I am living this reality daily, and I want to live in a world where these harms are adequately addressed. 

Recently, the New York Times covered my story: "Thousands Believe COVID Vaccines Harmed Them. Is Anyone Listening?" Sadly, no one is listening yet, and very few people are willing to help.?

I am a research nurse practitioner who has dedicated my professional career to community health and clinical research, including vaccines. My beliefs are firmly rooted in science.? 

Three years ago, when the COVID-19 vaccine emerged, I stepped forward to receive it. What followed was unexpected and devastating. 

Within hours I developed tingling along my right arm, which over days radiated across my body. A neurologist and colleague recommended that I proceed with a second dose. With the vaccine mandate from my employer at the top of my mind, I proceeded, against my own medical judgment.? 

After the second dose, my condition rapidly worsened. I developed positional tachycardia, wildly fluctuating blood pressures, internal tremors, electrical zap sensations on my legs, intense right-sided headaches, abdominal pain and severe tinnitus. I struggle to live with all of this and more to this day. 

I am a registered Democrat. It turns out that vaccines do not care about your political ideology.?Regardless of political beliefs, health care must transcend partisan debates. I find myself trapped in a polarized discourse, where nuanced discussions are suppressed, and both political and scientific support are elusive. 

The reluctance to engage in honest, open dialogue about vaccine injuries perpetuates unnecessary suffering and isolation for the thousands affected.   

We are in desperate need, but we feel both abandoned by the communities that champion vaccination and co-opted by those opposed to vaccines.?We are caught between accusations of jeopardizing vaccine efforts and assertions that we deserve our suffering. This only exacerbates our trauma.