Carol Messenger
Day 3 · September 10, 2026 · 0:19:36
Key points Carol Messenger, 58, a 22-year Vancouver Fire Rescue veteran and captain who was very physically fit, testifies about her recognized vaccine injury. She says she received a Pfizer first dose in April 2021 and a mandated Moderna second dose on June 24, 2021, as she was retiring. She says that on July 18, 2021, she suddenly lost feeling from the waist down, lost bodily control, and collapsed, initially fearing a stroke. She says doctors found a five-centimetre spinal lesion between T10 and T11 and diagnosed transverse myelitis, treating her with massive steroids. She describes lasting paralysis in her lower body, a catheter for a month and a half, dysfunctional bladder, severe nightly leg spasms, thermal dysregulation, and swollen feet. She speaks about lost sexual sensation and function as part of her injury, and the emotional trauma of feeling broken. She says the Vaccine Injury Support Program lost her file and once declared her dead, and that she received only a small award covering none of her expenses, estimating about 90% recovery.
Speaker 1
0:01 Our next witness is Carol Messenger. 0:04 Carol, will you take the Bible in your right hand? 0:10 Carol Messenger, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Speaker 1
0:21 Now, your doctors have diagnosed what you're about to share with us as vaccine injury. 0:27 And you're one of the few that even the Vaccine Injury Support Program agrees you're vaccine injured. 0:33 And you did not have COVID prior to your injuries. Speaker 1
0:37 So just to introduce you to the inquiry, you were 58 years of age. 0:44 You have four adult kids. 0:45 You've been married for 22 years. 0:47 I believe two of your kids are here in support of you today. 0:51 You had 22 years with Vancouver Fire Rescue Service. 0:56 You were a captain for eight of those years. 1:00 Prior to your vaccination, you were always in the gym, minimum three days a week. 1:06 You played pickleball, lots of walking and hiking. 1:08 And just to back up, I mean, in your profession, you had to maintain a certain level of physical fitness in any event. 1:15 And your health was excellent. 1:17 So can you share with us what happened with your vaccinations? Speaker 3
1:22 Yes. 1:25 So 1:26 June 24th of 2021, I had my second vaccination. 1:32 It was Moderna. 1:34 Prior to that, in April, I had my first vaccination, which was Pfizer. 1:39 No side effects from my first vaccination. 1:44 I was still currently employed as a captain with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services and soon to retire. 1:51 And it was mandated that we were to have vaccines. 1:54 At that point in my career, I actually was not on the fire trucks. 1:58 I was more an administrative role doing recruitment and outreach, but it was mandatory that everyone received the vaccinations. 2:06 So I did that literally on my way out of retirement with my husband too, who was 27 years in fire service in Vancouver. 2:15 And so literally three weeks and 2:19 six days after the day before my 54th birthday on July 18th of 2021 with no signs or symptoms. 2:30 Really at that point, I was very aware and very super healthy. 2:33 I had no health conditions whatsoever. 2:35 I'm very aware of my body and we happened to have our youngest and her boyfriend and we were out in Quadra Island. 2:43 We retired to Vancouver Island to the Comox Valley. 2:46 And we're out on our boat and up in the morning watching the beautiful sunrise at 6.30, my husband and I. 2:52 And all of a sudden, I had this very odd sensation on the backside of my body. 2:58 It was really hard to explain, like pins and needles, but just weird. 3:01 For lack of better words, from the back of my butt all the way down to my feet. 3:07 And then I was like, oh, I have to go to the bathroom. 3:09 It was like fight, flight, like an experience I'd never had. 3:13 So I made it down into the bathroom and 3:17 lost all control of my bodily functions. 3:20 And then I couldn't stand up and cleaning myself up. 3:25 And I was determined that I wasn't going to call for help until I cleaned up. 3:29 And I thought I was having a stroke. 3:32 And I was like, I'm a first responder. 3:34 I'm not supposed to be ill. 3:35 This is what I've done my whole life. 3:37 I'm not the patient. 3:39 And, uh, so I called for help. 3:41 And, uh, 3:43 They held the ferry. 3:44 We managed to get off the island and they took me to Campbell River Hospital. 3:49 I spent the first three days there and I couldn't feel anything from the waist down. 3:56 I couldn't walk initially. 3:59 I couldn't go to the bathroom. 4:00 I couldn't feel myself. 4:03 and they didn't really realize as they were assessing me what was going on. 4:07 And then I was like, well, I really have to go to the bathroom and I could all run some hot water, push yourself into the bathroom. 4:13 And then it was like, well, yeah. 4:16 So I had to have a catheter and cause I couldn't go to the bathroom. 4:20 They talked to neurology at Victoria general and they ended up transporting me three, about three days, three or four days down to Victoria general to the neurology division and 4:30 And I was told when I arrived there that they found a very large five centimeter lesion between my T10 and T11. 4:37 And they didn't know why. 4:38 It's like, what is this healthy woman doing here? 4:42 And collapsed and paralyzed. 4:44 And so. 4:47 I was also told, I was by myself because my husband had to get the boat back and the kids collect the RV to drive three hours down. 4:54 No one could really come. 4:56 They were just sort of opening up, I think, the hospitals at that time to maybe having one or two visitors. 5:01 So I was transported alone, taken down, and the neurologist told me when I got down there, he says it's either transverse myelitis or it's going to be a glioma tumor. 5:10 If it's a glioma tumor, I'm sorry. 5:14 And I'd never experienced like, well, you're telling me I have this all if you did. 5:19 So as I started to actually start to get a bit of sensation back, they concluded it was transverse myelitis and gave me massive steroids and then released me nine days, 10 days later to come home. Speaker 1
5:36 Now, I just want to slow you down. 5:38 So you had kind of lost this total feeling, but today there are areas where you don't have feeling. Speaker 3
5:46 Yes, I still have, for lack of better words, paralysis in my lower buttocks, my perineum, my vagina, my rectum, my thighs, down to my feet, especially my left foot. 5:59 I can't feel part of my heel or go on my toes. 6:02 I just have 6:03 I don't want to say permanent damage, spinal cord damage, because I'm always optimistic that I'll always get micro-improvements, and I've improved significantly well, considering it's such a rare autoimmune disorder. Speaker 1
6:18 Right, and you told us about this catheter. 6:21 My understanding is you had that catheter for one and a half months. Speaker 3
6:24 I did, full-time. Speaker 1
6:26 And it's still a dysfunctional bladder and bowels. Speaker 3
6:30 Yeah, bowel's not so bad anymore, but it's always in the back of your mind what may or may not happen. 6:39 And then I had to be taught how to actually self catheter, which I didn't even know what that was. 6:44 So I did that for many months through lots of rehab and training and pelvic floor on top of everything else as I started to gradually get sensation back. Speaker 1
6:55 And, you know, I've seen you walking around, but you've assured me you walk with a limp Speaker 3
7:02 It's more noticeable some days than others. 7:04 I still, every week, I always have one or two people, well, what's wrong? 7:08 You look injured. 7:09 Why are you limping? Speaker 1
7:12 And you didn't share, but you have muscle spasms. 7:15 I mean, still up to five nights a week. 7:18 Can you share with us about that? Speaker 3
7:20 It started, funny enough, it started 13 months after my injury. 7:24 All of a sudden, if any of you have experienced, which I know most people have, you get a cramp in your foot and you jump up and yelp and stand up or stretch. 7:32 So imagine that magnified about 100 times and it would last for up to 10 minutes where my whole leg would cease. 7:42 And I would just have to stop myself from hyperventilating. 7:44 And I would be up probably six, eight, ten times a night forced out of bed. 7:49 So, of course, sleep, everything was just a mess. 7:53 I had dysregulated thermal regulation from my waist down. 7:57 If you ever watched the movie Shrek, one foot would turn into Shrek and the other one would look very different. 8:03 Hot and cold, searing pain with the nerve pain as well. Speaker 1
8:14 My understanding is you've got problems with thermal regulation also. 8:17 Can you share about that? Speaker 3
8:18 Yeah. 8:19 So as to my point earlier, just, you know, when I was first injured at home, we were going through a bit of a heat dome, if anyone remembers, in August of 2021. 8:28 I had a heating pad and three pairs of wool socks and wool pants from the lower part of my body down and sweating in the upper part. 8:36 And there was just nothing I could do for it. 8:39 And there was nothing more that they did for me or that they could do for me. 8:43 at that point was just go home. Speaker 1
8:49 And your feet swell every day. 8:51 Can you share about that? Speaker 3
8:53 Yeah, they're just like little sausages. 8:56 So, you know, one minute you look down and your foot, sometimes it feels like it's burning and hot. 9:00 I'll take my sock off and it's freezing cold, but swollen. 9:04 And then it will just, and it just can be triggered. 9:08 It's not triggered by anything. 9:09 It just happens. 9:12 So it's very uncomfortable. Speaker 1
9:14 And when I was interviewing you now, I think it's some weeks ago, I asked for your permission to talk about the perinatal area. 9:23 Are you still willing to speak about that? 9:26 Yes. 9:27 So just because it's something that we don't think about, I mean, we're human adults and intimacy with our spouses are very important to us. 9:40 Can you just share about how that's changed? 9:42 Because it's an injury. Speaker 3
9:44 Absolutely. 9:45 And, you know, from the moment this happened and, you know, I came home, I would just always be lying on the living room floor, really just trying to rehab or get my head around things. 9:58 I felt just so broken. 10:01 I just felt like I'm not the same version of who I was. 10:05 And over time, of course, intimacy and things like when people have injuries or stressful things, those are one of the first things to go away. 10:12 So it was never really... 10:14 there was just bigger things. 10:15 I just needed to walk. 10:16 I needed to go to the bathroom. 10:18 But as time went on, it was like, I'm not getting back sensation. 10:22 You know, if you imagine, you know, human pleasure and connection is, it's not just about, you know, penetration and intercourse, it's everything, right? 10:30 Sensation, touch, feeling. 10:33 And when you're paralyzed and coming back to you, you lose all muscle tone and feeling too. 10:38 And that was inside me as well. 10:40 So when you think of the bladder and your colon, and you think about 10:44 you know, a woman's anatomy and a man's anatomy, you know, I can't orgasm, you know, and I know it's not all about intimacy and relationships. 10:54 It's not just about, you know, the big O, but just imagine today, if you were like, what have I lost that ability to even feel pleasure and even feel, I felt so broken. 11:05 I didn't even feel worthy. 11:06 I felt like no one, even though my husband's been incredible, that's just some of the emotional trauma that 11:14 that one goes through, right, in so many ways. 11:16 So, yeah, so that, those areas are still affected. Speaker 4
11:31 Carol, thanks so much. 11:32 Thanks for being here and sharing your story. 11:36 Yeah, we do have some time for questions. 11:40 I do have a couple of questions for sure. 11:41 Yes, yes. 11:42 Just talk to me. 11:43 You know, I'm always asking people about how it's affected their relationships with their immediate family and spouses, et cetera, et cetera. 11:52 Just talk to me a little bit about that. 11:57 You're in general, not specifically. Speaker 3
12:00 Yeah, no, no, no. 12:00 Yeah, no. 12:01 A husband and my, we have four children who are amazing, two grandchildren, so supportful. 12:08 as much as they could be as we literally left our community and moved to the island and no one was traveling. 12:14 And, you know, a lot of it was FaceTimes. 12:19 There were some, you know, I think challenges there were, I think things through family or close friends, people were like, you know, I don't know if they, they didn't, I didn't feel gas lit to my face, but I think there was times where people were like, Oh, really? 12:32 You know, and not, not very believed. 12:35 Sometimes it was just a feeling. 12:36 You just, you just knew. 12:38 I never really thought about me being affected. 12:42 I had thought about the vaccine, but it wasn't until my neurologist at UBC says, you have to apply to the Vaccine Injury Support Program. 12:49 You had a very, very significant spinal cord injury and it's incomplete and you're damaged and you need to do that. 12:57 And I didn't even know it existed. 12:59 And that was a whole journey of just, it's been terrible. Speaker 4
13:04 Do you mind talking about, because that's part of what we're talking about is how difficult the injury support program is to access and those lost files, the refiling of files, et cetera, et cetera. Speaker 3
13:14 Yes. 13:16 When I applied in the fall of 2023, first off, I never heard anything for about four months. 13:23 And they were saying the lead time was about two weeks at that point. 13:26 So I started to follow up with emails and escalate. 13:29 I finally was assigned a caseworker after I escalated. 13:34 and the caseworker didn't know my name, called the wrong file up. 13:40 I was like, are you new? 13:42 I'm sorry. 13:43 It didn't leave me with a lot of confidence. 13:45 Turned out I didn't hear anything for another four or five months. 13:48 That person was either let go or fired, and then my file was misplaced. 13:52 Took another close to a year before I got another case manager. 13:57 And then when they started to move things along, one of the worst things, well, first off, they would never answer your call, wouldn't reply back in a timely manner, like weeks and months, don't even bother leaving a voicemail. 14:10 And then my neurologist, one of my neurologists in NIMO says, we have a letter here saying that you have been declared dead by the Vaccine Injury Support Program. 14:19 And they haven't responded to our request to, in fact, you aren't deceased. 14:23 So we would just like you to change the letter to get the records. 14:26 And that took another four or five months. 14:28 And I had to do it. 14:29 The case manager asked me to do it and then asked me to follow up on the other people who weren't getting them files. 14:37 And then eventually move forward. 14:40 And I still have some appeals in. 14:42 I'm one of the lucky over 250 people, if I can call that even lucky, that have received a small award. 14:49 I have no expenses covered or out thousands of dollars. 14:53 I just retired and didn't draw my pension. 14:55 I had no benefits. 14:57 I couldn't be on my husband's benefits because Blue Cross in retirement is really not great. 15:01 it would have been better to be employed and had stayed and had that support. 15:06 I didn't have any counseling covered. 15:07 They denied it. 15:08 They said they wouldn't even pay for the catheters that I had to use because I would have had to have a prosthetic urethra to qualify to get those medical supplies that I had to have. Speaker 4
15:22 Now, did you retire early then? Speaker 3
15:24 I did. 15:25 I retired about a year and a half early before my 80 formula. Speaker 4
15:29 And I was... As a result of the injury? Speaker 3
15:32 No, actually, the injury happened right after I had left in retirement. Speaker 4
15:36 Okay. 15:36 And so a lot of people talk about the cost. 15:40 People don't understand that, you know, provincial, federal programs talk a bit about additional costs that 15:46 You know, you have to incur as a result of the injury. Speaker 3
15:49 Oh, after the injury, all the costs that haven't. 15:51 Oh, well, of course, all the medical supplies that I needed, the rehab, everything from neurophysio. 15:58 I mean, I was trying to do everything. 16:00 rehab Pilates, there's the thing, neurophysio, the hospital was giving rehab, massage. 16:07 I was so determined that I just, because I was very fit and healthy too, so I just did everything that I could possibly do to rewire my muscles, my brain, so I could live a healthy and happy life for myself, my husband, our family. Speaker 4
16:22 How are you feeling today? 16:23 Do you feel like you've been improving or are you Speaker 3
16:26 declining like i feel like you're making progress i feel like i've made significant progress i think part of what has kept me in the healing road is that i always um you know self-pity is not an option i look at others and i go there's so many other people affected so much worse than me and not to minimize how devastating this has been to me and my family and our trust in this whole whole outlaying of the vaccinations um 16:56 I'm sorry, I forgot your question, because that's also something too, the brain fog has been really terrible since all of this. 17:01 And I keep thinking it's just menopause. Speaker 4
17:04 I was just talking about recovery. Speaker 3
17:08 Say about 90%. 17:10 I feel like I've recovered from being in a wheelchair, walker, catheters, all of that. 17:15 I feel like I'm about 90%. 17:17 And I'm always optimistic that Speaker 4
17:18 Well, that would probably be because of what a determined person you are and how healthy you were before and how disciplined you were before, right? Speaker 3
17:25 I think absolutely. 17:26 I think all those things. 17:27 And the love and support I've got has given me the strength. Speaker 4
17:31 Do you feel, like you said, you know, in terms of being able to discuss this, you did sort of touch on that a bit. 17:38 Do you feel it's been difficult to talk about these things? 17:40 Like your injury as it relates to a vaccine injury versus something else? Speaker 3
17:45 For sure. 17:46 On a few levels, you know, like even Sean asking me such a personal, intimate question and, you know, we're live and everyone in the world is hearing about my vagina. 17:56 You know, I mean, that's a bit daunting to be quite frank. 18:02 But also sometimes, yeah, a fear of like, 18:06 There's a lot of people with some strong opinions, right? 18:08 But I can't worry about that. 18:11 This is my story. 18:11 This is my life. 18:12 And you can think and believe what you want. 18:15 But until you've walked a mile in most of these people's shoes, and I hear people like, I don't know anyone injured. 18:21 You know, it's like, now you do. Speaker 4
18:24 Yeah. 18:24 Well, and I think the other thing too is like, what we're trying to do, right? 18:27 We want to give people permission to talk about their stories publicly, right? 18:32 You can't start the healing. 18:33 You can't do anything if we can't discuss this. Speaker 3
18:35 And if it helps one other person, me coming here all across the country, is that if it helps even one person not feel alone and not feel gaslit, it makes them feel like, you know, she got through it, he got through it, and it's worth it. Speaker 4
18:52 Well, I guarantee you're going to help more than one person as so many people are following what's going on here around the world and in Canada. 19:00 We really pray that your story is going to be an inspiration for others as well in terms of that. 19:07 I can't thank you enough for coming and for your kids, for being here as supportive. 19:12 Thank you. 19:12 You guys have traveled a great distance. 19:14 And so I just want to thank you once again for taking the time to be here. 19:18 Is there any other final questions for any of my colleagues? 19:21 Okay. Speaker 3
19:22 Thank you, MP Austin. Speaker 4
19:23 Thanks, Carol. 19:23 Appreciate it so much. Speaker 2
19:30 And Miriam Bohemi in Council is going to be calling the next witness.