Adam's Story - from Jab Injuries Australia

Real people, real tragedies - where's the accountability?

Sadly, Adam’s story is typical of what most vaccine-injured people face: Denialism from the medical community which caused their harm in the first place, a lack of help for the problems they are suffering and an inability to get anyone to listen to them. The vaccine injured need a voice. Can you be that voice for them?

I am a 38-year-old from Victoria. I run my own business and am married with a new baby. 

Prior to having the vaccination, I was a happy and calm person living an active life. I was in good health and enjoyed going to the gym. I had no health issues or heart problems and the only medication I was taking was anti-inflammatory tablets for a hip injury from a motor bike accident I had 10 years ago.  

I didn’t want to get the COVID vaccine. It didn’t feel right to me. I was not scared of getting COVID because I was aware that the risk of being harmed by the virus was very low. I held off getting vaccinated for as long as I could but the mandates made it very difficult. As soon as I got vaccinated, I regretted it. I decided to have it on the 5th November 2021. I was very against it, but I felt pressured. I went to the vaccination clinic near me and got vaccinated in my right arm. Other than a bit of sore arm during the night, I didn’t have a reaction that day. 

Five days later however, I felt a sharp, burning pain near my heart. I brushed it off at first but the following day it was worse. I started feeling worried as I had heard about the heart issues many were having following vaccination. I called the vaccination clinic on the Friday and was told to go to the hospital emergency department. I went immediately but ended up having to wait for two hours in the waiting room. 

During my wait the pain was coming and going. I felt worried about my heart. Eventually, I was called in and was seen by a young doctor. I told him that I had recently had my first COVID vaccination. He did an ECG and a blood test. When the results came back, he explained that I had ‘inflammation in my chest’. I asked if it was from the vaccine and he said that it just happened to be in my chest and it was ‘nothing to worry about’. I said that I had never had heart problems before and that there wasn’t a history of heart problems in my family. He wouldn’t acknowledge this or my concerns and just told me to keep taking the anti-inflammatory tablets (that I was taking for the motorbike accident), and that my heart pain would go away. 

I felt unheard and disturbed not only because of my heart pain, but also from his apparent lack of care or concern. He said I could leave so I went home, still not knowing what was wrong with me. My wife and family were extremely upset and worried about me, especially as they knew how strongly I felt about having to get vaccinated in the first place.  

A week went by and I was still experiencing burning pain in my heart. I decided to see my family doctor because I knew and trusted him. I wanted answers, but I also wanted to get something in writing so that I could avoid having to have the second shot.  I was terribly shocked when he brushed me off and didn’t listen to me. It made me feel that I was not being taken seriously and that I was somehow not relevant. He downplayed it all and told me it was anxiety and not heart related. I was dismissed and given no treatment, advice or care.  

I returned home to my wife, distressed and still holding my chest from the pain. I decided to go to a private emergency department on the 19th November. I received better care there. The doctor there was open and listened to me. Finally, after two weeks of suffering with these heart issues, a health professional listened to me and helped. It was a huge relief. The doctor conducted a full ECG, blood test and ultrasound. He was helpful and explained the findings thoroughly. 

The tests showed that my heartbeat was irregular and I was diagnosed with pericarditis. It was so horrible to hear, but in a way it was a relief to finally have an answer. The doctor also confirmed that it resulted from the vaccine. He said if I got the 2nd shot it would be worse than the pain I was currently experiencing. He gave me a letter stating that I had chest pain and the cause was diagnosed as COVID vaccine-related pericarditis. The letter also advised that I could not have the second vaccination and that I had to be symptom free before having another. This doctor reported my injury to the TGA. 

The doctor said the heart issues should go within four to six weeks. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. In fact, in February I had to go back to the private emergency department as I had bad chest pains again. This time I was seen by a different doctor. He did an ECG test and said that the results were the same as for the previous visit. I asked if that meant that I still had pericarditis. He said no and refused to do an echo. He gave me a referral to see a cardiologist and he said that he was 100 percent sure it would be okay and that I wouldn’t have pericarditis. 

I saw a cardiologist who did an echo test in March.  The results came via my GP who had previously dismissed me and my concerns about heart issues. He confirmed that I had pericarditis. He then went on to try to convince me to have the second vaccination. He said that getting the second vaccination, even with my heart issues, would be better than getting COVID. I was totally disgusted that my family doctor would say that. 

I still experience heart pains and burning. Now that I am vaccine injured, I get tired more quickly. I want to be doing more physical things and going to the gym, but I can’t. This is because if I exercise and my heart rate goes up, it will flare up the inflammation. This is a big set-back for me as the gym was good for my hip injury and I was building strength. I can’t help but wonder if I wasn’t already taking the anti-inflammatory tablets, how much worse my heart and pericarditis would’ve been.

I hate having this vaccine injury hanging over me. I was not an anxious person before this occurred, but now this has made me feel more stressed. I should be having the happiest time of my life with my baby. These mandates and the resulting injuries should never have happened. 

I have spent so much money on tests which, on top of the lockdown and the losses as a business owner, is all too much. I was a happy person who loved life and was not anxious at all. I now worry about my heart and my future every day. I want to be healthy again, like I was before, so I can enjoy my new baby boy fully and be sure that I will be here for him and my wife. 

The reason I share my story is because I want to bring awareness of what the COVID vaccines are really doing to people. I don’t think people realise it could happen to them and that vaccine injuries are not as rare as they are being made out to be

Read Adam’s original story and more stories like it at Jab Injuries Australia’s website.