Age: 27.0
Sex: M
Vaccine: COVID19-2
Symptoms: Transfusion, Ultrasound Doppler abnormal, Vaccine breakthrough infection, White blood cell count increased
Clinical narrative: On 1/18/2023, I developed back pain. I couldn't get myself into a comfortable position, and heating pads didn't help the discomfort. On 1/19/2023, I took a home antigen test and got a positive result. I notified my PCP. I then followed the CDC protocols for self-isolation and notified all of the people with whom I had recently been in contact. Along with the back pain, I also developed sinus issues and cough. I treated my symptoms with OTC medicines like DayQuil, NyQuil, Sudafed, and Delsym. They didn't eliminate the symptoms, but they helped mitigate them and helped me sleep at night. I took another home antigen test on 1/25/2023 and got another positive result. I then took another home test on 1/30/2023 and got a negative result. On 2/16/2023, I experienced extreme tightness in my left calf. I tried stretching it and massaging it with my hands, but they didn't help. I also tried applying a heating pad and an ice pack, but those didn't help, either. The tightness continued for six days, so I Googled my symptoms. I read that a blood clot could possibly the tightness. As I continued reading, I also learned that COVID-19 can sometimes cause blood clots, so I made an appointment with my PCP for 2/21/2023. On 2/21/2023, I had a telehealth visit with my PCP, who ordered an urgent ultrasound to be performed at my nearest local hospital. Later that day, I underwent the ultrasound.  Four large blood clots were immediately detected in my left leg, so I was immediately sent to the emergency room in the same hospital. At the ER, I underwent bloodwork and a CT scan of my chest. The CT scan immediately detected a pulmonary embolism. The pulmonary embolism was small, so it didn't cause much concern for the doctors. They were more concerned about the large deep vein thromboses in my left leg. The ER doctor prescribed me Eliquis and sent me home. As I was walking out the door of the hospital, a nurse rushed towards me and told me to come back inside. When I came back in, I was notified that my blood test results had come in, and the results indicated that I was extremely anemic. My hemoglobin was at 6.9. My platelets were at a normal level, but my white blood cell count was slightly elevated.  They told me that I was so anemic that they thought I could possibly have cancer. I then blacked out and was given one unit of blood. I was then admitted to the hospital, where I stayed from 2/21/2023 to 2/24/2023 while they ran tests. On 2/23/2023, I underwent a bone marrow biopsy. On 2/24/2023, I was told that their working hypothesis was that I had myelodysplastic syndrome, but they were going to continue examining the lab work and the biopsy. The good news was that they had ruled out acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I was then released from the hospital. My blood and tissue samples were examined at different hospitals. and they agreed that I seemed to have myelodysplastic syndrome. They told me that I would need to receive a stem cell transplant. None of the experts could figure out why I would possibly have this condition, because genetic tests were run, and the results did not indicate any genetic factors that would predispose me to developing the condition. The only changes in my health in recent times prior to this were that I had experienced three breakthrough cases of COVID-19 within a year and that I had received four doses of COVID-19 vaccine and two doses of monkey pox vaccine.