A dad who says he was left "'paralysed" from the Covid vaccine has been discharged from hospital after 420 days.
Anthony Shingler, 58, suffered severe aches alongside pins and needles days after receiving his first dose of the AstraZeneca jab in March last year.
He was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital in Staffordshire, where he was placed onto a ventilator before being moved to Haywood Hospital last November, reports StokeonTrentLive.
The ex-security worker was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) - a very rare and serious disorder in which a person's own immune system attacks the nerves.
Most people will usually recover from the condition within six months to a year, according to the NHS, but around one in five people are left with long-term problems such as being unable to walk without assistance.
Anthony, who now needs a wheelchair and walking frame while at home with his wife and two daughters, says he will "never be the same" after his nerves were left "stripped and damaged".
Recalling his early days in hospital, the grandad said: "I was asked to make a phone call to my loved-ones as I was taken down to critical care as they didn’t know whether I would make it or not.
"I spoke to my wife and two daughters and said 'goodbye'. That was frightening.
"I was then on a ventilator for months recovering. Even though I was the one lying in a hospital bed paralysed, my family went through more than I did."
Anthony was able to breathe on his own and taken off the ventilator last October, but could only move his head.
He said: "There was a buzzer to call the nurses and I had to headbutt it because I couldn’t use my hands. It messes with your head because your brain is telling you to get out of bed but your body can’t do that. It’s really frustrating.
"When I was moved to Hayward I started physio. There was one stage where I lost it and broke down in tears. They kept me in a separate room all night."
His current carer, Nicola, visited Anthony twice a day while he was in hospital before he returned home on May 17.
The 49-year-old previously said: “We’re unlucky because he got infected but lucky because he’s alive. It’s great to have him back home.
“Now we have to face our daily lives with how it’s affected Tony. I’m his carer and we've got the added stress of sorting out benefits because we didn’t claim them before. It’s very stressful. We’ve lost our income and even the benefits aren’t sufficient.
"Tony will push as far as he can and keep going. The doctor told us we’ll have to wait and see what nature gives him back. I'm adamant it was the vaccine, he was fine until he had it. They've found no other trigger."
Anthony, who had no prior health conditions, said: "Before this happened, I’d class myself as a mentally-strong person. Nothing could phase me but this was something else - it’s taken its toll on my mental health.
“I can’t go to work, drive or dress myself. My hands are so bad that I can’t grip anything. I use a wheelchair and have a walking frame I have to lean on. I can’t stand on my own. I can only walk up to 20 metres with a frame.
“I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, it's really bad. I did not like any of it but I am lucky to be alive."
He added: “My nerves have been stripped and damaged. This is the beginning and it’s going to be a long haul. I won’t ever be the same Anthony again.”
In an online post about GBS in 2020, the NHS stated: "In the past, vaccinations (particularly the flu vaccine used in the US during a swine flu outbreak in 1976) were linked to an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome."
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is monitoring all potential side effects reported to them.
Various coronavirus vaccines have been approved, and more than 50 million people in the UK have now had at least one dose.
Pfizer, Astra-Zeneca and Moderna have all developed safe and effective jabs that can significantly reduce a person's chances of becoming seriously ill with Covid-19.
