your rods and cones and colour vision. Pretty significant. Don’t see any inflammation but you have scarring.” Then he had the gall to say “ I can’t understand why you didn’t notice this before.”
I saw my Rheumatologist that September. He believed me and believed it was a Complement activation. He ordered blood work. The results showed super high platelet count, low complement 3 levels and low immune , like I was immune compromised. And what was strange was I hadn’t had any flares from the autoimmune disease since the end of April.
I got shingles . I also have a rash on my back just waiting to get in to see the Dermatologist.
Describe the solutions that helped your symptoms
I was taking anti anxiety drugs for my overwhelming anxiety but then got addicted. (Off now.)
Other than that I have nothing to reverse the damage to my eye sight. I got back to working out which sometimes causes me anxiety when I see what I can no longer see. I do my best. I talk to a Psychologist.
Which solutions were not helpful?
Anti anxiety may have prevented me from going over the edge but they backfire and you become dependent and leads to depression.
What would you like others to know?
Further to our already anxious state , is this never ending evil virus. Anxious over getting the virus but equally anxious about getting another vaccine. I’m sure most of us are in the same boat. I’m petrified for my under 5 yrs of age granddaughters getting the jab. But , what if they get covid?? Concerned as there is no help, no validation that vaccine injuries even exist. There are all kinds of vaccine injured people who are suffering vision and loss of vision issues. Visual snow syndrome, binocular syndrome, optic nerve etc. etc. All of us going through hell, and no doctors believe it. I feel there is something going on beyond our control. The serious life altering side effects are purposely not being addressed? Researchers don’t want to touch it? Still need to get the never ending boosters so keep quiet? If we only knew why this is happening governments may get some trust back and we could get help and guidance about further vaccines and help what ails us now. I can’t stand the constant anxious state and the huge changes to my life. I guess the one blessing is that the vaccine seems to have gotten rid of my autoimmune disease.
