Kia ora,
This story is about my partner and his/our experience with the vaccine for covid-19.
Rob (Partner) had been doing his own research about the vaccine as he has medical issues that he was concerned about.
I (Natalie) had to get the vaccine in order to keep my job (Social Worker).
Rob had chosen to get the vaccine on 16/11/2021, I was at work and received a phone call from one of our daughters stating he had had a reaction to the vaccine and that I needed to get home ASAP. The drive home is around 45 minutes!!
I arrived at the doctor's surgery and Rob was sitting outside on a chair and appeared to be ok. He said his feet started to hurt first and had some chest pain, we decided to drive home (20 mins)in separate cars.
I received a phone call from him and he had pulled over and was experiencing breathing difficulties, I asked if he was ok to drive the rest of the way and he assured me he could. I arrived home not long after him and got him into bed, he was experiencing chest/heart pain, difficulties breathing, leg pain and within an hour I was getting him into the car back to the doctors. There they were able to stabilize him and had called an ambulance to take him to Waikato hospital.
Hours at Waikato and he was sent home with no real answers.
Two days later (18/11/2021) I was back at work and received a phone call from one of our friends and he said an ambulance was on its way and that I needed to get home to Rob. When I arrived home the ambulance was already there, Rob was shaking considerably and had a stutter that bad that it took him a while to get words out. Ambulance drivers were the same as 2 days ago and one of them was very unprofessional and voiced his opinion on the matter.
Again hours at Waikato hospital, Rob was given IV medications for migraines, the shaking and stutter had stopped and he was discharged again with no real answers.
On the 06/12/2021 I received a phone call at work from Rob and he had managed to crawl to his phone after collapsing on the floor and phone me.
I drove back home and called an ambulance again, back to Waikato hospital for hours only to be sent home with no plan.
I had exhausted all usual points of support and started to reach out to other groups which is where I found NZDSOS, I sent an email and waited.
In the interim a friend had got in touch with me and gave me a tonic from a homeopath she has been seeing for years and gave me her contact. I phoned her (homeopath) and I explained our situation to her, she was amazing and told me how much tonic to give and when.
20/12/2021 we had our first appointment with NZDSOS and medications and supplements were immediately started. By this point Rob had stopped talking as his stutter was so bad it was exhausting for him to get words out, all up he did not speak or walk for just over three weeks.
By this point I was nearing burn out and had a meeting with my boss as to how they could support me. The advice I was given was that I have to hand in my resignation, I was too exhausted to even care and wrote my resignation letter, I had no idea what our future might look like.
One of the most hardest things I have ever had to do was to write a resignation letter for a job I loved so much.
23/12/2021 second appointment with NZDSOS and there was little but some improvements, he was considerably better by Christmas and we were able to have it at home.
I finished my job on the 31/12/2021 and was able to pour all of my energy into him.
Two weeks into January 2022 things were looking up so I asked for my old job back, I had also applied for other jobs to keep my options open. I hadn't heard back from my old job and accepted other employment.
At times Rob will have chest pain and coughing that causes him breathlessness. All visits to the hospital the recommended that Rob get the second vaccine but as advised from NZDSOS he is not going to.
This is a summary of the events and I have a full documented version if you wish.
Nga Mihi
Natalie Hopkins