22 July 2021
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| Samantha Briggs |
(Queensland - Australia)
A Rockhampton man, Mark Briggs is clinging on for life in the city's ICU after developing a "mystery illness" in June after getting the AstraZeneca jab.
Multiple doctors have failed to diagnose the cause that's kept him in hospital for more than four weeks.
A Rockhampton man, Mark Briggs is clinging on for life in the city's ICU after developing a "mystery illness" in June after getting the AstraZeneca jab.
Multiple doctors have failed to diagnose the cause that's kept him in hospital for more than four weeks.
The cause of Mark’s illness is unknown but his wife Samantha Briggs said her family believed it was related to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“Mark received his vaccine on 15 June and that night he had pain in his shoulder blades and just felt really unwell,“ she said.
“He took some Ibuprofen and by the next morning he didn’t feel too bad so he went out to his seven-day shift at the mines.
“On the last night of his night shift he got a really sore throat and a bit of a headache. While driving home the following morning he had pain between his shoulder blades and down the right side of his back again.
“By the time he got home he laid down to have a rest because he wasn’t feeling great and he started getting chest pains.“
The family called an ambulance and Mark was taken to the hospital on 23 June – but tests found nothing so he was sent home.
“He felt horrible and sick all that Wednesday night and at 5am Thursday morning he woke me up and said, ’I’ve got really bad pains in my arms and I can’t move them’.
“He was taken back to hospital and has been in hospital ever since.“
Mark was diagnosed with myocarditis – inflammation of the heart muscle and the heart lining.
“They were just treating him with an anti-inflammatory for that but he was in so much pain,“ Samantha said.
“He couldn’t breathe and he just deteriorated so quickly and ended up with severe pneumonia, an inflamed liver and some kidney failure.“
Mark was in Rockhampton Hospital for a week before being transferred to the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane.
“He just couldn’t breathe, everything was shutting down, he had heart failure, he had lung failure, he had kidney failure. He had to be sedated and intubated for six days.“
Eventually Mark’s condition improved and he was transferred back to ICU at Rockhampton Hospital.
“Mark is breathing with the help of a high flow oxygen machine and can talk to you a little bit, he can say a couple of words,“ Samantha said on Tuesday, July 20.
“He still has 500ml of fluid on the outside of his lungs and fluid and consolidation on the inside of his lungs.
“His liver’s still inflamed, he has a 39.9 degree temp and blood clots in his legs.
“The doctors aren’t looking for a diagnosis anymore, they’re just trying to keep on track of his symptoms.“
On Wednesday, Samantha said Mark’s condition had deteriorated overnight and he had again been sedated and ventilated.
Samantha said she appreciated the help of the Indoor Sports Arena, who will hold a fundraiser on 6 August to help the family.
“Because Mark was a casual worker, he’s got no income coming in,“ she said.
“I’m going to have to get our downstairs bathroom renovated because he needs to have access to a shower that we can wheel him in on a chair.“
Samantha said it was expected to be about six months before her husband could walk by himself and at least 12 months before he got back to “some sort of normal“.
“It’s going to be a long road ahead for him,“ she said.
If you’d like to support the Briggs family, go to www.mycause.com.au/p/257240/briggsy-be-better
In the video below Samantha Briggs is talking about her husband Mark's horrific ordeal after getting the vaccine.
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| Mark and Sam Gibbs in happier times.. |
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