Marylou Lavalle
Day 2 · September 9, 2026 · 0:22:35
Key points Mary Lou Lavallee, 53, a 33-year aviation-industry worker, testifies about her husband Dominic, whom she married for 23 years after being high-school sweethearts. She describes Dominic as an outgoing, healthy 48-year-old HVAC technician, cook, and family man; their son Michael attends to support her. She says Dominic received his first Pfizer shot on April 12, 2021, because his job prevented him from working remotely. She says that 16 days later he reported blurred vision and dizziness, followed by feeling "off," mild abdominal pain, leg complaints, and headaches. On May 11, 2021, she woke to find him having a grand mal seizure; paramedics took him away and he never recovered consciousness. She says CAT scans showed his brain was full of clots (CVST), and a neurologist initially asked whether he had received AstraZeneca before concluding he was just unlucky. She says a hematologist reported the case as a post-vaccination adverse event, and after five days in ICU Dominic died; she vowed to be his voice.
Speaker 1
0:01 So our next witness is Mary Lou Lavallee. Speaker 1
0:08 Mary, will you take the Bible in your right hand, please? 0:12 So Mary Lou Lavallee, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God? Speaker 2
0:20 I do, so help me God. Speaker 1
0:25 Now, you're here to speak about your husband, Dominic. Speaker 1
0:33 I'm just going to very briefly introduce you and then invite you to speak and tell us about Dominic. 0:41 So you've been, you're 53 now. 0:44 And you've been 33 years in the aviation industry, right? 0:49 From stewardess to now you're involved in flight operations, document and client management. 0:56 You were, you married, you were married to Dominic for 23 years. 1:00 Correct. 1:02 And you and Dominic were high school sweethearts. Speaker 2
1:06 I've known him since grade school, grade six. 1:09 I remember when I first met him, he had that twinkle and sparkle in his eye then, and he had it into adulthood. Speaker 1
1:20 And actually, maybe can we pull up the photos? 1:23 We might as well start with photos. 1:25 So this is your marriage to Dominic, your high school sweetheart. 1:31 And 1:32 And what year is this, 23 years ago? Speaker 2
1:35 This was September 12, 1998. 1:37 It would have been our 28th wedding anniversary this upcoming Saturday. 1:44 We were married for 23 years. 1:46 We dated for nine years. 1:49 And we had a beautiful son, great marriage. 1:54 And when I look at that picture, it brings me joy. 1:59 It was one of the best days ever. 2:02 of my life. 2:02 We were happy, we were in love, we were young, and we're ready to build our future and our life together. Speaker 3
2:13 Can we go to the next photo? 2:17 Tell us about this photo. Speaker 2
2:23 People used to call us Three Musketeers. 2:26 We had one child, Michael. 2:29 here with me today being my support and my rock and i so appreciate him appreciate him being here today um i worked in the airline industry and we we love to travel especially dominic he loved to see the world and he loved the perks and it was the three of us and we enjoyed life to the fullest we worked really hard um we were humble people we came from humble beginnings and uh 2:58 We didn't sweat the small stuff. 2:59 We just enjoyed life. 3:01 We liked to have a lot of good friends, a lot of good family around us. 3:06 And that's who we were. 3:06 We were just good people. 3:08 We still are. 3:10 Well-rounded people. Speaker 1
3:12 Let's go to the next photo. 3:16 When was this taken? 3:17 Because I see Michael's getting older. Speaker 2
3:19 Yeah, he is. 3:21 Every year around Thanksgiving, it was a tradition. 3:23 We'd go apple picking. 3:25 with my sister and her family, and we look forward to it. 3:30 Buy some great apple homemade pies at the local market, and I have this picture in my bedroom. 3:39 He was my protector, and I look at that picture with his arms around me, just protecting me. 3:44 That's what he did. 3:45 That's what he did for everybody, not only for his family and his son and for me, the loves of his life, but that's who he was, and... 3:55 Just big, strong men. 3:58 And I miss him every day. 4:01 Every day. Speaker 1
4:05 And can we go to the next picture? 4:07 What's this a picture? Speaker 2
4:10 That's a hard picture. 4:12 Hard picture. 4:15 That was him in the ICU. 4:16 May 18, 2021. 4:20 May 18, 2021. 4:23 And, you know, Sean, and I'm not sure why I took that shot. 4:28 I don't know. 4:29 The ICU nurse at the time said, you know what, take off your, I know it was, she knew it wasn't protocol. 4:36 And she said, take off your gloves and just make him feel you. 4:40 Make him feel your hand on him. 4:44 And it was just such a poignant shot. 4:46 And I took a picture. Speaker 3
4:54 Can you tell us who Dominic was? Speaker 1
4:58 Describe him. Speaker 2
5:00 Of course, I'd be happy to. 5:03 I don't think there's enough hours in the day to describe who Dominic was. 5:07 I don't. 5:10 He, just seeing his photos here today, I feel his presence and I feel... 5:17 Him giving me the courage to speak. 5:18 I've never done something like this on this type of forum before, but I know that he's rooting for me to speak for him, to be his voice, and that's what I'm here to do. 5:30 He was an outgoing, fun, energetic, strong 48-year-old man who had so much love and passion for life. 5:42 He loved to cook. 5:43 He was a great cook, better than I was. 5:46 He loved to eat. 5:48 He loved the outdoors, loved to go on hikes. 5:53 He loved to travel, listen to music, just loved life, loved us endlessly. 6:02 He was also the handiest man you'd ever meet, fixed things with ease and perfection. 6:07 He was the old go-to guy that everybody would call on. 6:11 And we miss him every day. 6:13 We miss his love. 6:15 I miss his sound advice. 6:19 And we miss his presence. Speaker 1
6:25 So can you share his journey with us? Speaker 2
6:28 Of course I can. 6:31 The pandemic hit, as we all know, like this tsunami that came out of nowhere. 6:38 He protected us, went to the grocery store, did what he did to protect us. 6:43 I was frightened of COVID. 6:44 I was. 6:46 I think we all were. 6:49 Watched the news endlessly and we wanted to protect ourselves and protect those around us. 6:56 So we put our hand up and we went to get vaccinated. 7:00 I got vaccinated the week before. 7:04 He didn't have the luxury to work from home. 7:06 He was an HVAC technician and he had to be out there. 7:10 So he wanted to protect himself. 7:13 It was important to him and it was important to us that he did that. 7:18 On the April 12th of 2021, we went to our local hospital. 7:23 I went with him and he got his first shot of Pfizer. 7:29 And all I can recall is 7:34 was that a couple of weeks later, not a couple of weeks, I'm sorry. 7:38 It was the first time he had voiced something to me was on April 28th, 16 days later after his first vaccine, he was driving to a work call and he called me and he said, I am not feeling well. 7:52 I have blurred vision. 7:54 I'm dizzy and I had to pull over. 7:57 I think you need to call to get me a COVID vaccine swab or a swab, I'm sorry. 8:03 And I looked it up. 8:05 I immediately did some Googling and I said to him in these exact words, no, Dom, you know, I don't think it's COVID. 8:11 You don't have a cold and dizziness is not a symptom. 8:15 And I still have that text. 8:19 The days he was better after that and 8:24 Just the days that followed, all he continuously said, I feel off. 8:30 I'm feeling off. 8:30 Something's not right. 8:32 And he never went to the doctor. Speaker 1
8:38 He described stomach pains to you, right? Speaker 2
8:41 Very mild, mild abdominal pain. 8:44 The days that followed, there was a bruise on his non-vaccinated arm. 8:50 And he kept kind of pointing to his legs on some occasions, just on the couch, like just to his legs that something was off. 8:58 He couldn't pinpoint it, nor could I. 9:02 If only I can rewind time and know, I'm so well-versed now knowing what, you know, the symptoms of blood clots were. 9:14 And then two days of headaches. 9:18 It was Mother's Day. 9:22 He had two days of headaches. 9:24 Took Tylenol, gave him Tylenol, and he was lying down. 9:27 And then the last words he said to me on May 10th, 2021, I'm going to head up to bed. 9:36 Are you going to come? 9:37 And I said, no, no. 9:38 I said, I'm just going to stay down here and watch some TV. 9:42 And on the early morning of May 11, 2021, I woke up to horror. 9:50 I woke up to him having a grand mal seizure, rocking, shaking next to me. 9:58 It's still dark at that point, so I didn't know what was going on. 10:03 I turned the lamp on, and it was a sight I will never forget and something that's etched in my mind. 10:12 because it just wasn't him. 10:15 It was someone I didn't recognize. Speaker 1
10:19 Why do you say that? 10:20 Can you explain that for us? Speaker 2
10:23 Because he was just the guy that was always there and in control. 10:30 And there was no control. 10:32 He couldn't even tell me what was wrong. 10:34 He was seizing, foaming at the mouth. 10:39 Couldn't breathe. 10:40 And right away, I called 911 right away. 10:44 My son came into the bedroom. 10:47 We felt helpless that we couldn't help him. 10:50 Helpless. 10:52 It felt like forever for the paramedics to arrive. 10:55 It was the third wave of COVID. Speaker 1
10:57 And I'm just going to slow you down. 10:59 You're at this stage personally in an absolute panic. 11:03 And you're screaming and don't know what to do. 11:05 Am I right about that? Speaker 2
11:06 Absolute panic. 11:08 Utter shock. 11:10 Yes. 11:11 Yes. 11:12 My son calmed me down. Speaker 1
11:16 Yeah. 11:19 So 911 has called. 11:19 What happened after that? Speaker 2
11:22 It was the third wave of COVID, and it felt like forever until they arrived. 11:28 And I stayed in the bed to try to stabilize him as best I could, put him in the recovery position. Speaker 1
11:36 So is he still... Speaker 2
11:38 That stopped. 11:39 It stopped. 11:41 Unconscious, just laying there, trying to breathe. 11:47 And my son went to kind of open every door so we can make sure that the paramedics and firefighters arrived as soon as they could and quickly. 11:56 And they came in in a furry. 11:59 It was hazmat suits and you name it. 12:03 And I was screaming, and they called me down. 12:06 They said, we need to help your husband. 12:07 Just go downstairs. 12:09 We will help him. 12:14 He was alive still, barely, blue. 12:21 Tried to save him the best they could. 12:24 He came down lifeless in my house and on a spinal board and 12:33 was rushed to the local ER as I followed the ambulance to our local hospital, still hanging on. Speaker 3
12:46 What happened at the hospital? Speaker 2
12:49 Well, they allowed my son and I to go in. 12:53 into the emergency and they told me he's being looked at and to wait here. 13:01 I called his family, his sisters who are so close to. 13:06 They came rushing over to try to comfort me and make sense of what was going on. 13:12 I finally got some answers. 13:13 The nurse came out to me and she called my name, Mrs. LaValle, and I said, is he okay? 13:19 And she said, your husband's in critical condition. 13:22 He's intubated and the doctor's going to speak to you very shortly. 13:29 Took a deep breath. 13:31 My son and his sister were 13:34 to another room and they said to me that they did some CAT scans and he was just full of clots in his brain. 13:44 They didn't have a neurologist to specialize in that. 13:48 They had called Orange Ambulance to transport him as a life and limb. 13:56 They were too backlogged. 13:57 There was no time for that. 13:59 So he was transported with life and limb paramedics to another hospital in ICU. 14:10 They got him stable as best they could. 14:13 They told me to wait. 14:16 And I asked if my son could come up. 14:18 They said, no, only yourself. Speaker 1
14:21 So this is COVID restrictions. 14:23 Correct. Speaker 1
14:25 So Dominic is dying. 14:28 He's being stabilized. 14:30 And his son, Michael, cannot come up. Speaker 2
14:34 No. 14:36 Stabilized in the sense, Sean, fighting for his life, intubated, couldn't breathe on his own. 14:42 I still remember that room, 5A. 14:44 And I walked up. 14:47 Somebody escorted me up. 14:51 They spoke to me. 14:51 They said, be prepared for what you're going to seek. 14:56 I took a deep breath. 14:59 I held his hand and I said, I'm here and you're gonna make it. 15:07 And we're still doing a lot of assessments and they brought me into another room to speak to me. 15:17 And all I remember is the neurologist came out shortly after to ask me some questions about symptoms 15:24 And I can recall one of the first things he had said to me, Ms. LaValle, I have to ask you, did your husband receive AstraZeneca, but was he vaccinated? 15:36 I didn't really even understand at that point why he was asking me that. 15:40 I said, yes, we were vaccinated. 15:42 He received the Pfizer shot 29 days ago. 15:46 We got Pfizer. 15:48 Do you have proof of that? 15:50 I said, well, I think so. 15:52 I said, 15:53 And I remember sitting there in that waiting area, tearing my wallet apart, trying to find my receipt of the Pfizer vaccine receipt. 16:03 He left me be, let me look for it, came back running in a hurry. 16:07 I gave it to him. 16:08 He left, and he says, we'll talk to you in a little bit. 16:12 And they let me stay in that room until they all came to speak with me. Speaker 1
16:25 You had another conversation. 16:27 I know that Dominic's non-responsive. Speaker 1
16:30 But you have another conversation with him in ICU and you promised something. 16:34 Can you share with us about that? Speaker 2
16:37 So when the neurologist, you know, insinuated that it could have been AstraZeneca right then and there, 16:48 It was etched in my brain. 16:49 There was no way we're moving that. 16:51 They just came to the conclusion that he was an unlucky guy with bad luck. 16:57 And CVST was something so rare that I had never heard of, but a lot more prominent with the individuals on the news who had that exact clot with AstraZeneca. 17:11 So why did that happen to him? 17:12 I don't know. 17:13 Why am I sitting here in front of you and he's not? 17:16 I can't answer that. 17:17 All I know is that those five days in ICU, I promised him I'm going to be his voice and I'm going to be his voice to the end. 17:27 And I made him a promise. 17:28 Perhaps that's why I'm here today to do that. 17:34 And I'm grateful that I'm here to share my story and to tell you what I lost. 17:40 Because, Dean, as you said, they're not statistics anymore. 17:47 No one is. 17:48 And I don't want my husband to be a statistics. 17:51 Why? 17:54 Because he mattered. 17:56 And he was a kind human being. 18:00 And that's why I'm here. 18:03 And silence is not what we need. 18:08 And I feel like I've been silenced for five years just with my thoughts and my loneliness and 18:16 and reflecting and trying to connect the dots. 18:20 So I'm here today to be his voice, but everybody who can't be here today, I'm their voice because they're being heard. 18:30 And I thank you because for the first time in five years, I'm being heard and I'm feeling acknowledged and he's feeling acknowledged. Speaker 4
18:45 Thanks. 18:46 We really appreciate it. 18:48 Maybe just a couple of comments or questions. 18:50 Of course. Speaker 5
18:54 Thank you very much for sharing your story and the pain. 19:02 You said that the neurologist suggested that it might be AstraZeneca. 19:07 Did he support you afterwards with this and the other doctors in documentation of this, or did they kind of withdraw? Speaker 2
19:16 He said it when I first arrived there. 19:19 And then, yeah, I would say he withdrew from that. 19:24 Three of them did. 19:25 There was the hematologist there in ICU. 19:29 She thought the suspicion was low because he got Pfizer, but she was adamant that it'd be reported because post-vaccination and the days were suspicious. 19:41 21, nine days later, so she 19:44 She spoke with infectious diseases and I was assured that it was reported as an adverse event. 19:51 When I kept questioning it and bringing it up again, do you think it was AstraZeneca? 19:57 And all he said was, you showed proof that it was Pfizer and we don't have any data right now, Ms. LaValle, to support that. 20:05 And your husband was just very unlucky and he had bad luck. 20:11 That's all I heard for five years. 20:14 I'm sorry. 20:14 He had bad luck. Speaker 5
20:21 The previous testimony, I think it was Dr. Rose, it wasn't just bad luck because it seemed like there was a lot more cases, an incredible amount of cases. 20:39 Just think of my daughter within two days of 20:43 getting vaccinated. 20:44 She had a young mother, got severe headaches, went on for years, actually continues going the past year and just incapacitated. 20:54 And she had a lot of tests. 20:58 One of the doctors suggested that it might be this, but the others were very hesitant. 21:02 So it's something that has been experienced by people across this country. 21:10 I know myself, within two days of 21:14 of being vaccinated. 21:15 The second time I got shingles for my, my body. 21:19 And there was an other that I knew was directly to related to the vaccines, but, but I had problems walking for some time afterwards that I could, and there are other things too. 21:33 So it's, it's yeah. 21:36 So thank you for, for sharing this and we are very sorry about your loss. Speaker 2
21:40 I appreciate that. Speaker 4
21:43 Thanks. 21:43 Thanks once again. 21:44 We appreciate you sharing your story. 21:46 And I said, you know, when you ask questions, we ask questions and we need to ask more questions, right? Speaker 2
21:52 We do, we do. 21:54 And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. 21:57 I know so many people have applied. 22:00 I'm grateful to be here and I'm grateful to be heard and seen. 22:04 And I hope, my hope is today onward that we heal as a nation. 22:11 We learn from our past mistakes. 22:18 And I have compassion and healing and I pray for everybody who suffered due to this nightmare and tragedy, especially the ones who are suffering today. 22:26 And thank you for listening. Speaker 4
22:27 Thank you for continuing your husband's legacy.