Over the years, I have read so many vaccine injury stories, often disregarding them. That was until I learned I, too, had a vaccine injury. Let me tell you my vaccine injury story.
I was a child of the system. I mention this because that meant I was always 100% up to date on my vaccines. When I turned 14, I was vaccinated against HPV. I received the Gardasil vaccine, and within a month, my life was flipped upside down; I just didn’t know it yet.
Many people assume that for a vaccine to cause injury, it must be immediate. If it happens later, how could you know it caused it? Just like lead, some poisons take a while. Sometimes, we have to look at how the whole story unfolds and see the patterns and connections.
About a month after receiving the vaccine, I broke my humerus bone. The day I broke my arm in the hospital, I described a burning sensation in the broken area. Although this symptom was documented in my hospital records, they disregarded it. And that pain never stopped.
I saw doctor after doctor, describing this burning pain and severe sensitivity to touch. But as a child of the system coming from a broken home, my concerns were ignored time and time again. Unfortunately, every doctor told me it was either in my head or assumed I was seeking drugs.
This went on for years as I struggled to be a teenager, play sports and simply be a kid. I broke my arm an additional three times. On the suspected fourth time, at 21 years old, I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), previously known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).
CRPS/RSD is a chronic pain condition affecting an arm or leg. It develops after an injury, surgery, stroke, or heart attack. The pain is out of proportion to the severity of the initial injury. CRPS is considered uncommon and isn’t understood (1).
CRPS is ranked among the most painful diseases and medical problems and is often ignored by healthcare professionals resulting in patients committing suicide, nicknaming it the suicide disease. What many don’t know is CRPS often worsens over time. The disease may remain localized, spread slowly over years, or progress rapidly like a wildfire out of control. The best chance of remission is to catch it early (2).
By the time I was diagnosed with CRPS, my health was already deteriorating – it had gone eight years without a diagnosis.
Within a year, my CRPS, which started in my right arm, had spread to all four extremities, my spine, neck, and abdomen. By 25 years old, I was on 26 medications, in a wheelchair, and legally blind.
Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon a scientific article about developing CRPS post-Gardasil vaccine! The article discussed the occurrence on multiple occasions, resulting in it being suspended, yet they still claim correlation doesn’t equal causation. It was clear to me the Gardasil vaccine stole my adolescence!
I was in denial. I was angry. I was hurt.
I couldn’t believe it. I had never, not once, questioned the safety of vaccines. I had seen the stories online, but I couldn’t believe the things meant to help were causing harm. Not until it was me. That day, I questioned everything I thought I knew, and I hope to influence the same in you. We all need to question and research everything we choose to put in our own bodies and those of future generations.
History of the Gardasil Vaccine
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Most HPV infections are asymptomatic and resolve spontaneously, but persistent infections can develop into anogenital warts, precancers, and cervical, anogenital, or oropharyngeal cancers in women and men. Before introducing the Gardasil vaccine, the CDC documented approximately 14 million new HPV infections annually (3).
The Gardasil vaccine was introduced and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2006. The Gardasil vaccine is said to prevent certain cancers and diseases caused by the HPV types covered by the vaccine (4). Remember that more than 200 types of HPV have been identified, and between the three HPV vaccines, there is only protection against nine types (3).
According to the CDC, the Gardasil vaccine is recommended for ages 11 to 12 years but can be given starting at nine years old. The CDC claims all preteens need HPV vaccination to protect them from HPV infections that can cause cancer later in life. They also state teens and young adults through age 26 who didn’t start or finish the HPV vaccine series also need HPV vaccination (5).
Now, post-vaccine approval, according to the CDC:
“Nearly everyone will get HPV at some point in their lives. More than 42 million Americans are infected with types of HPV that cause disease. About 13 million Americans, including teens, become infected each year (6).”
So just a recap on the history of HPV. Before the introduction of HPV vaccines, there were 14 million annual cases. There were 13 million annual cases post-vaccine introduction. Additionally, the vaccine only protects people from nine out of over 200 types of HPV.
If you think that’s outlandish, wait until we discuss the ingredients and risks associated with the Gardasil vaccine.
Ingredients in the Gardasil Vaccine
Unfortunately, the mainstream media and doctors love scare tactics. If they can scare you into thinking your child or yourself will die, if they contract an illness, you’re more likely to do whatever you can to prevent it, but when was the last time a doctor gave you an actual vaccine insert? I’m not talking about the single print-out sheet they give you in the doctor’s office, but the one that tells you all the ingredients, adverse reactions, and how to report an adverse event.
For starters, there are three FDA-approved HPV vaccines (5):
9-Valent HPV Vaccine (Gardasil 9, 9vHPV)
According to the manufacturer of the vaccine, Merk, the Gardasil 9 vaccine ingredients include proteins of HPV Types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58, amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, yeast protein, sodium chloride, L-histidine, polysorbate 80, sodium borate, and water for injection (7).
Are you looking for more information regarding the 9-Valent HPV Vaccine? Check out the Gardasil®9 vaccine insert.
Quadrivalent HPV Vaccine (Gardasil, 4vHPV)
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Gardasil vaccine ingredients include proteins of HPV Types 6, 11, 16, and 18, amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, yeast protein, sodium chloride, L-histidine, polysorbate 80, sodium borate, and water (8).
Are you looking for more information regarding the Quadrivalent HPV Vaccine? Check out the Gardasil® vaccine insert.
Bivalent HPV Vaccine (Cervarix, 2vHPV)
According to RxList, the Cervarix vaccine contains HPV type 16 L1 protein, HPV type 18 L1 protein, 3-O-desacyl-4′-monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), aluminum hydroxide, sodium chloride, and sodium dihydrogen phosphate dihydrate (9).
Are you looking for more information on the Bivalent HPV Vaccine? Check out the CERVARIX vaccine insert.
Now, let’s break down some of the ingredients found in the Gardasil vaccines.
Aluminum Ingredients
The Gardasil vaccines contain two aluminum ingredients – amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate and aluminum hydroxide. I will discuss one, but it will give you an idea of the risks associated with all aluminum ingredients.
Aluminum hydroxide, also known as hydrated alumina, is a form of aluminum used as a colorant (10). If you looked at the source for that, you’d see that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) rates this ingredient a one; let’s discuss this. Aluminum hydroxide is made by mixing aluminum chloride and ammonium hydroxide in two hydrometer cylinders (11). While ammonium hydroxide poisoning is one concern, aluminum chloride is used to make pure aluminum metal (12,13). For those who may not know, aluminum is a heavy metal and neurotoxin (14).
In one study, administering aluminum to neonatal mice in vaccine-relevant amounts was associated with long-term neurological outcomes (15). Another article says aluminum in vaccines causes neurological disorders (16).
Aluminum overload and toxicity via aluminum-containing vaccines appeared to trigger a cascade of adverse immunological effects, leading to autoimmune conditions, including macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) and chronic fatigue syndrome (17). Plus, the mechanisms of aluminum adjuvant toxicity and autoimmunity in pediatric populations have demonstrated concerns regarding the current vaccination practices, as children may be most at risk of vaccine-induced complications (18).
Polysorbate 80
In its original form, polysorbate is harmless sorbitol, a sugar alcohol. However, polysorbate 80 is treated with 80 parts of ethylene oxide. It becomes problematic when any ingredient treated with ethylene oxide (or ethoxylated) can become contaminated with 1,4-dioxane, a potentially dangerous by-product. 1,4-dioxane is a known animal carcinogen that penetrates readily into the skin. This ingredient has also been linked with skin allergies and leaky gut (19,20).
Sodium Borate
Sodium borate, or borax, is a naturally-occurring compound composed of boron, oxygen, hydrogen, and sodium (21). Medline considers borax a dangerous chemical that can lead to acute or chronic poisoning.
“Acute boric acid poisoning usually occurs when someone swallows powdered roach-killing products that contain the chemical. Boric acid is a caustic chemical. If it contacts tissues, it can cause injury.
Chronic poisoning occurs in those who are repeatedly exposed to boric acid. For example, in the past, boric acid was used to disinfect and treat wounds. People who repeatedly received such treatment got sick, and some died (22).”
I understand that ingestion and injection differ, but I couldn’t find any data showing a safe injection dose – actually, quite the contrary. I found an article discussing intravenous doses, and after the first 5 to 10 minutes, sinus tachycardia always developed, and cardiac rates increased and remained present for several hours after (23).
Some known side effects of borax include:
- Skin rash
- Indigestion
- Anorexia
- Exfoliative dermatitis
- Alopecia (24)
Borax has also been associated with hormone disruption, respiratory problems, damage to stomach cell walls, and organ damage (25,26,27,28).
Risks Associated with the Gardasil Vaccine
In a study done in 2016, a third of the medical student participants (2,118 total) felt insufficiently prepared for questions about vaccines when communicating the side effects of said vaccinations (29).
What good is communicating side effects when the CDC downplays the potential side effects?
“Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects. Many people who get the HPV vaccine have no side effects at all. Some people report having very mild side effects, like a sore arm from the shot.
The most common side effects of HPV vaccine are usually mild and include:
- Pain, redness, or swelling in the arm where the shot was given
- Fever
- Dizziness or fainting (fainting after any vaccine, including HPV vaccine, is more common among adolescents than others)
- Headache or feeling tired
- Nausea
- Muscle or joint pain
To prevent fainting and injuries from fainting, adolescents should be seated or lying down during vaccination and for 15 minutes after getting the shot.
Very rarely, severe (anaphylactic) allergic reactions might occur after vaccination. People with severe allergies to any component of a vaccine should not receive that vaccine (30).”
Suppose this were true, and the risks were so low. Then why do Gardasil lawsuits accuse Merck of fraudulently concealing evidence regarding the health risks of Gardasil while falsely promoting it as a vaccine that can prevent cervical cancer (31)?
If this vaccine were genuinely safe, why have lawsuits accused Merck of purposely downplaying the potential risk of Gardasil, including a neurotoxic aluminum compound, secret DNA adjuvant, and potentially hazardous DNA fragments of HPV (32)?
Ironically, studies have claimed Gardasil® HPV vaccines to be safe and effective. In one piece of literature, they reviewed 30 studies, but 60% disclosed minor to major involvement with the vaccine manufacturers. Talk about a conflict of interest! Thankfully they disclosed this in their conclusion, stating:
“Considering that these vaccines are predominantly indicated for children, it may be recommended to perform more in-depth analyses on the severity and prevalence of these adverse effects, preferably without the influence of the manufacturers. This is particularly pertinent if these vaccines are to be administered to pregnant women and immunocompromised persons as well (33).”
Let’s be real, if the vaccine were safe and effective, why have there been cases of vaccine-induced illnesses like:
- Multisystem illness (34)
- Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) (35)
- Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) (36)
- Premature ovarian failure (37)
Looking to read even deeper? Here are some interesting studies to look at:
- Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis Following Immunization with Human Papillomavirus Vaccines
- Adolescent Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Following Human Papillomavirus Vaccination: A Case Series Seen in General Practice
- Adverse events following HPV vaccination, Alberta 2006-2014
- Ampiginous choroiditis following quadrivalent human papilloma virus vaccine
- Association of acute cerebellar ataxia and human papilloma virus vaccination: a case report
- Autoimmune hepatitis type 2 following anti-papillomavirus vaccination in a 11-year-old girl
- Behavioral abnormalities in female mice following administration of aluminum adjuvants and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil
- Bivalent HPV vaccine safety depending on subtypes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Brachial plexus neuritis following HPV vaccination
- A case-control study of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine-associated autoimmune adverse events
- Cervical cancers after human papillomavirus vaccination
- CNS demyelination and quadrivalent HPV vaccination
- Current Safety Concerns with Human Papillomavirus Vaccine: A Cluster Analysis of Reports in VigiBase® (2017)
- Demyelinating disease and polyvalent human papilloma virus vaccination
- Demyelinating disease and vaccination of the human papillomavirus
- Development of unilateral cervical and supraclavicular lymphadenopathy after human papilloma virus vaccination
- Erythema multiforme following vaccination for human papillomavirus
- Fibromyalgia-Like Illness in 2 Girls After Human Papillomavirus Vaccination
- HPV-negative Gastric Type Adenocarcinoma In Situ of the Cervix: A Spectrum of Rare Lesions Exhibiting Gastric and Intestinal Differentiation
- HPV vaccination syndrome. A questionnaire-based study
- Human papilloma virus vaccine and primary ovarian failure: another facet of the autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants.
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines as an option for preventing cervical malignancies: (how) effective and safe?
- Neurologic Complications in HPV Vaccination
- Serious adverse events after HPV vaccination: a critical review of randomized trials and post-marketing case series
My Gardasil vaccine injury is not the only story out there; interested in reading more? Check out some of these Gardasil vaccine stories:
- “Scariest thing in my entire life!” Mother says her daughter rushed to the ER after receiving HPV vaccine
- Pap Smears Saved my Life: Cervical Cancer After Gardasil
- A Day in the Life of Alexis Wolf: Six Years After Gardasil
- Gone After Gardasil: Acceptable Collateral Damage? SaneVax Asks: How much damage is acceptable?
- Teen-age Boy Dies After Gardasil Vaccine – Lawsuit Filed in U.S.
How to Report a Vaccine Adverse Reaction
Reporting a vaccine adverse event is as simple as going onto the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) website, surveilled by the CDC. You should always let your healthcare provider know if you’re experiencing an adverse event, and they are required by law to report:
- Any adverse event listed in the VAERS Table of Reportable Events Following Vaccination that occurs within the specified period after vaccinations
- An adverse event listed by the vaccine manufacturer as a contraindication to further doses of the vaccine
They’re only strongly encouraged to report:
- Any adverse event that occurs after the administration of a vaccine licensed in the United States, whether it is or is not clear that a vaccine caused the adverse event
- Vaccine administration errors
Vaccine injury is not one in a million. The idea behind this statement is for every one million doses given in the US, one person is compensated for injury in vaccine court. Studies show that not even 1% of adverse vaccine events are reported (38). As of April 2023, there have been 1,745,777 adverse events reported to VAERS, so I suggest reporting them. You can write your or a family member’s adverse event in one of two ways.
