Witnesses
EN
Allison Inquiry | Michael Oesch | Day 2 September 9th, 2026
A longtime artist and filmmaker who once walked across Canada describes losing the ability to walk after his fourth COVID shot, with a large spinal lesion, nightly spasms and profound fatigue, and now lives in long-term care. He explains how his Vaccine Injury Support Program claim was denied and what he says has helped him regain some movement.
Michael Oesch, a filmmaker, artist and former school bus driver from Waterford, Ontario, has walked from Toronto to Labrador and back and across Canada to Vancouver. He was healthy, active and on no medication when he began vaccination to be a caregiver for his parents and in-laws. After his fourth dose, on October 13, 2022, his leg began to drag within 36 hours, and a week later he blacked out while driving his school bus. An MRI found a 2.8 cm spinal lesion near his brain, which his neurologist told him he had never seen at that size without an impact. Oesch describes months of fatigue, migraines and spasms that reached seven hours a night, a first hospitalization, and doctors who he says believed he was vaccine injured but were afraid to write it down. He is now in long-term care and has been refused neural rehab twice. He says his Vaccine Injury Support Program claim was denied without applying WHO causality standards. Oesch credits N-acetylcysteine, methylene blue and other approaches with helping him open his hands and stand with assistance, describes his theory of mitochondrial dysfunction, and speaks about being called an anti-vaxxer. He closes on his motto, "taking the dis out of disability," and on the documentary about his story.
Michael Oesch, a filmmaker, artist and former school bus driver from Waterford, Ontario, has walked from Toronto to Labrador and back and across Canada to Vancouver. He was healthy, active and on no medication when he began vaccination to be a caregiver for his parents and in-laws. After his fourth dose, on October 13, 2022, his leg began to drag within 36 hours, and a week later he blacked out while driving his school bus. An MRI found a 2.8 cm spinal lesion near his brain, which his neurologist told him he had never seen at that size without an impact. Oesch describes months of fatigue, migraines and spasms that reached seven hours a night, a first hospitalization, and doctors who he says believed he was vaccine injured but were afraid to write it down. He is now in long-term care and has been refused neural rehab twice. He says his Vaccine Injury Support Program claim was denied without applying WHO causality standards. Oesch credits N-acetylcysteine, methylene blue and other approaches with helping him open his hands and stand with assistance, describes his theory of mitochondrial dysfunction, and speaks about being called an anti-vaxxer. He closes on his motto, "taking the dis out of disability," and on the documentary about his story.
