Written and Photographed by Russ Benning
The concept of survival is quite literally as old as life itself.
Survival and replication lead to evolution that leads to (in theory) a better future for the species in question. Passing on genetic material (nature) as well as the guidance (nurture) of the previous generation are the fundamentals.
In the modern era of human beings, there are a few survival stories that typically become front and centre. During our brainstorm we found compelling stories from incredible people that have survived war, disease, violent crime, accidents and so on.
As the most adaptive species on the planet currently, humans are very impressive creatures indeed. Certainly from a survival and evolutionary standpoint.
This issue, we address a situation that is quite recent and quite unusual in its origin.
You may be aware of a recent pandemic (Covid-19) that took the world by storm and the consequential answer (vaccine) that for a select few was much, much worse than the virus itself.
The responses to the treatment were varied with symptoms ranging from none at all through to mortality.
Today I introduce you to a person that was affected towards the latter end of that spectrum.
Hervey Bay local of sixteen years, Emma Hansen followed the advice of the Australian government and took the vaccine both to keep herself and community safe, as well as to keep her job (primary school teacher) which was mandated.
Not even five minutes after the injection she knew something wasn’t right.
“I was in the waiting room afterwards and five minutes later I was down. I just felt weird then I was out.”
She explains the experience was also terrifying for her husband Mark, fearing the worst as he found Emma completely passed out with her eyes wide open.
As she came to, she recalls being unable to sit up at all. Her heart rate was erratic—sometimes beating uncontrollably fast, and others stopping completely for moments on end.
This continued for days afterwards and it became clear that this was the introduction to a terrifying road ahead.
My eyes widen and goosebumps appear on my body as I take in the horrible account.
“Every day in the first year, I thought I was going to die.”
Physical symptoms such as chest pain, muscle weakness, lightheadedness, brain fog, heart palpitations all understandably led to hopelessness and anxiety about her condition.
She recounts being unable to leave her bed at all for almost all of 2022, adding to the trauma of the experience.
“I was so weak I could hardly even lift an arm. It was like being heavily sedated, that level of fatigue.”
Her body was at war with itself, stuck in a Sisyphus-like loop fighting an un-winnable battle against a foreign body that was causing havoc and spreading to each cell in her body. She was in a constant state of extreme inflammation.
Unable to keep down any food she recalls looking like a skeleton as her symptoms progressed.
The inflammation was everywhere including her brain. She remembers not being able to speak properly, her vision doubled and blurry. She shares how terrified she was constantly. Somehow all of that paled in comparison to the fear and hopelessness caused by her heart rate.
Like the snapshot of the first few minutes, hours and days, the constant fluctuation of her life-force motor if you will was the hardest part for her.
“It was a terrifying ordeal.”
She was not the only one stuck in this nightmare either. Her four children feared for her life, going through each day wondering when their beautiful mother would finally be overcome. She had to endure this knowledge with no way to reassure them which added to her internal hell.
Her loving husband Mark, also interwoven in the cruel tapestry of this frightful journey. His mettle tested as he faced the impossible decision between being at the side of his love as she desperately needed, or return to work (Assistant Principal at a primary school) to provide for his family.
Fortunately, with the help and support of close friends and family, he was somehow able to juggle both as well as spending considerable time researching both for clarity and understanding as well as for insurance purposes.
An absolute superhero performance he admits it was his whole life through that period.
Countless doctors visits, hospital visits, specialist appointments and so on endured throughout with limited success.
Emma recalls one of the worst parts was a feeling akin to being gaslit by the same system that inflicted this torture in the first place.
It was such early days and the medical system was already overrun by the virus repercussions there was almost no understanding, let alone support.
This lead to a reduction in the precious little hope she had left, throwing fuel on the fire of desperation.
As time went on and new developments were published and more research undertaken, team Hansen were sent an angel…
A functional medicine doctor in Brisbane was to be the light at the end of the tunnel they desperately needed.
For those who aren’t familiar, functional medicine is interested in the root cause of disease and the holistic treatment of the being. Similar to an Ayurvedic doctor they are qualified MD’s (usually longer practicing individuals) who choose to expand their healing focus beyond symptoms alone.
The doctor sent Emma for a range of tests, including an expensive blood test which was sent to a Long-Covid clinic in America, which confirmed the vaccine reaction.
Emma has since had multiple doctors verify her condition and symptoms as linked to the vaccine, including a Cardiologist who stated that her blood oxygen level was akin to someone in an Intensive Care Unit.
Finally finding someone who understood them and believed them, the dim, narrow light began to expand.
Successfully diagnosing the body’s response and prescribing the appropriate medication, Emma’s symptoms finally began to ease, even if, ever-so-slightly.
This imbued her with enough life-force to begin practicing some natural therapies and allowing her to once again retain nutrients.
The catalytic diagnoses that made the majority of the improvement were MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) and POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), both of which have been linked by research to the Covid vaccination.
The road was long and arduous but before too long she was able to stand up again. She was able to talk again. She got to feel the sensation of sun on her skin. Things we arguably take for granted were gifts she was experiencing as if for the first time.
Part of the cruel joke of it all was that she was such an active, positive, healthy person to begin with. She was a mum, a wife, a teacher and very active in the community.
She shares how the whole experience is put in perspective with some of her new practices such as mindfulness and gratitude, and how she has a new lease on life. She reflects on how in hindsight she was always doing and never being.
I’m an empathetic guy and I can see how much truth there is when she tells me she can be completely content to just sit and do nothin. She enjoys everything she does now, no matter how monumental or insignificant.
I see the way she and Mark look at each other. I see the pain, the power, the suffering and the triumph in their connection. I would never wish their nightmare on anyone but I would wish that love for everyone.
I see that survival is not just about getting through the horrible thing.
It’s not even just about the strength of character that’s forged in that hell-fire of suffering.
It’s about what gets left behind. It’s what gets shared and spread as a result. It’s the light and the hope that’s born into the world.
Survival is about making the world a better place than it was when you were brought into; no matter what must be endured during this crazy thing we call life.
Emma and Mark are involved in a class-action lawsuit to bring awareness and justice to those vaccine injured in Australia. Emma also has a website where she shares her journey in an attempt to shed light on the underexposed condition as well as giving as much hope to others going through a similar situation. Please head to: https://emmahansen81.wixsite.com/the-long-covid