Witnesses
EN
Allison Inquiry | Jamie R. Daniel | Day 4 September 11th, 2026
A 36-year-old Alberta advanced care paramedic describes severe back pain, saddle numbness and loss of bladder and bowel control the day after her COVID vaccine. She describes being sent home from emergency, called a drug seeker, a neurologist's diagnosis of MRI-negative transverse myelitis, and a denied compensation claim.
Jamie R. Daniel, 36, an advanced care paramedic and practical nurse who has worked in emergency care since she was 18, was 31, working 12-hour shifts, married and raising an 18-month-old daughter, with rheumatoid arthritis that was well managed. She was among the first wave of first responders to be vaccinated and says she was excited. Within hours she had flu-like symptoms, and the next morning severe back and leg pain with weakness. Within one or two days, she says she developed saddle numbness, an ice pick sensation in her spine, overflow urinary incontinence and bowel problems, and had to crawl and use a wheelchair to reach emergency. She says imaging was normal, a spinal surgeon called it probably a bad day, and she was made to walk out and collapsed. After several visits in which she says she was called a drug seeker and told it was anxiety or arthritis, she was admitted for a week, with catheterization and bowel management. Her neurologist diagnosed MRI-negative transverse myelitis from the vaccine and asked why the hospital had not treated it. She describes yearly relapses, daily pain, post-exertion malaise, planning days of rest around testifying, and PTSD worsened by the way she was treated, for which she has a service dog. She says her compensation claim was denied in January 2023 as not severe or permanent, that her appeal is unresolved, that she has been off work since February 2021, and that CPP disability leaves her short of her medical costs. MPs ask what should happen after the inquiry.
Jamie R. Daniel, 36, an advanced care paramedic and practical nurse who has worked in emergency care since she was 18, was 31, working 12-hour shifts, married and raising an 18-month-old daughter, with rheumatoid arthritis that was well managed. She was among the first wave of first responders to be vaccinated and says she was excited. Within hours she had flu-like symptoms, and the next morning severe back and leg pain with weakness. Within one or two days, she says she developed saddle numbness, an ice pick sensation in her spine, overflow urinary incontinence and bowel problems, and had to crawl and use a wheelchair to reach emergency. She says imaging was normal, a spinal surgeon called it probably a bad day, and she was made to walk out and collapsed. After several visits in which she says she was called a drug seeker and told it was anxiety or arthritis, she was admitted for a week, with catheterization and bowel management. Her neurologist diagnosed MRI-negative transverse myelitis from the vaccine and asked why the hospital had not treated it. She describes yearly relapses, daily pain, post-exertion malaise, planning days of rest around testifying, and PTSD worsened by the way she was treated, for which she has a service dog. She says her compensation claim was denied in January 2023 as not severe or permanent, that her appeal is unresolved, that she has been off work since February 2021, and that CPP disability leaves her short of her medical costs. MPs ask what should happen after the inquiry.
