The Flu Shot That Changed Everything

I got a flu shot expecting a sore arm and maybe a day of fatigue.

Instead, within days, my body began shutting down.

My muscles weakened rapidly. Walking became unstable. Then impossible. Bloodwork revealed extremely elevated creatine kinase (CK) levels, a sign that my muscle tissue was breaking down. Doctors diagnosed rhabdomyolysis, a condition I had never heard of but would come to understand intimately.

This wasn’t anxiety. It wasn’t soreness. My body was actively injuring itself.

I was hospitalized, monitored for kidney failure, and treated aggressively to prevent permanent damage. At my lowest point, I experienced partial paralysis—my nervous system and muscles no longer communicating the way they should.

What shook me most wasn’t just the diagnosis. It was the realization that something routine—something I trusted—had triggered a chain reaction my body couldn’t handle.

This was the beginning of my recovery. And the beginning of learning how fragile—and specific—health really is.