Silver-level articleDesiree Jennings

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{{silver}}[[Image:DesireeJennings.jpg|thumb|One could question if the media attention would have been as great if she wasn't...um, what do you call it, "fit."]]
 
{{silver}}[[Image:DesireeJennings.jpg|thumb|One could question if the media attention would have been as great if she wasn't...um, what do you call it, "fit."]]
 
'''Desiree Jennings''' is a 25-year-old aspiring cheerleader from Ashburn, [[Virginia]] who went [[viral]] on the Internet in October 2009,<ref name="WTTG1">[http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/health/101309_woman_disabled_by_flu_shot_reaction_dystonia Woman disabled by flu shot reaction] Fox 5</ref> after announcing that she'd been horribly [[disability|crippled]] by the [[flu shot]]. After she got herself on [[TV]], [[Neuroscience|neurologists]] pointed out that her symptoms were completely unlike those of nerve damage—but perfectly typical of [[psychosomatic|psychogenic]] illness.  Shortly after, she was miraculously "cured" with [[chelation therapy]].
 
'''Desiree Jennings''' is a 25-year-old aspiring cheerleader from Ashburn, [[Virginia]] who went [[viral]] on the Internet in October 2009,<ref name="WTTG1">[http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/health/101309_woman_disabled_by_flu_shot_reaction_dystonia Woman disabled by flu shot reaction] Fox 5</ref> after announcing that she'd been horribly [[disability|crippled]] by the [[flu shot]]. After she got herself on [[TV]], [[Neuroscience|neurologists]] pointed out that her symptoms were completely unlike those of nerve damage—but perfectly typical of [[psychosomatic|psychogenic]] illness.  Shortly after, she was miraculously "cured" with [[chelation therapy]].
 
== Background ==
 
 
Before her shot, Jennings was physically healthy and in good shape. She was apparently a "[[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] Redskins Ambassador," which is like being on the farm team for [[Fun:American Football|NFL cheerleaders]].  After her story broke, [[media]] reports started calling her an "NFL Cheerleader," which isn't true—but it's typical of how everything in the later reports is just a ''little'' more dramatic than the early reports.
 
 
D.J. got the shot on 23 August and supposedly developed flu-like symptoms soon after.  It's [[biology|biologically]] plausible that these mild symptoms could have been a direct result of the vaccine.  After 7 September, she started having fainting spells and convulsions.  She was sent to a couple of different hospitals, but not a single doctor or nurse could find anything physically wrong with her.
 
 
According to the earliest available report,<ref name="Loudoun">[http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/archive/article/Column_The_flu_a_shot_to_the_system/ The flu, a shot to the system] ''Loudoun Times''</ref> Jennings' neurologists were scratching their heads, but her ''physical therapist'' diagnosed her with dystonia.  This may or may not be true, but if it ''is'' true, it raises an immediate red flag, as dystonia is a ''neurological'' condition, and it's implausible that a neurologist would miss it while a physical therapist would catch it.  More likely, her neurologists ruled dystonia out, but her physical therapist either misdiagnosed dystonia, or just happened to mention the possibility of dystonia, which Jennings then seized on as an "official" diagnosis.  We don't really know, since Jennings hasn't released her medical records, and the media reports about her case history have ''[[Deceit|evolved over time.]]''
 
  
 
== Media coverage ==
 
== Media coverage ==

Revision as of 07:02, 3 October 2012

One could question if the media attention would have been as great if she wasn't...um, what do you call it, "fit."

Desiree Jennings is a 25-year-old aspiring cheerleader from Ashburn, Virginia who went viral on the Internet in October 2009,[1] after announcing that she'd been horribly crippled by the flu shot. After she got herself on TV, neurologists pointed out that her symptoms were completely unlike those of nerve damage—but perfectly typical of psychogenic illness. Shortly after, she was miraculously "cured" with chelation therapy.

Contents

Media coverage

A local paper called the Loudoun-Times Mirror first broke the story on 12 October.[2] That's probably the single best mainstream report about the bare facts of her case, before the exaggerations began to set in. On the 13th, local Fox affiliate WTTG (Channel 5) aired an appalling, sensationalistic travesty of a report,[1] promptly outdone on the 16th by national tabloid TV magazine Inside Edition.[3] YouTube got a hold of it,[4] shit hit the fan, and a million people learned that ZOMG FLU SHOT POISION!!1!!!

She's the beautiful cheerleader whose heartbreaking story is shocking the nation

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Woman disabled by flu shot reaction Fox 5
  2. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Loudoun
  3. Woman Says Flu Shot Triggered Rare Neurological Disorder Inside Edition
  4. Desiree Jennings's Story Causes Flu Shot Controversy Inside Edition
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