Life As We Knew It Changed Overnight
Ryleigh is an 8-year-old girl who received the Pfizer jab in January 2022. Ryleigh’s Symptoms didn’t begin immediately after the jab. Her symptoms started a couple of weeks later. Within a week of receiving the first dose of Pfizer, Ryleigh caught covid for the first time. Ryleigh is an active eight-year-old who loves life, dancing, friends, baseball, riding bikes, vacations, and music.
On 2/15/22, our daughter became a different person seemingly overnight. Ryleigh began with having non-epileptic seizures. She lost her memory, and her cognitive skills declined. She started having daily episodes where she would become aggressive and full of rage. It appeared as though the Devil himself had taken over Ryleigh.
We took Ryleigh to the E.D. over the next several days. We were turned away with safety plans and informed it was all behavior. Finally, on the 5th E.D. visit, the hospital began to take us seriously. They admitted Ryleigh into a psych unit, where she was then transferred back to the hospital for further evaluations, including an M.R.I., E.E.G., and Lumbar Puncture. She was then sent back to the Psych unit, where they began probing her for all her traumas. They discovered that her dad had driven too fast while she was in the car and that her six-year-old sister was leaving bruises on her. They decided it was best to report us to Child Protective Services (C.P.S.).
While Ryleigh was in the psych unit, she had episodes, and they compared her to a primal animal. After three agonizing weeks, the hospital gave the first diagnosis of D.M.D.D. or Dysregulated Mood Disorder. During this time, in addition to having a child that wouldn’t let anyone touch her, we faced a new challenge of C.P.S. coming to our home to complete an assessment.
After being released from the hospital, the issues persisted. We returned to the hospital after just one week of being home with the same flare-ups. This time, we were diagnosed with O.D.D. or Operational Defiance Disorder. All of these have proven to be inaccurate diagnoses. I knew Ryleigh didn’t have D.M.D.D. or O.D.D. based on the acute onset. Ryleigh never was defiant. She is a teacher’s pet—the opposite of someone with O.D.D. or D.M.D.D.
Fast forward to 3/23/22, Ryleigh had the worst episode. Ryleigh’s nose started to bleed. She began head banging and thrashing her legs on the floor, with deer caught in the headlight look. I attempted to follow the instructions of the counselor on the phone, who suggested that we call the police to have them try to deescalate her. Her bout continued for over 2 hours. The police officer attempted to get Ryleigh’s attention, but she was mentally not there.
He said, “you can’t deescalate a person who isn’t mentally there.”
After leaving the local hospital that night, we headed straight to Johns Hopkins Hospital for a second opinion. The main difference this time is that Ryleigh was crying out in pain that she couldn’t feel her legs. Saying her legs were numb and tingling. When we got to the hospital, Ryleigh could not walk and had to use a wheelchair from that point forward until 5/24/22. Ryleigh also developed severe neck and back pain from the incident.
Ryleigh was diagnosed with ‘Functional Neurological Disorder’ within minutes of being there. J.H.H. had noted that it was listed all over her chart from the hospital locally. It was news to me; they had never mentioned that diagnosis to me in the past. I began researching F.N.D. and learned that it is a comprehensive diagnosis, but it is also very real, and people suffer from it daily. I also began to seek out others who had the disorder and found it common among those with the Pfizer jab.
J.H.H. wanted to put Ryleigh into another psych unit, and I declined because F.N.D. people don’t need psych units. I continued my search to find help for Ryleigh. We returned home on March 31, where I now have a child that can’t walk, has daily rages, unpredictable outbursts and movements, cognitive decline, and memory loss. By April 5, I found a Dr. that would be willing to see Ryleigh in N.Y., and he diagnosed her with C.I.D.P. and potential POTS after the Pfizer jab. Today, she lost her ability to feel when she had to urinate. So at this point, she is numb from the waist down with urinary incontinence.
The saga continues. When we returned from NY, Ryleigh got Pneumonia, and the local hospital refused to acknowledge that she was sick. They were determined that Ryleigh didn’t have Pneumonia despite what was staring at them in black and white! It took three x-rays for the doctors to believe what the x-rays revealed. (She had Pneumonia two different times between April 18 to May 5.)
On April 18, she was admitted to the hospital again, where they suspected that she had porphyria and began testing. At this point, I am beyond upset because no one is helping her, and she is declining daily. Several people tell me different things, yet no one from a healthcare setting could connect the fact that the Pfizer jab had anything to do with my daughter’s health deterioration.
To make matters worse, the same hospital called C.P.S. again, but this time it was because I had asked about alternative treatments such as IVM, H.C.Q., or the monoclonal antibodies. We began to feel deflated and hopeless. Unbeknownst to me, they attempted to have C.P.S. intervene before we were discharged. The following day, C.P.S. showed up at my door again. This time, the complaint is that I will give her unprescribed meds. I only asked the hospital if they’d be willing to try these alternatives as I didn’t know what else to do to offer her relief. To add insult to injury, this is the same hospital that is supposed to help sick children. We became worried and realized the health system quickly could no longer be trusted.
On May 18, Ryleigh began IVIG therapy, where she immediately saw relief from cognitive and memory loss. After the 2nd dose, she began to feel her legs slightly. By the 3rd dose, Ryleigh was walking again! We have been blessed that Ryleigh’s recovery has been speedy. We are not sure what exactly happened to our daughter, but we can tell you that her brain changed on February 15, 2022.
I’ve personally had time to reflect on these things. I do believe that Ryleigh has F.N.D. and or PANDAS/POTS. To date, the only diagnoses we have are F.N.D. and C.I.D.P. To date, Ryleigh’s therapies include IVIG, C.B.T., a Plant-based diet, NON-GMO, gluten-free, and various vitamins.
Ryleigh’s recovery has taken place quickly as we have been told that we accomplished in 4 months what generally takes 18 months for someone to complete.
I want to end with I am not an Anti-Vaxxer. I believe that vaccines can save lives. I only want people to know that there are risks to live with, and those risks can be challenging and heartbreaking.
If you’d like to support Ryleigh’s medical expenses and her care going forward, please donate to her at givesendgo.com/Ryleigh
