November 13, 2008
B.C. man paralyzed after flu shot warns of risks
A New Westminster man is raising a warning flag after he contracted a rare and debilitating condition linked to the flu shot that left him paralyzed for almost five months.
Every fall, health care workers across Canada distribute 10 million influenza vaccinations, and for the vast majority of people, the flu shot causes no major problems.
Within two weeks of getting his annual flu shot in 2007, however, Richard Ryan, 44, went from being happy and healthy to being in excruciating pain.
At first, Ryan thought he had injured his back, and he checked into the local hospital emergency room, he told CBC News on Wednesday.
But Ryan was also suffering some numbness, and when a neurologist tested his reflexes, he found Ryan had none, he said.
“The doctor asked me what was going on in my life. And as soon as I said I was feeling ill after getting a flu shot, he said, ‘Stop right there, I know what you have,’” Ryan said.
