It’s taken a couple of weeks and several rescheduled calls to have an interview with Stephanie de Garay, who called me from California where she and her 13-year-old daughter, Maddie, would be sharing their story at the Defeat the Mandates rally.
Up until January 2021, Maddie was a healthy, vibrant 12-year-old. She’s since been hospitalized more than 60 days, had more than 9 ER visits, uses a wheelchair, and needs a feeding tube, along with a plethora of other symptoms, many equally as extreme. The family has seen minimal mainstream media coverage despite their shocking situation. Many people do not yet know Maddie de Garay’s story, one that raises serious questions about the Pfizer trials and the EUA approval for the vaccination.
Back in December 2020, like many people, the de Garay family had high hopes the fast-tracked vaccination trials would give way to a magic bullet that would turn around the never-ending COVID-19 pandemic. They believed in vaccination, trusted the science, and had faith in the trials.
People were tired of the COVID-19 devastation and desperate for a solution. Some of their friends had participated in a vaccination trial at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Stephanie and her husband had put their names down as well.
When their son said a friend was going to participate in the Pfizer trials for 12-15-year-olds, and expressed his desire to as well, the de Garay’s supported the idea. Assuming it to be like any other vaccination, they felt a high degree of safety around their decision to enrol their children.
The way it was presented was “you get the vaccine, you’re going to be protected, you don’t need to wear a mask,” said Stephanie de Garay. The appeal of attending school, extracurricular events and possibly losing masks, were all motivating factors, stating they “just wanted it to end.” The family also felt a sense of duty to step forward for the benefit of the greater good. She indicated there was a financial reward offered for participation that was “not huge for an adult”, but significant for a young person.
The list of potential side effects presented seemed manageable. There was “nothing scary,” indicated de Garay. Since most children seemed to be asymptomatic or experiencing minor symptoms when contracting Covid-19, and their own kids did not have allergic reactions to past vaccinations, they weren’t really worried about their kids having a reaction or getting Covid-19 from the vaccination. In the unlikely worst-case scenario, they believed their kids would be under “the best possible care” of prudent doctors at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, de Garay said.
On December 30, 2020, the three de Garay children received their first dose of the Pfizer shot which passed without incident. They were unsure whether the kids received a placebo or the vaccine. But everyone was fine.
It was the second dose, administered on their son’s birthday January 20/2021, that marked the beginning of any family’s worst nightmare.
The night they all received the second shot, 12-year-old Maddie surprised Stephanie and her husband by climbing into bed saying she needed to sleep between her parents. This was highly unusual. “Something’s wrong, I don’t feel right, I feel scared,” Maddie said. The next morning, she still wasn’t feeling right. But, Maddie, an active, vibrant, studious girl with many friends was not one to miss school. She wanted to go despite feeling unwell and being permitted to take the day off. She made it through the day. Later that evening, the family’s life changed irrevocably.
In less than 24 hours of her second dose, Maddie had a severe systemic adverse reaction. She developed crippling body pain, her fingers and toes ice cold and turned white and she said she felt like someone was “ripping her heart out though her neck.”
Shortly after coming home from school, Maddie collapsed. Maddie’s dad called Stephanie to tell her to come home. Maddie was complaining about severe pain in her chest and became alarmed.
When Stephanie arrived home, Maddie’s feet were white and ice cold, she was unable to lie on her back, had severe heart pain and felt electrical zaps passing through her spine. Her lower abdomen was also in extreme pain.
Her symptoms were not listed on the app provided by the trial, so they were advised to call the Principal Investigator, Robert Frenck, from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Upon calling, the terrified parents were advised to go to CCH where the medical care team conducted a renal profile, examined her appendix, and took a urine test. They administered Zofran intravenously, a medication for nausea, and sent Maddie home with Tylenol.
Maddie would have 9 trips to the ER between January 20/2021 and the last of her three admissions into Cincinnati Children’s hospital on April 9/2021, when the family had more questions than answers as Maddie’s health declined further.
In mid-March 2021, Maddie was scheduled to have an MRI of her spine. It was the day before the cutoff date for collecting data for the 12–15-year-old Pfizer trial. The MRI was then reportedly rescheduled. Following the contrast MRI, Stephanie reports that Maddie could no longer stand up and had lost her ability to walk or go the bathroom.
Throughout this time Dr. Robert Frenck, who was also principal investigator for several vaccination trials, including the Pfizer 12–15-year-old at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, was frequently made aware of Maddie’s condition.
On April 9, Stephanie explained that Maddie was admitted to hospital for the third time because she could no longer eat. She was put on a Nasogastric (NG) feeding tube. This was the day before Pfizer submitted for EUA (Emergency Use Authorization). Also on that day, Maddie was given a diagnosis of Functional Neurological Disorder, which was put in her chart. Stephanie adds that her understanding was the disorder was attributed to Maddie’s “anxiety,” for which she had no prior medical history. She was given increasing doses of Lexapro, with her family ultimately refusing the highest recommended dosage, fearing the side effects might be exacerbating her issues and the drug was not an appropriate treatment.
Maddie received intensive inpatient treatment for Functional Neurological Disorder. And, while many children reclaim their ability to walk within two weeks, she did not see results and was still unable walk or eat after 1.5 months of the rehabilitation program.
At this juncture, Maddie’s medical team wanted to send her to the psychiatric ward, suggesting she would be there for a few weeks. It was then Maddie’s parents decided to remove Maddie from the hospital, signing an “against medical advice” form due to lack of confidence in this course of action and fear of not being able to remove their daughter once admitted.
Throughout this time, when they asked the medical team if Maddie’s situation was related to the vaccine, the de Garay’s were repeatedly met with the response that they didn’t know whether Maddie had received the Pfizer vaccine or the placebo. In May 2021, Maddie was finally unblinded with the other children in the trial when the EUA came out, finally confirming what her parents had felt certain about all along, that she had received both doses of the Pfizer vaccination.
By May 13, 2021, when the data collection was to be finished, Maddie de Garay had experienced over 35 adverse events symptoms. Pfizer reported the following in its trial documents to the FDA:
“One participant experienced an SAE (Severe Adverse Event) reported as generalized neuralgia, and reported 3 concurrent non-serious AEs (Adverse Events) (abdominal pain, abscess, gastritis) and 1 concurrent SAE (constipation) within the same week. The participant was eventually diagnosed with functional abdominal pain. The event was reported as ongoing at the time of the cutoff date.”
To date, Maddie remains reliant on a wheelchair for movement and an NG tube for nutrition. Her first wheelchair was donated in August 2021, as the hospital would not provide one despite Maddie needing to scoot around her home to get anywhere. After her parents demanded a wheelchair, she finally received a custom wheelchair in December 2021, ten (10) months after losing her ability to walk. Her medical costs are exorbitant, and the family has started a LifeFunder to assist with these costs. Recently, Stephanie has taken a leave of absence from work so she can accompany Maddie for urgently needed out of state medical treatment, causing an even greater need for financial assistance.
According to Stephanie, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital repeatedly attempted to charge the de Garays for the medical services Maddie received despite the trial outlining the hospital would be responsible for costs in the event of injury. The recent covering of costs by the hospital appears to be the closest resemblance to an admission of causality from the vaccine for Maddie’s condition outside an early note on her file about a possible adverse event.
It is her parents’ position that every parent faced with the decision of whether to give their child a COVID-19 vaccination or not should first be made aware of Maddie’s story. To that end, Stephanie and Maddie are speaking at events, such as Defeat the Mandates, with others who have been vaccine injured. They have presented their story in a well-known expert panel with American Senator Johnson (31:36 mark).
Stephanie wishes she had known what she knows now about the vaccine, the risks and the follow up. This burden weighs heavy on her, making her ever more determined to ensure Maddie’s story gets heard to prevent similar events from happening. She has become friends with many parents who have children in very similar, and even worse circumstances than Maddie’s. Maddie de Garay’s story reflects a seemingly lack of care, integrity, and responsibility on behalf of some pharmaceutical companies regarding transparency and reporting that might have been exacerbated by the rush to find a COVID-19 solution.
While it appears that some organizations might prefer Maddie’s story quietly disappear by ignoring what has occurred, more and more people are committed to ensure that never happens.
United Freedom Convoy NFT emerged out of Canada after the Freedom Convoy saw truckers and their supporters across the country convene in Ottawa to speak up for people negatively impacted by mandates and government mismanagement of the pandemic. While many difficulties arose following the Convoy, it served to unite people across Canada and around the world to speak up about government overreach, loss of medical freedom, and informed consent.
The NFT project will raise funds to benefit those most harmed by mandates such as those who’ve suffered mental health issues, lost jobs, or were vaccine injured. Ritchy Marques and the founding team, including myself, have been following Maddie’s situation and wanted to share her story so the world can gain an understanding about lesser-known aspects of the trials, and potential health risks.
The NFT initiative has created a 1:2 NFT featuring Maddie and the truck and background of her choice: Legendary Freedom Hero number 13, Maddie’s favorite number. She selected the background with the planets because she dreams of traveling one day. Maddie will have one copy of the NFT and the second will go on auction April 20/2022 and end May 5/2022 with 100% of profits benefiting her Lifefunder.
Her parents pledge to donate any excess funding to the React-CARE fund which is a 501c3 organization made by the vaccine injured, for the vaccine injured where every dollar donated goes to help pay for medical expenses for those injured by the Covid vaccines. Here is a video about the project.
Please consider donating to Maddie’s Lifefunder and to share this special NFT fundraiser featuring a special piece of art reflecting a true hero who will become a beacon of hope for change, truth, compassion and transparency.
