Everytime you share your story you become a little less invisible.
This is Karen’s story. She was injured by her second vaccine in September of 2021 and has felt invisible for the last 18 months.
Team Humanity wants to change that.
Prior to her vaccine Karen worked full time as a Medicare nurse reviewing claims made by providers. Karen has an extensive knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, and years of first person experience as a practicing nurse.
When Karen wasn’t working she enjoyed working in her garden, going for walks, and spending time on the lake with her husband, children and grandchildren. Her life was full. She loved the busyness and the constant hum of action in and around her house.
This all changed a few weeks after her second shot. Karen’s symptoms started with a constant headache and a low grade fever. That progressed into tinnitus, intolerance to any stimulation, an inability to concentrate, intense brain fog, insomnia, neuropathy in her arms and legs, loss of her hair, internal chest vibrations, and POTS.
Karen’s previous life was stolen from her. She became a shell of her former self and was terrified. Leaning into her background as a nurse and the subsequent training showed Karen that her body was shutting down. Her heart was racing, her brain wasn’t functioning and she had pins and needles pain in her limbs.
During those first few months of being vaccine injured Karen remembers not being able to stand when she tried to wash the dishes after dinner. Her husband had to bring his office chair into the kitchen. She also remembers sitting at a doctor’s appointment and wanting to text her daughters but couldn’t figure out how to send a text. Karen couldn’t work in her garden during the summer of 2022, let alone spend time out on the lake in their boat. The constant commotion of her four grandchildren running around that she used to love now caused incredible stress.
A neurologist told Karen it was like, “the vaccine caused a traumatic brain injury”.
Karen was exhausted, but couldn’t sleep. Every bone, muscle, fiber and cell in her body and brain were fatigued-like she had run a marathon and been studying at the library for hours-yet Karen was just sitting in a dark room inside her house all alone.
She truly felt invisible. Doctors had acknowledged her injury, but didn’t know how to treat her or couldn’t treat her. Fortunately, Karen had her husband and her daughters. They could see how much Karen was suffering. Sometimes they would just lay in bed with her all day while she rested her weary body.
How was Karen going to gain her life back?
What about her grandchildren? She had so many things she wanted to show them and do with them.
Would she ever get back out on the lake again?
Would she ever be able to listen to her husband play the guitar without feeling over-stimulated and triggered?
Karen was at a crossroads. Her intuition and faith told her that she needed to try moving a little each day and do something that she used to love. She trusted God to show her the way.
Karen listened and turned to art therapy. She decided her path back to health would be through quilting. Step by step she would sew a quilt for herself.
At first it was incredibly hard for her. Karen had to throw away multiple pattern pieces she cut or attempted to sew because she had such a hard time keeping anything in a straight line. On some days she could only finish one square.
However, that one square was very powerful-it was healing. She could look at the one square at the end of the day and know that she had accomplished something.
Karen felt like she wasn’t just sewing pieces of fabric together; but was literally putting her missing pieces, her broken body, back together one piece at a time.
Sitting down each day to cut and sew was therapy. It took Karen on a journey of healing both physically and emotionally. It helped Karen focus, to regain the cognitive abilities that she had lost. Karen felt stronger, more in control, and could feel hope bubbling up inside of her.
Karen finished her quilt. It reminds her of what she has been through and gives her the courage to keep fighting.
Karen still struggles with fatigue, headaches, tinnitus, short term memory issues, endurance and brain fog. However, this hasn’t stopped her. She is now teaching her granddaughter how to sew.
Karen doesn’t feel invisible anymore. She has started to share her story and discovered that there are a lot of people who are willing to listen, to lean in, to truly listen to what happened to Karen. Neighbors, old friends, strangers want to hear her story and Karen is ready to tell them.
This is Team Humanity. We are here to listen. We believe that when we listen to someone’s story, we help them feel less invisible and more known. When we listen to someone share their struggles, fears and sadness we help them to heal. Team Humanity sees you, hears you, understands you, and wants to know you.
All stories are edited and approved by the participant before the story is published.
Karen, wow. I'm crying. My vaccine injured mom is an award winning quilter. She and I went to Sisters Oregon to the International Quilt Show before Covid. Within days of her shot, my mom developed an autoimmune disorder that threatens to limit the use of her hands and potentially feet. Thus far, she has been able to fight this off, but one never knows with this novel technology, how quickly that will change.
I've learned from my mom that quilts are stories. They've been used as such in times of trauma, such as the Civil War and recently in the AIDS crisis and today with vaccine injury healing. I am so thankful you've been able to use quilting to heal your body, soul and mind. It is beautiful! Award winning in my book!
Both great stories of using quilting to heal. Sorry for the injuries. Thanks for sharing.