By Micaela Burrow, The Daily Caller News Foundation
Karolina Stancik, an Army National Guard enlistee who suffered severe medical issues after getting vaccinated against COVID-19, is being recommended for medical discharge, according to her testimony and documents provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Stancik said she received a complete dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine between March and April 2021, shortly after enlisting in the Virginia National Guard, and subsequently received multiple diagnoses for conditions that have been known to follow COVID-19 vaccinations, according to medical documents.
Her most recent physical record from the National Guard notes persistent and severe cardiac, neurological and pulmonary issues, and refers her to a medical board that could choose to discharge her.
Moreover, Stancik said that Tricare, the military’s insurance plan, will only cover some of her medical expenses for reasons that are not entirely clear, which Stancik said fits into a pattern of negligence from the Army regarding her medical issues.
“You’re thinking of your health, and so that’s what I was thinking of when I got the vaccine. … The other thing is, people were saying you’re a horrible person if you don’t get the vaccine, so your character was questioned,” she told the DCNF.
Two civilian doctors acknowledged that Stancik’s apparent injuries, including conditions that have links to COVID-19 or vaccination, occurred subsequent to her vaccination and recommended against Stancik receiving future immunizations, according to medical documents viewed by the DCNF.
Additionally, the doctors advised Stancik’s superiors against requiring further vaccines, according to letters viewed by the DCNF.
One letter, dated Jan. 24 and signed by a doctor at HCA Florida Heart Institute, notes that Stancik has sought cardiovascular care at the institute since July 2022 and undergone extensive testing.
“There has always been the ongoing concern that the COVID vaccines that she received in early 2021 may have played some role in the development of her current symptoms. Therefore I feel that she is not eligible for any further required vaccinations,” the letter reads.
Another physician from a functional medicine clinic in Missouri, in a letter dated Jan. 25, says Stancik is “currently under multi-specialty care for severe, disabling symptoms that arose after” vaccination, recommending caution due to an “incomplete diagnosis of the underlying cause.”
‘They Weren’t Supposed To Speak’
Immediately after receiving the vaccine, Stancik said she experienced severe side effects, including a sinus infection after the first dose and numbness, dizziness, high heart rate and asthmatic complications after the second.
Unlike most people who felt ill in the first 24 to 48 hours after vaccination and felt normal afterward, Stancik says her symptoms never abated.
Instead, they grew worse.
A respiratory infection toward the end of June turned into an emergency room visit in October for a rib injury, documents show, a result of months of dealing with bronchitis. At that point, she was barred from training and riddled with medical restrictions that prevented her from performing even basic duties.
“Every doctor I had seen, even [Department of Defense] doctors, had stated but hadn’t written out that they thought it was a reaction to the COVID vaccine. They stated that they saw growing numbers of people getting seen for these complications, but they were told that they weren’t supposed to speak up about it and that’s what I was told,” Stancik said.
Her permanent profile, a document that outlines a soldier’s medical and physical restrictions, notes that Stancik’s injuries are “secondary” to the COVID-19 vaccination, meaning they occurred after she was immunized. Now Stancik is being recommended for medical discharge, the document shows.
The document, issued on Feb. 13 and viewed by the DCNF, notes that Stancik has “persistent physical and exercise limitations” despite following prescribed medication regimens, and confirms that her physical and mental state renders her unable to deploy.
“It is a Permanent (“P3”) Profile requiring a Medical Board. Which would then set her disability rating and she would be MEDICALLY DISCHARGED. It is completely cut and dry in this case,” Lt. Col. Dr. Pete Chambers, a former special operations flight surgeon and anti-vaccine/anti-mandate advocate who viewed the document told the DCNF.
Stancik’s permanent profile notes “significant comorbidities secondary to undergoing COVID vaccine,” including myocardial infarction (heart attack), transient ischemic attack (mini stroke), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS, a disorder of the involuntary nervous system that can lead to lightheadedness and increased heart rate), asthma and hypertrophy of the left ventricle, the document shows.
Research from December 2022 showed a link between COVID-19 infection or vaccination and POTS symptoms, although the risk was low.
Other research has demonstrated that contracting COVID-19 increases the risk of heart attacks, and there are several documented cases of heart attacks post-vaccination, according to a pooled analysis of multiple studies.
Doctors have also identified at least one case where a young, pregnant female experienced a minor stroke after the Moderna vaccine, but research on the risk of stroke after COVID-19 or the vaccine remains inconclusive, according to a 2022 review.
A DOD study published in June 2021 found unusual rates of heart inflammation among previously healthy male servicemembers who received either of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Stancik said she has a history of playing intense sports and never dealt with medical issues. The spate of health complications, which has resulted in her seeing 17 doctors through four changes of station, came “out of the blue,” she told the DCNF.
“My running heart rate would peak at 170. Now I’ve hit 202 not doing anything,” she said.
As of February, when the permanent profile was issued, Stancik made twice-weekly doctors appointments and took daily vitamin infusions, she told the DCNF.
‘Have To Be Responsible’
The National Guard has not issued Stancik what is called a “line of duty” (LOD), a determination that would make her eligible for full coverage through the military’s health insurance, according to Stancik. The military assigns LODs when a national guard member gets injured or comes down with an illness while in the line of duty, such as during drill weekend or any training while on orders, according to the Tricare website.
“I went into it and I had the mindset that if something happens to me under the military’s guidance, they’re going to have to be responsible,” Stancik told the DCNF.
Instead, Tricare has not covered her cardiology appointments, or any of her tests or lab work, according to screenshots of her insurance documents seen by the DCNF. Stancik says she’s now being charged $225 each for neurology visits, and her GiveSendGo says the charges could reach up to $35,000.
Stancik said she doesn’t know why she was not issued a LOD, but suspects that leadership failed to follow proper protocols as she was transferred from base to base during the course of her illness. Chambers and Davis Younts, a military lawyer, told the DCNF it’s likely because the National Guard has not determined that Stancik’s injuries resulted directly from the COVID-19 vaccine, despite a paucity of believable alternative explanations.
“The military is very hesitant to admit anything might be vax related or a vax injury,” Younts told the DCNF. “She should have been found in the line of duty and potentially should not have been released from orders while recovering.”
The National Guard Bureau referred the DCNF to Stancik’s local unit. The Virginia National Guard did not respond.
Even if Stancik did have previously dormant medical conditions or contracted COVID-19 sometime before her vaccination — which she denies — the National Guard would have approved Stancik as healthy enough to enlist in early 2021, Chambers explained.
“For us to get on the offensive, that’s wrong. They were normal soldiers, they were brought in under a system that cleared them,” Chambers told the DCNF. Similarly, the National Guard can’t “prove soldiers are not healthy because they were brought in that way… Until we can do further studies you can’t just boot soldiers to the curb,” he added.
Other young servicemembers with no known medical conditions have experienced out-of-the-ordinary health incidents post-vaccination.
The DCNF previously obtained a 101-page whistleblower document provided to Congress in January 2022, detailing multiple cases of apparent vaccine injury. The document is divided into four sections, with the first containing seven first-person testimonies from injured members as well as medical documentation.
A Marine Corps aviation safety officer whose job involves reviewing incident reports said he noticed a “disturbing” increase in medical reports coinciding with the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, testimony and copies of the reports show.
In addition, causal links between most sudden-onset complications and each vaccine remain unclear; the CDC says it is still investigating cases, particularly with myocarditis, which disproportionately impacts young males.
What People Are Saying
(From the comments on the above video)
“I’m currently in the US Navy. I refused the covid vaccine and got told I would get kicked out for it over a year ago. Fortunately I was never kicked out despite going through a shit show. Decided to stand up for what I believe in and I was removed from my ship and started working on shore. Greatest decision I have made in the military.”
“Thanks, Michael. Retired Army, first military then civilian. I was forced to retire 4-5 years earlier than planned, because I would not be coerced into taking the shot. I asked the Army person who was processing my retirement paperwork if there had been an increase in retirements and she told me yes, retirements increased 28% in 2021. I guess I wasn’t alone in choosing to walk away. One of the sad things here is that a lot of accumulated knowledge and experience, throughout the Army, walked out the door on short notice at the end of 2021, which did nothing to improve our national security.”
“My grandson dropped out of ROTC because of biden administration policies. I actually encouraged him to, so did his Mother. Really not a good career choice anymore.”
“My brother-in-law was forced, by the military, to take the jab or be dishonorably discharged after 20+ years of service and 4 tours. He didn’t want to take it, but ended up doing so. He now has heart problems. This is real and it’s happening.”
“I got out of the military when they started doing all of this woke nonsense. The retention officer asked me “what would it take to get you to re-enlist for a few years?” I legitimately laughed so hard and told him, “you aren’t authorized to give me the amount of money it would take for me to re-enlist.”
“My husband and I just got out and we have been experiencing similar health issues since. We were also gaslighted anytime we tried to get medical help where we were stationed. We were mandated to get them. Do not let anyone lie and say otherwise. To say we are angry is an understatement.”
“The vaccine mandate is why I refused to reenlist in the US Army. I will never again serve this country via the military as a result of our flawed leaders showing that we were wrong to put our faith in them.”
“My daughter is in the army, she fought against taking the jab all the way up until they were going to start giving dishonorable discharges to anyone that resisted. Luckily bc she did give some push back, she’s only had one jab, THANK GOD! We have been blessed with her having good health, and she hasn’t faced any complications so far. I am still praying for God to continue to protect her. She tried to get a religious exemption, but they denied everyone that was applying for the religious exemption too. She was in a group of soldiers from every ranking you can think of getting bullied and threatened their careers and they were all yelled at, and forced to take the jab. She’ll be gone for deployment next year, and I would not be surprised that they’ll make her get a booster when she gets her international vaccines for travel.”
“My family member was discharged from the Navy because he refused. He still hasn’t heard if he can get any benefits at all after nearly 11 years of exemplary service.”
“I’m military and was forced to get J&J and I’ve had weird issues ever since. All are mild thankfully. The worst part was watching everyone attack the ones strong enough to stand up to this. I always defended them.”
“I got my injection while serving in the navy March 8 and for two years I experienced severe nerve pain in my whole upper left side. It was so debilitating and I still deal with sporadic aches. It started right after getting the shot but the cause was completely disregarded. After rounds of tests and no anatomical physical evidence of what could be the cause they just threw different medications at me. The reality is more testing should have been done before making anything mandatory, and service members should not be treated like Guinea pigs. What also sucked was still having swollen lymph nodes from the shot too that are calcified, I remember my doctor just saying “ come back in 6 months if you still have these I’ve been noticing them a lot with people who have been vaccinated” I was 22 year old young healthy woman none of what I have gone through makes sense. It was the first available round of the Pfizer shot. Anyways I used to think people were being dramatic but the proof is in the pudding.”
“My son was discharged (along with 13,000 others) from the Air Force for refusing to be injected with something that does harm. He was an aviation technician on combat aircraft. I served in the Marine Corps in the 1980’s. We never had to deal with this kind of evil.”
“My father is now terminally ill from the anthrax vaccine that was forced on him as part of his service. Many of his fellow servicemen and women were also negatively affected. Fortunately this allowed my family to make our own judgement and decide we did not want to take the experimental vaccine. We are all perfectly fine, and proud we stood our ground based off our own moral convictions.”
“My husband serves active duty Air Force, forced to take the jab August 2021, 2nd jab September 2021, by November 2021 had a mini stroke (TIA) and a new developed heart arrhythmia, by December 2021 full blown stroke which required brain surgery and now the military is in the process of medically retiring him. It’s been a crazy process for our family.”
“A friend’s young adult grandson lost his planned Navy career after developing a cardiac arrhythmia shortly after his mandatory vaccination. Not Afib, it was a rare, difficult to pin down abnormality. He remains disappointed about his medical discharge.”
“I was a hair’s breadth away from joining the Navy in 2020 at the ripe age of 24. I would’ve shipped that June. Papers were signed, and I was in DEP. Then COVID came around, and I backed out, trusting my gut instinct about what was on the horizon. I later relented around December of 2020 because, well, I’m broke with a degree, and I wanted *some* kind of job security in this failing economy… so I hit up the Air Force. I asked the Air Force recruiter about whether or not forced vaccinations would likely be a thing. He told me, “Never. Not a chance.” I knew right then and there my former instincts were correct, and I never entered into a recruiting office again. The government doesn’t care about you, whether you’re a citizen or a serviceman. We are all just mouths to feed and minds to mold. Nothing more than animals with pesky “beliefs” to them. It’s positively Satanic, and I thank God that I never joined.”
“My husband almost under penalty of jail time with less than a year to go before our 20 year retirement had to be forced to get it. He either got it or he would be jailed and we would lose all of our retirement.”
“My husband is National Guard and was told he had to get the jab or lose his job. He said ” I know it isn’t ok, however I at least got the same one that was given to all the major higher ups. ” It is just sad that our service members were forced into this.”
“As a prior infantry man. And a father of four. I would not join nor want my children to join the military anymore!”
I have a cousin, a retired Air Force officer who got his J & J shot in the midst of the so-called “pandemic.” Some months later he had 2 heart attacks as well. He blames them on the shots. Thing is VAERS agrees.