95 Gemma

Gemma

I am female 38yr mandated health care worker.

I had to take the covid jab after I was stood down by the DHB, and as main earner in family so had no choice. Main concern was family history of clots and possible reaction in family member in UK…and concerned about potential issues with being vaccinated if I didn’t know if I was unaware I was in early stages of covid. Also my argument was I was wanting to know why they claimed it was to keep patients safe when there was nothing to say it reduced transmission. Nobody could answer any questions. Occupational health also didn’t return any of my calls or emails prior to the mandate deadline.

So few mins after first vaccine I had tingles and pins and needles in my lips and tongue and fingers on right hand side…i was kept under observation an extra 10min. A few hours later I had swollen lips and eyelids. I took antihistamine and didn’t present at ED as I was worried about judgment from my colleagues…as in the days prior to me getting the jab they were breaching my confidentiality and telling patients I was refusing vaccine and was subsequently stood down.

Next day woke up and felt tired and muscle aches, numbness in lips and tongue and weird sensation in right foot. Day 2 following vaccine felt like I had rigors but no temp…I was actually twitching particularly on my right side. Felt flu like but covid neg. Colleague was concerned about how awful I looked when I dropped something urgent at work, and tried to persuade me to go to ED.

That night chest pain and pressure, pain in arm and jaw, shortness of breath and cyanosis (a blue tinge to the skin) I was terrified but didn’t want to present at ED for fear of being told it was in my head because I didn’t want to be vaccinated.

Next few weeks the numbness continued on left side of lips and tongue and right sided unilateral hand tremor, shortness of breath on minimal exertion and tachycardia. Lumps in my neck and axilla.

Talked to line Manger about an exception for 2nd but nothing. Occupational Health didn’t want to know and the only solution the vaccination team at the hospital had was to preload me with prednisone and antihistamine 1hr prior to 2nd dose….again didn’t want it ..I was terrified but no choice or I would lose my home and struggle to pay bills. I was reassured I wouldn’t react. Within a few minutes I had swollen eyelids and lips. They kept me there a few hours for good measure and was told I would need an overnight stay for booster ( if this had been anything else I would be allowed anymore doses! Not even an alert on medical record)

As months went by I had learned to live with the hand tremor, but started to feel faint and increasingly short of breath just getting showered and dressed. I presented at ED hypertensive tachycardic at 166bpm and bloods revealed raised D-dimer, so I was given a CT to look for Pulumary Embolism. All investigations normal, and the discharge advice was to “get the covid boosters ASAP as all the issues I had were due to disregulated breathing from mask wearing” ( I couldn’t wear masks I was that breathless).

I felt like they didn’t care. No referral to Cardiology or any other team for hand tremor…completed gaslighted. Even original GP documented that “patient believes she has had a decline in health since her first vaccine”…it wasn’t believe it was physically obvious.

Forward to present day, tremor almost resolved, but shortness of breath and tachy with minimal to no exertion has improved slightly but persists.

I am not who I was in terms of energy. Also new issue of chemosis in eyes .

New GP very open minded and has discussed starting me on a betablocker. I do have some images of lumps and swelling after the 2nd vaccine and video of the hands, but they don’t really reflect how bad things got.

Sorry it was a long one. Amazing you are doing this.

Informed Consent

From: https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/i/informed-consent/#Overview

Informed consent is the process of talking about options so you can make an informed decision about your health care. This includes the option of saying no to a treatment or procedure.

Key points:

You have the right to make an informed choice about your health care.

Informed consent is an ongoing process of talking and asking questions between you, your doctor or other healthcare provider and, sometimes, your family/whānau.

To help you decide whether you want a treatment or procedure, your healthcare provider must give you all the information you need to make up your mind.

This includes how the treatment or procedure would help your health condition and what the risks of the treatment are.
There are a few situations where you may be treated without consent, such as in an emergency.

What is informed consent?

Informed consent is the process of talking and asking questions until you have enough information to make a decision about your healthcare options. This includes the option of saying no to having a treatment (such as medicine) or a procedure (such as an operation).

To give informed consent, you must know enough about your condition and the treatment or procedure your doctor or other healthcare provider has suggested. You must have this information given to you in a language and way that you can easily understand. You should have access to an interpreter if you need one.

You also have a right to have someone else with you to provide support while you are talking about your options.

Why is informed consent needed?

You have a right under the law to make an informed choice about your health care. This is one of your rights under the Code of Health and Disability Consumers Rights.

Under the Code, health care may be provided to you only if you make an informed choice and give informed consent. You also have the right to say no to a proposed treatment or procedure, or change your mind about wanting to go ahead with it.

When is informed consent needed?

Your doctor or other healthcare provider must make sure that you have given informed consent for every proposed healthcare service.

When you are going to have a series of similar treatments, eg, dialysis or counselling, your healthcare provider will talk with you before starting the treatment to make sure you agree to it. The consent you give then covers the whole series of treatment.

If the agreed plan changes a lot, a new consent process is needed.

Examples of situations when informed consent is required include:

when you are having surgery (an operation) or other procedure

when you need to have an anaesthetic

if students or observers are going to be there for your treatment

if you take part in research

when any part of your body will be taken out during a procedure

if you will be getting blood or blood products

if you are enrolled in a screening programme

if your doctor wants to prescribe a medicine that has not been approved by Medsafe for use in New Zealand (called unapproved medicines)

if your doctor wants to prescribe a medicine for a different use than that approved of by Medsafe (also called off-label use).

What type of information should I get for informed consent?

Before giving your consent, your doctor or healthcare provider must fully and clearly explain to you:

how this treatment or procedure will help your health condition

what happens during the treatment or procedure

what other options there might be

what you can expect after the treatment or procedure

any risks that may be associated with the treatment or procedure.

You can also ask any questions you want about the treatment or procedure.

What are the different types of consent?

You will need to give either verbal consent or written consent.

Verbal consent means talking about and saying you agree to a particular treatment. This includes when your doctor prescribes an approved medicine for your condition.

Written consent means you need to fill out a form and sign it to show you agree to a particular treatment. This happens for more significant treatments, such as an operation.

How is informed consent gained for children and young people?

For children and young people under the age of 16, consent may be given by a parent, guardian or other person acting in the place of a parent. Depending on the child’s age, they will be involved as much as possible and information will be given to them in a way that they can understand.

A young person aged 16 years and over can consent to their treatment as if they were an adult.

How is informed consent gained for people who are incompetent?

In legal terms, people who cannot decide for themselves whether they want a treatment or not are called ‘incompetent’. This may be because of health conditions such as a brain injury or dementia.

Consent for people who are incompetent may be given by their welfare guardian or a lawyer who has an enduring power of attorney in respect of care and welfare for that person.

What if I didn’t get to give informed consent?

If you have any concerns about not getting a chance to talk about and make an informed decision about a treatment before it was given to you, you can make a complaint. Read more about the Code of Health and Disability Consumers Rights.