Post-Vaccine Neuropathy from COVID Trials w/ Brianne Dressen | Dr. Bonati explains Spondylosis

>>Welcome to American Medicine Today. I'm Kimberly Bonati alongside Ethan Youker. We have a lot to cover. Let's get right to it. A new book chronicling the true story of a woman's life changing experience as a COVID 19 trial participant who was then diagnosed with Post-vaccine Neuropathy. Was recently released. And the real life heroine of the story joins us now. Please welcome Brian Dressen to the show, subject of Worth a Shot. Secrets of the Clinical Trial Participant who Inspired a Global Movement. Welcome to the program, Brian. >>Thanks for having me. >>Certainly. So can you walk us through how you became a participant in the AstraZeneca vaccine trial? >>Yeah, You know, at the beginning of the pandemic, I was really concerned, just like everybody else, about what this meant for my future, my family's future. We were watching the clinical trials, you know, coverage in the in the news. And we thought that it was pretty fascinating how quickly they were bringing these to market when it came to phase three. The information in the news was these things are safe. This is going really well. They're really effective. And we just need more people to finalize higher numbers so we can get these to the market. So that's really why I signed up. I was just felt like I was doing my duty to help get us all out of the pandemic. >>And so how many rounds of the shot did you get? I mean, in clinical trials, did you just get one? Did you get multiple? Did they make you come back after the fact? >>It was just one just one shot. And then the series was two. But my reaction started after one dose and it started within an hour. So it was pretty obvious. >>Wow. And so what were those symptoms? I mean, if it came if it came upon you that immediate within an hour, I mean, what were you feeling? Talk us through that. >>It started with tingling down the same arm as my injection, and then it moved to my other arm and then it moved to my legs. And four years later, I still have this painful pins and needles vibrating, stinging sensation surging through my entire body. 24 /7. And that's just one one symptom that is alien, not natural in any way, shape or form, right? I deal with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which means that your blood can't get up to your brain, which means that your brain is constantly starved for oxygen. And this is when people pass out or they almost pass out or they have tremors because the brain dumps adrenalin into the system trying to get the blood to go up to the brain. Now, after being diagnosed with Post-vaccine neuropathy from the NIH, I now am dealing with a progressive neuropathy that will continue to slowly eat away at my nerves for the rest of my life. >>And so what did AstraZeneca do about it? I mean, what did they say after you informed them of what had happened. >>That the drug companies involved in this has been very minimal and that's putting it nicely. As soon as I was injured, they couldn't get away from me fast enough. Even the test clinic where they're basically the middleman between the trial participant and the drug company, they also were very disappointed in how the drug company mismanaged my case. They do sign a contract with their participants, and in my case, the drug company agreed to help medically and financially if there was an issue. And they didn't either. You know, we refinanced our house. We had to hire a nanny to take care of the kids because I was so sick that we're in mountains of medical bills. It's a constant roller coaster of, you know, how am I going to feel today? Am I going to be able to help the kids with a couple of things or not? And the drug company is, you know, they don't want anything to do with it. So we actually have filed a lawsuit against the drug company. And and that's going through the courts right now. It's not because I was injured. We're suing because of contract violation. >>As you just mentioned, there's currently a lawsuit against AstraZeneca. We actually had I don't know if it was one of your attorneys or just a legal expert on you initially filed a lawsuit against the by the Biden regime, as we like to call it, but the administration of of President Biden. Tell us about that lawsuit, the specifics and if you can reveal what the outcome was, because I. I don't even know. Yeah. So we filed the lawsuit against the Biden administration. And we are also pursuing action against several individuals within the Biden administration. So Robert Flaherty, who's the main plaintiff or the main defendant in this case, he's the guy that went after the social media companies using the authority of the U.S. government and telling them to censor true stories that could cause vaccine hesitancy. And he dodged being served for this case for a year. And we finally had to drag him into court just to be served. So. And these guys are definitely running from accountability. This lawsuit is centered around censorship. And what we're doing is we're trying to protect everybody. Is First Amendment right to free speech, especially when it comes to expressing what your true firsthand story is. Because there's nobody that on this planet in the United States that should be afraid in any way, shape or form to tell their lived experience, whether it's controversial or not. So we're suing for $1 and that's it. But so it's a constitutional lawsuit. The whole purpose once again, is to protect people's constitutional rights. >> One dollar, don't you want it to cover all your medical expenses and continued needs moving forth? >>Yeah, but it's filed by a nonprofit, and they're not allowed to to sue for damages in any way, shape or form at this point. Yeah, we really just want to make sure that this doesn't happen again and that people are protected under the U.S. law. >>And this current lawsuit against AstraZeneca. From what I understand from my notes, they they came to you and said, listen, we'll get we'll you know, we'll throw you a little bit of money. And it was a little bit of money. It was like 1200 dollars, Correct. That's what they offered you for this entire ordeal. That's insane. >>Yeah, it was $1243 at the exact same time that that offer came through, which they misspelled my name as well. By the way, I was literally getting an infusion that I need every two weeks for the rest of my life that cost $3400 every time. >>So 3400. Wow. >>Yeah. So and to accept that money, I would have had to, you know, absolve them of any wrongdoing, any future obligations. You know, it it was a very dismissive offer. But this was a year into my injury. So at this point, it was very obvious that they were playing a very different game with my life than what I had signed up for in the trial. >>We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back with Brian Dressen after this. You were watching American Medicine today. Don't be screwed by lesser spine institutes who beat you with minimally invasive procedures. Then switch to screws rods, disc replacements in hardware at Bonati. No metal hardware fusions are ever used, Bonati invented the precise tools necessary to minimize surgery, scarring, anesthesia and recovery. So successful are the Bonati spine procedures. They consistently reflect 98.75% patient satisfaction. Over half our patients have suffered from failed back neck surgeries at other facilities. Bonati succeeds where others fail. Welcome back to American Medicine Today, we're continuing the discussion about the post vaccine injury, of Brian Dressen. We already hear that this is going to be an ongoing issue for you. How else has it affected your life and where do you see things going from here? >>You know, we have pushed really hard with the drug companies to do the right thing, the government to do the right thing. And, you know, we came up empty handed, so we decided to take matters into our own hands. We started a 501C3 registered nonprofit called React19. org where we advocate for people that have been harmed by COVID vaccines and we do that through medical providers, finding medical providers that will help these people, emotional support groups, which is so, so important, the emotional state and mental state of people that are dealing with this controversial chronic illness, it's astounding. We had a survey done by our partner organization in the UK and they found that over 70% of their membership had considered suicide because of their injury status. And then third, we yeah, and third, we provide financial support. And this is something that's near and dear to my heart because the federal government isn't paying anything out. The drug companies definitely are not going to be providing support for the harm that they caused and they have been given the free the free ticket, you know, because we actually cannot sue them for injury. >>So crazy raised. >>Yeah. So we're raising money to give people out of pocket medical expense grants. And that's been a very successful program. And we're always looking for people that are willing to contribute to that because we've been able to get like an eight year old out of a wheelchair back to school. We've been able to get people access to incredibly difficult medications that have literally changed their lives for the better. >>It's such an important thing that you're doing. Where can they donate? At React19.0RG So it's React the number 19. org and there's a donate button. We've made it as easy as possible for people to donate 100% of the money that gets donated into this medical grant program goes into the hands of the people that need it. >>Thank you so much. Brian Dressen subject of Worth the Shot Secrets of the clinical trial participant who inspired a Global Movement. Thank you for being on the program. >>Thanks, Brian. >>Thanks for having me. >>Well, that's all the time we have for this segment. Make sure you stay tuned. We'll have more after the break. You are watching American Medicine today. >>The first week or two I barely could get downstairs. I just stayed up in my room. My husband brought me my food and then I found out I had spinal stenosis. And that's why I could never walk for more than 5 minutes and have to take a seat. And I couldn't even move out of my bed. I was in excruciating pain. >>After receiving the exclusive Bonati spine procedures, Susie's pain relief was nearly instant. >>Immediately, and 95% of that pain went away. So such a good feeling to feel this good call up Doctor Bonati Institute. Just take it a step at a time. But you won't be disappointed. My name is Susie Hensel and I enjoy music. I love my family. My kids are grown. I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I met my husband and in Milwaukee when I was in the German folk dancing club. And so a year later we got married. I love cooking. I love to be with people. I'm involved in my church, I'm in the Abbey Maria Guild. We do all kinds of service projects for the church. I'm a part time nanny, babysitter, and we play games and we run around and I love to get them outside and I just like to do adventures for kids. I'm not a boring person nanny at all. I'm just kind of active. >>Well, Susie's feeling great now. That wasn't always the case. Susie tells us about how her startling pain threatened to dampen her joyful spirit. >>My pain was very sudden. The pain in my body was down my left leg, all the way down to my knee, on the left thigh. And it's numbing and it's just painful. It just never went away. It was just very, very painful. And I basically went from my bedroom to the shower to back to the bed. I could not cook, I could not clean, I could not I could barely just take care of myself. >>Trying to avoid drastic measures like surgery. Susie first went to her general practitioner who prescribed her pain medication. When she returned to her doctor later for additional medication, she was denied and over-the-counter medications were also not helping. So she began looking elsewhere. >>We called Bio Spine We had an appointment the very next day at Bio Spine, and I was very impressed by them. The doctor was nice and personable. He could see I was in a lot of pain. It looked like he was going to help me. And I'm like, Good, I'm on the right track. Well, then I came back a month later and he was a whole different story. >>Well, didn't I order you PT? No. Well, didn't I do this? No. It's like don't you even know my case? I mean, you're the doctor. I'm the patient. I know what's going on. I hope you do. So I was very turned off by that. I'm like, All right, time for divine intervention. All right, Lord, now what do I do? This isn't going to work. >>After her disappointment to add another spine facility, Susie started researching online and quickly discovered the Bonati Spine Institute. >>Bonati came up, Bonati Institute and I'm like, All right, so call them up. They got me in immediately they were so personable from the first person I met. When you walk in the door, it's all the nurses. And Dr. Nowak came in, and then about 10 minutes later, Dr. Bonati came in. They made me feel so comfortable, like I was a real human person. Not all doctors are like that, believe me. You know, I had a bad experience at the other Spine Institute where the doctor was very mean and they just explained they didn't rush me out of the room. You know, I they were probably in my room for 20 minutes just talking through the X-ray, the MRI, just talking what they would do. >>The exclusive Bonati spine procedures, utilize conscious IV sedation where the patient remains awake and communicating with their surgeon to ensure the source of their pain is eliminated before they leave the operating table. Susie was a shining example of the benefits of this technique, providing valuable feedback to the surgical team and entertainment for the operating room. >>So I met the anesthesiologist and she's just amazing. She pulls out a rosary, she finds out she's Catholic like I am. And I said, Well, can I sing a song for you? I'd love to sing a song, but I really have a loud, powerful voice. So if there's any surgeries going on, I probably can't sing because, you know, my voice really carries. And she says, You just go for it. So I sang a German song called Vienna My City of Dreams, and I just went to town. (singing) >> At the Bonati Spine Institute. Patients are not required to wear uncomfortable braces or endure weeks of physical therapy. Instead, they are instructed to walk about 40 minutes a day. >>Wow. This is just amazing. You know, I can swim, I can walk. Like here I am walking again, you know? So I've been doing that. And I went to the neighbor's pool last week and I went swimming, getting those wheels. All right. You know, I can drive myself. And my husband's like, Well, I'll drive you somewhere. I said, No, I can drive. I'm so happy to be driving. I mean, you know, and not have the kind of pain that I went through. You need surgery. He'll take care of you. All those doctors are good. They know what they're doing. God bless everybody at Bonati. You are the best. >>To see more stories of recovery. Just like this, search for the Bonati Spine Institute on YouTube. Rumble Apple's App Store. Google's Play Store, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Welcome back to American Medicine Today, I'm alongside Doctor Bonati. So at the Bonati Spine Institute, you treat a condition called Spondylosis. What is it and what do people feel when they're going through it? >>Well, Spondylosis is a situation that happened on the joints of the spine, and that situation is associated preferentially with age. So every one of us has spondylitis. Now, the problem is these Spondylosis can be a situation where you don't have any any abnormalities, you don't feel anything and you can have another type of Spondylosis that is going to be so painful that these are going to keep you in bed. Spondylosiis a change on the facet. The facets are the joints of the spine, and we have spondylosis of the cervical spine. We have Spodylosis of the thoracic spine and Spondylosis of the lumbar spine, The cervical and the lumbar are painful. >>Is this something that's degenerative. >>Is a degenerative problem. Older you get more spondylosis you have the spondylitis also is a condition that is associated with other illnesses. For example, if you have osteoarthritis, if you have degenerative arthritis, you have a collapsed disc spinal stenosis that we treat here and that we see frequently. And what really happens is the facets are two types of piece of bone that the rubber one on top of the other one and they have cartilage in between. If the cartilage is going to be too thin or they start to have damage, then immediately you have bone and bone rubbing in that area. >>Yeah, that's painful. >>That is going to create some pain. But at the same time, the pain is going to go directly to a specific nerve that the posterior primary rami. And that's specific nerve is probably the size of you, the width of your hair, but will create a lot of pain is associated with somebody who mistreats his back. For example, individuals like football players, athletes, they're weekend warriors. All, all this group of people that they really have a lot of input on the back like runners in in individual lift weights and nowadays they are producing a lot of pressure and those facets and then those degenerate The beginning when you are 18 or 19, that can happen anything but you create the damage. The damage become more and more intense with age and then suddenly that produces a pain. Another thing that we need to see is, for example, car accidents. So is an associated type of problem because you do have the injury and the injury is going to create some damage in that damage and with some type of fluctuating changes. And the other thing is just overweight people that they are accustomed to carry a lot of weight on their bodies for years in the very beginning, you have a little discomfort in the back. Usually every one of us have the opportunity to have an injury, like when you step off the curb and twist your back. As soon as you twist your back, you have some type of a situation with now the ligaments and the bones in that area are being stretched. So this area hurt, but it hurt for a few minutes, for an hour, and then the next day is gone and you forgot the thing, but you already create the injury. So years after that, the injury becomes now with a little pain and the initial is a pain very secondary to the trauma. You can have the pain for a few hours and goes away. You never remember again. But five, ten years after this same place again, comes with the pain. This time you have tried this. There at that time that you are treating changes in that area that actually arthritus in that area will create now a sensation and that can be a mild sensation or can be a horrendously painful sensation depending how the posterior primary rami of the nerve is being injured. And from that time on, they you start to look now for who's going to help you. You go to probably for the same pay to a general practitioner who gave you some pills and forget your name and then years after that same pain now becomes pretty active, is constant. You go back to your doctor. They took some X-rays, they took some MRI, and they tell you you do have spondylosis and then they treat you with physical therapy. They treat you chiropractor treatments. Sometimes they refer you to an orthopedic surgeon who would notice surgery. Why don't you get that label labeled neurosurgeon, orthopedic surgeon Then you have in an examination that is very intense to see what needs to be done. And the surgeon looks pro. You have a bulging this probably you have the arthritis. Then they decide to do surgery. Now, what surgeries can be done? One of the surgeries is a surgical procedure that will eliminate the facet and other procedures. We're going to mobilize your back and then they do a fusion so all the thing suddenly becomes really from something very simple, to something extremely important. Not only because now you destroy things. No, you feel things. Not in the results, depending not only in the surgeon, depending also how the patient, what the age of the patient is, how much motion the patient is going to do, what type of exercise going to do. And then they can get loose all the screws or plates. It's more pain, more surgery, more things. >>So Spondylosis can be treated with your patented Bonati spine procedures. Is that correct? Dr. Bonati That's correct. If you are suffering, with Spondylosis and you would like more information, reach out to Bonati @ Bonati.com or askBonati.com. Thank you for watching American Medicine today. If you would like to see previous episodes of our program Search American Medicine today on all your favorite streaming devices. >>If you have any comments or questions, contact us at the numbers below or you can tweet @drbonati using the hashtag American Medicine today or #AMT We would like to hear from you.