Basic Stuff
- Name: Azalea
- Country: United States
- State: Washington
- City: Pullman
- Gender: Female
- Age: 59
- Education: Masters Degree
- Primary Illness: Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS)
- Diagnosis:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
- Fibromyalgia (FM)
- Migraine
- Hypertension
- Year Illness Began: 2009
Functioning Interrupted
Work Interrupted
- Former Occupation: IT-Project Manager
- Job Responsibilities at Former Occupation:
Managing an intranet IT-project from initial surveys, call for tenders, negotiation, and design to implementation and deployment in a large energy corporation. Teaching 35 local intranet editors to operate the new software. Migrating data from old platform to new intranet. Project economy. Procurement. LEAN / Business Process Reengineering.
- Years of Work Lost: 10
- Current Work Status: Retired
Income Interrupted
- Year Retired: 2020
-
Minimum Annual Income Loss at Retirement:
$66,852
- Total Projected Economic Losses For Years Not Worked:
$1,113,843
Other Interruptions
- This illness has severely impacted my ability to financially prepare for retirement
- I was unable to attend college/university as I had planned
- I reduced my work hours
- I left my job or retired early
- I took on jobs with less responsibilities than I otherwise would have
- I have been unable to or found it very difficult to date
Most Impactful Loss
I consider the loss of my health and thus my freedom to work, travel, date, and do sports and cultural activities as my greatest loss. Also loss of friendships and previously frequent contact with nature and the ocean are quite painful.
My Story
In the fall of 2009 my former employer strongly encouraged all their employees to have a flu vaccination (offered and paid for by the company) in order to bring down the number of sick leave days. I've never had such a vaccination before, but I accepted anyway.
Well, twenty minutes after I got the injection I started to feel flu-like sick, and I developed a headache, muscle ache, nausea, and a high fever. At lunch the fever was so high I had to go home. Then followed four weeks with a chronic horrible headache, constant high fever, an upper respiratory infection, and very unpleasant GI problems.
When the fever finally got back to normal, I still felt flu-like sick and feverish - and I had also all the classic ME-symptoms, and I have never recovered. Six months after I became sick I resigned in order to focus on getting better. Sadly, that has not been feasible - and I have tried everything under the sun. Instead, the ME has gradually exacerbated to the level of severity where I am 95% bed bound.
Although I have a masters degree, I enrolled at the university again in order to improve my qualifications i.e. in the initial years after I got ME. Unfortunately, I was way too ill to accomplish the curriculum, so I had to give up.
It has not been possible to get any compensation from the responsible pharmaceutical company pertaining to the adverse reaction, despite the fact that their product has ruined my life. The vaccine's name is Vaxigrib and is manufactored by Sanofi Pasteur (France). So my advice is to stay away from all products this corporation produces - and Vaxigrib in particular. Look them up at YouTube. Their products have hurt and ruined so many lifes incl. infants.
Thanks so much for telling your story, Azalea! You have posted a first – our first non-COVID vaccination story. Thanks so much for widening our understanding of the many ways these diseases occur.
And what a story it is…to go from managing IT to retired with a functional level of 20. After all these years these “falls” still blow me away.
Hang in there – and thanks again for being public with your story. 🙂
I got the Sanofi FluZone and will soon pay with my life. This is four times the strength and components of normal vaccine because it aims at elders. It devastated my immune system, laying me up with horrible coughing and other respiratory symptoms. I emerged after 3 months due to symptomatic treatment, but with a nodule turned to sarcoma — perhaps due to the immune suppression. Next I am going to be subject to harsh, old fashioned chemo because no one understands ME well enough to help me jump the barriers to gentler things I am genetically qualified for.
Dear Deboruth,
I am so, so sorry to hear what that horrible flu vaccination has done to your health. I hope you have reported this adverse event to the authorities, and that you will get a proper compensation.
First and foremost though, I hope your doctors cure you entirely, and that you may live the life of your dreams. I will prey for you ❤🙏❤.
Let us shout out on the net that people should stay away from Sanofi’s products.
Wishing you all the best and full recovery.
Sincerely,
Azalea