True Story by Rachael

Rachael, 53, Waikato

Pfizer x 3

Pericarditis, chronic neck pain, severe headaches, pain down right hand side of whole body, ‘lumpy’ muscles, chronic fatigue, sore eyes. Some days I am scared to be on my own with my feelings, some days are dark. When will this end?. No one can tell me.

My name is Rachael, and this is my true story.

My name is Rachael and I’m 53 from the Waikato. Each day I wake up hoping something will have changed with my health.But sadly that is not the case.

On the 5th March 2022 was the eventful day I have the Pfizer booster. Since then I feel broken, like a shadow of who I was. Watching the world go on without me. I have been diagnosed with Pericarditis from the vaccine. On top of the chest pain that comes with the Pericarditis, I also have chronic neck pain daily with my whole right hand side of my body affected.

The neck pain feels as though someone has my neck in a vice,whilst the daily headaches feel as though someone has dropped a brick on my head.

I continue to take copious amounts of herbal supplements and medications prescribed by my GP,alot being opiods to try to address the chronic pain. My right calf muscle is lumpy under the skin, with my forearms doing the same thing. Which remains very much a concern given my blood is coagulating and is noticeable when giving blood or when I have been faced to call an ambulance. The ambulance officers definatly struggle to get my blood to flow freely Wgen it does come out it has all coagulated and no medical professional seems concerned.

I can no longer regulate my own body temperature. My body cannot decide if it’s hot or cold. I struggle to watch television as my eyes are also affected now. I spend the day interchanging ice packs from the freezer or heating up wheat bags for my head and neck.

I continue to have chronic fatigue and this has been since the day after the vaccine was placed into my body. I now have to have a shower chair to assist with the fatigue with showering. When I go out now I have to have my partner or a family member take me as I cannot walk far. I can barely walk around our caldersac at home. I am sick of having to rely on someone all the time now.

My body seems to have body tremors, and my heart feels like it’s having its on electrical party in my chest. My resting heart rate quite often is 150 which is not normal, the more I try and do the worse it is. This is affecting not only my relationship but also my employment.

I am not able to work and have no idea when I will be able to return to work to a job I so loved. I am unable to do our housework or anything outside as this now causes me to be so breathless and have chest pain. I spend alot of time resting on our bed. Some days I am scared to be on my own with my feelings, some days are dark.When will this end?.

No one can tell me.

I will keep sharing my story with who ever will listen.

Kind regards Rachael

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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.