Jasmeet Grewal
Day 2 · September 9, 2026 · 0:22:20
Key points Jasmeet Grewal, 35, was a business development manager for an AI company and an extremely active athlete who played multiple sports and performed traditional dance. He says he received two Pfizer doses in May and June 2021 with no hesitation, and never had COVID. About two months after the second dose he describes extreme cramping, stiffness, tingling, and worsening balance and gait problems in his legs. He says doctors and a neurologist repeatedly told him his symptoms were psychological or a functional neurological disorder. After an EMG in April 2022 revealed severe demyelination, he was hospitalized for six months and has never walked again. He describes burning nerve pain, tremors, non-functioning intestines, and dependence on a feeding tube and TPN pumps running 12 hours a day. He says the Vaccine Injury Support Program denied his claim despite 8,200 pages of documentation, and he is currently reappealing.
Speaker 4
0:00 Our next witness is Jasmine Gruel. 0:04 Jasmine, we're very pleased to have you here. 0:07 And first of all, we'll swear you in. 0:10 Jasmine Gruel, do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? 0:18 I just wanted to state, because I know from an earlier interview, you're going to describe injuries. 0:24 You never had COVID before that. 0:25 In fact, you never had COVID at all. 0:29 Can you share with us about 0:31 your life before vaccination? 0:35 Because you're only 35 now, so you'd have been 30 at the time. Speaker 3
0:40 I want to start off by saying, my time before this was, it's what I felt was normal. Speaker 1
0:45 I was very active. 0:48 I felt that I was Speaker 3
1:01 almost on top of the world. 1:02 I felt that was very fit. 1:04 I loved being outside. 1:05 I loved the company I was with. 1:07 It was always very sociable, I feel like. 1:12 And I was always looking forward to what can come next with my given ability. 1:22 And it was always to what sport can I play next? 1:25 When can I see my family and friends next? 1:27 When can I be outside and be active again? 1:31 And it almost feels as if it never happened since it happened. 1:37 It would have been 31 when I initially had, when I went through this, but it was 31. Speaker 4
1:45 I'm going to ask David to pull up some photos that we have. 1:50 So you are working as a business development manager for an AI company. 1:55 And when you talk about sports, you were on two softball teams and a substitute on the third. 2:01 You were playing in a basketball league. 2:02 You golfed. 2:03 You played soccer. 2:04 And also, dance was a big part of your life. 2:08 We're going to play a video about that. 2:10 So you were an extremely sports young man fellow. 2:16 And David, can we pull up the first? 2:18 So this is a photo of you golfing. Speaker 4
2:22 And can we go up to the next one? 2:26 This is you playing baseball. 2:28 That's right. 2:28 Can we go to the next one? 2:30 This is you involved in dance. Speaker 3
2:34 That's right. Speaker 4
2:35 We're also going to play two videos. 2:39 So we spliced them together. 2:40 Okay. 2:42 And let's just play them. 2:44 And feel free to comment while they're playing or comment afterwards. 3:16 And the next one is at... Did we not have the halftime at the Raptors show? 3:25 Actually, so this isn't the video I wanted, David. 3:27 We had a video of him at a Raptors game. 3:29 Did it not take on the last video? 3:36 Okay. 3:37 Well, that's a shame. 3:38 We had spent a lot of time getting a video of you. 3:41 You were at a Raptors halftime game in an old dance troupe doing this traditional dance, and it was absolutely amazing. 3:50 I'll see if we can get that before the end of the inquiry to play. Speaker 3
3:52 I can quickly describe it in case you don't get it. 3:55 Please do. 3:56 Basically, it was a South Asian event at the Toronto Raptors halftime show sponsored by Nafati at the time. 4:03 What I did was my initial idea was that I didn't want to get on another gentleman's shoulders. 4:09 He's a friend of mine as well. 4:11 But at the time, the other person I was supposed to wasn't able to at the time, so he volunteered myself. 4:18 Basically, the idea was that he would hold me onto his shoulders, so my legs would be under him, and they would basically spin me around. 4:26 So I would go flat, my back would be kind of parallel to the ground, and kind of spin me around for 4:32 maybe 10 seconds, and then find myself again, then help myself down, and then we continued on with the dance for the halftime show. 4:40 An incredible experience. Speaker 4
4:42 Yeah, and again, we might try to pull that up before the end of the thing. 4:46 So I just wanted to make the point that you were extremely active, extremely fit, extremely into sports. 4:53 You get your first Pfizer shot in May of 2021, and then you get on June 28, 2021, your second. 4:59 Can you tell us what happened? Speaker 3
5:01 It was the end of June 2021 when I got that second shot. 5:07 I was always a believer that nothing, I felt very healthy. 5:12 I felt, it just almost felt like I was on top of the world and that nothing could really bring me down. 5:17 And I felt comfortable taking it as well. 5:20 There wasn't really any sort of specific hesitation in me taking the vaccine. 5:25 It was soon after, I would approximate about maybe two months after the second vaccine when I went along my regular schedule of activities and I would play sports continuously. 5:38 But I would start to get this extreme cramping, especially in my legs. 5:42 It was throughout my entire body, but especially in my legs and my hamstrings where 5:46 Usually, maybe after a few days, I could maybe get through it, you know, a little bit of stretching, maybe some heat, some therapy with it as well, some direct massages. 5:56 And I felt pretty comfortable after. 5:57 Well, for whatever reason, this one just continued. 6:01 And it felt as if my legs were starting to get very stiff, especially my hamstrings to start off. 6:09 As the weeks went along, as the months kind of went along, I always was just avoiding the fact that something could be wrong, it could be getting worse. 6:16 But it didn't tend. 6:17 It didn't absolutely feel a lot worse. 6:20 But I was so avoidant to go to the doctor, go try and get it checked out, because I felt like there shouldn't be anything wrong. 6:27 I was young at the time. 6:28 I felt like I was in my absolute prime physically as well, whether it be weight or just my overall abilities. 6:35 So I just tried different types of therapies. 6:38 I tried going to different friends for support, some physiotherapists, any sort of direct therapy I can do. 6:44 But for whatever reason, it just kept getting worse. 6:46 And over that time, over those months afterwards, leading into the new year, 6:53 I started to get a lot more tingling feeling in my legs. 6:55 That's kind of where the initial symptom, where I thought that something was absolutely wrong. 7:00 And I didn't feel comfortable in the state that I was in, especially because nothing was getting better. 7:05 It just kept getting consistently worse, which was uncomfortable. 7:10 I started going to the family doctor, getting those general tests done. 7:13 It started with just blood tests, those tests. 7:16 He couldn't find much from it. 7:18 They also have a questionnaire that they wanted me to answer. 7:21 And almost immediately after answering the questionnaire, he said, it does seem as something more psychological, something that's in my head that might be causing adverse effects with the rest of my body. 7:33 I did not completely agree at the time, but I also wanted to understand that it could be a possibility. 7:39 So I took the necessary efforts afterwards to attend to my mental health and whatever might be bothering me mentally as well. 7:46 But as the months went along, it just kept getting consistently worse, where 7:50 I would lose balance in my legs. 7:52 I was always kind of tumbling and fumbling around, which wasn't very common for me. 7:56 I always felt very comfortable in my own stride and my own posture. 8:00 But the sudden missteps and the sudden bumping into walls and maybe the missing a stair here and there was very odd and confusing. 8:12 So when I got initial visit with a neurologist, and that was close to when this video that we have up now was taken, 8:22 He also associated with some type of a psychological issue at the time. Speaker 4
8:31 So can I slow you down? 8:32 Do you mind if I name the neurologist? 8:35 We don't have to. 8:36 So you see a neurologist. 8:38 Yes. 8:38 And you're having these really gait problems. 8:41 Yes. 8:42 Like it's, you're also, you haven't described for us, but I mean, we're talking shooting pain. 8:46 You are uncomfortable. Speaker 4
8:48 And this is constant. 8:49 Yes. 8:49 So you're suffering horribly in pain. 8:51 Now you're having coordination issues. 8:53 We're going to show this video, but a neurologist is basically telling you this is in your head. 8:59 Yes. 9:00 Okay. 9:00 So we'll watch this video. Speaker 5
9:04 I see that. 9:05 You're really trying to stabilize through your quads and those muscles by hyperextending. 9:12 Cool. 9:12 You want to try walking here? 9:14 Yeah, if you can. 9:16 Have you felt? 9:17 Have you been? 9:18 You have? 9:18 Yeah. Speaker 6
9:21 Yes. 9:30 Good. 9:30 And then whenever you're ready, just go grab a seat right there. Speaker 5
9:38 Yeah. 9:40 And you're struggling a little bit with where your body weight is, right? 9:42 What are you feeling? 9:48 What are you... 9:50 Instability in your legs. 9:54 Yeah, I know they are. Speaker 4
9:59 So this video is taken around the time a neurologist is telling you this is in your head, basically that you're mentally ill. That's right. 10:09 And how do you deal with that when you know you're suffering? 10:13 And you haven't even talked about this shooting pain and that to us. Speaker 3
10:19 The symptoms that I was going through, I mentioned to the doctor at the time, I tried to describe it as best to my ability to, it was so hard to kind of put into words what exactly was happening with my whole body. 10:32 But with that line of questioning, I still tried to believe in the medical professional I was speaking to. 10:38 And after that initial visit with the doctor, I went to emergency downtown as well. 10:46 They also did a similar type of neurological examinations, and they generally diagnosed me with FND, which was functional neurological disorder. 10:55 Also kind of up in the air and questionable at the time. 10:58 I also did not know what to take from it. 11:01 We were kind of curious. 11:03 Going back to the initial doctor that I met, he also wanted to get an EMG done. 11:07 It's called an electromyogram. 11:09 But there was no rush on it at the time when I first went to see him. 11:15 My goal was to get that test done as soon as possible. 11:18 I thought that would be a very important test to determine if, in fact, it is in my head or not. 11:25 I felt like an objective test that could be done where there is no way that I can deny a fact of whatever the result of the test would be would be almost undeniable at that point. 11:38 After a few months went by, I changed family doctors to another one. 11:43 He also felt there was something wrong. 11:45 Just hearing my symptoms and seeing me briefly. Speaker 4
11:48 I'm just going to abbreviate. 11:49 You end up getting a call on April 29th. 11:52 That's correct. 11:53 2022 that somebody had canceled the appointment. 11:56 So you rush in and get this appointment that nobody else is in a hurry for. 12:01 And you end up getting hospitalized right away. 12:03 Immediately. 12:04 So they do the test and they hospitalize you. 12:06 You're in the hospital for six months. 12:07 That's right. 12:08 So what happened there? Speaker 3
12:11 So right after they did the test, they did my whole lower body, my upper body as well. 12:14 They noticed that there was severe demyelination from my entire body. 12:18 So there wasn't any kind of reaction from my neurons feedback into their system. 12:24 As soon as we went back down to emergency, we waited in emergency. 12:27 We wanted to do something called a lumbar puncture. 12:29 And what the lumbar puncture does is where you kind of bend over on your side, you curl up into a little bit of a ball, and they take out the cerebral spinal fluid from my lumbar. Speaker 4
12:39 When they tried to dilute that, and I'm just going to, we're going to skip some of the detail. 12:43 Okay. 12:44 Because we don't have the time for that. 12:48 But basically, you've never walked again. 12:53 We always had attempts in the hospital, but nothing come to be known. 12:57 And you've lost your nerve function in your lower limbs. 13:00 That's right. 13:01 You have burning nerve pain throughout your entire body. 13:04 And that's even right now as you're speaking. Speaker 3
13:06 I still have this tremors as well in my hands as well. Speaker 4
13:08 So you're not, this is, this is just something you can't control. 13:13 So, and it's also very painful. 13:16 All the time. 13:19 Your intestines don't work. 13:21 You're unable to feed. 13:23 So even though I'm talking, I'm hoping the camera, they put it on you. 13:28 You have two bags there and you have two pumps for, 13:32 For 12 hours a day, those pumps have to run. 13:35 Can you tell us what they are and why you need to have them for 12 hours a day? Speaker 3
13:40 Yeah, so initially you'll see the first pump on my right that has a little bag attached to it. 13:44 That's going directly into my stomach, which it's called the gastrojejunal tube, which bypasses my stomach. 13:51 So it can still kind of, I can still use my stomach and that type of way, my whole gastrointestinal system. 13:58 to get whatever nutrients and proteins from there. 14:00 The second bag you see behind there is a black bag. 14:03 That's called TPN. 14:05 It's called total parenteral nutrition. 14:07 That one goes directly into my chest into a larger vein so I can get also the additional nutrition like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and all the vitamins and minerals to go into my system. 14:19 These symptoms weren't right away. 14:21 It happened about a year and a half after I got, a year after I got 14:26 discharge from the hospital after the six-month stint. 14:29 And with the constant treatments that I was going through, this was an apparent side effect, an unfortunate side effect of that fact. 14:36 So right now, I cannot, if I was to eat something orally or try to take something orally, I would immediately come up and it would stain my stomach. 14:43 As much as I would like to have some water right now, because it is quite parched, I would not be able to. 14:49 Because if I was to try to drink the water, I would immediately, it would immediately come back up and I would have to vomit it out. Speaker 4
14:55 Right. 14:56 So you rely, this is your water, this is your food, is two tubes, one dripping into your stomach and one dripping into a vein. 15:04 That's correct. 15:04 That's how you're fed. Speaker 4
15:06 And these pumps have to run for 12 hours a day. Speaker 3
15:09 They run constantly 12 hours a day. 15:10 And even without me having to drink or eat, normally I'm still vomiting every few hours. 15:15 Just whatever is in my stomach. 15:17 It could be bile, it could be whatever it is. Speaker 4
15:22 What's been the most difficult part of this? Speaker 3
15:27 All it's been quite bewildering overall, the confusion to navigate every day and how to navigate every day. 15:38 Because I know that every night after I disconnect everything and I can get whatever rest I can get, I have to start both of these machines immediately in the morning or else I'm not going to get my necessary caloric intake for that day. 15:48 And that's going to cause even more side effects that I don't want to bother trying to feel. 15:57 The difficulty is just the navigation of how I'm going to kind of attack each day. 16:02 I have the great support of my family, my close friends, my partner as well, and I am extremely appreciative for that. 16:08 But trying to navigate it in my own head and seeing where I could have been or what could have been potentially and what it has been, even just seeing the photos and the videos now has been confounding. 16:22 But it is what my – it's where we have – 16:28 My place is here where I'm supposed to be for whatever reason. 16:31 And the opportunities here to speak about is what I feel like I had to do. 16:37 And it's just a matter of where can we go next, and I'm going to do whatever I can to take that next step. Speaker 1
16:50 And I want to thank you for being here. 16:53 Thank you. 16:53 Thank you very much. 16:54 I'm going to turn it over to my colleague, Dean Hall. Speaker 2
17:01 Thanks for being here. 17:04 What are the doctors? 17:05 Have they given you any indication on how the vaccine has caused this? 17:10 Are they getting any support from the medical field at all supporting the vaccine injuries? Speaker 3
17:18 I also applied for the Vaccine Injury Support Program when it was still the support program. 17:22 I got denied initially when I first applied for it. 17:26 The doctors could not confirm or deny that it was. 17:30 But given the timeline of everything, they always just said it was a possibility. 17:36 It was a strong possibility that it could have been from it, given how it was before and how the effects have happened after. Speaker 2
17:43 Were you denied in the program? Speaker 3
17:45 Of the vaccine? 17:46 Yes, I was. 17:47 Yes, I was. 17:48 And have you appealed? 17:49 I'm in the process of appealing right now. 17:52 I did appeal initially, but when they transferred over to the impact assistance program, there was a little bit of a delay. 17:58 So appeal has been a little bit delayed at the time. 18:00 So I'm reappealing at this time, just waiting, still waiting for a response. Speaker 2
18:03 What was the reason for denial? Speaker 3
18:05 They said that the board at the time felt like there was something in between from the second vaccine to their suspected onset of symptoms that would have caused these neurological issues and the severity of the issues that I currently have. Speaker 2
18:21 Going through the process of the program, what was your experience with the 18:27 going through the process? Speaker 3
18:29 A lot of waiting, a lot of attempting to follow up. 18:32 When I got the initial letter to confirm that I was denied, and even just reading it just felt very, it was almost unbelievable at the time. 18:46 And to hear that the reasoning for it as well, and that there was no effort or additional effort 18:54 follow-up required to prove that also further confused me as well and made it even more type of kind of unfortunate. 19:03 So it was, it just, it also didn't feel like it was a thorough process to look through the medical documents that I got through, which went through only 80 to 100 pages of my entire hospital visit, which included multiple treatments, which felt like it was also a result of everything, but it just felt like the proof and validity was not there. Speaker 2
19:26 Well, thanks for being here to tell your story. 19:28 And, again, we apologize for the problems you have to go through with the program and the difficulties with it. 19:35 And hopefully we hear enough about it that we can get the problems fixed and help people like yourself. Speaker 1
19:46 I want to thank you once again for being here. 19:48 I think that it really explains. 19:51 If I caught that correctly, you said you were filling out 80 to 100 pages? 19:54 That's right. 19:55 Or just to fill out an application? Speaker 3
19:59 The amount of documents and supplemental documentation that I provided to the support program was 8,200 pages because it includes every doctor that I had during my inpatient at the hospital for those six months. Speaker 1
20:12 And what type of time? 20:14 I can't even imagine. 20:15 What type of timeframe that would involve trying to gather that kind of information? Speaker 3
20:20 Again, my sisters were very supportive, very helpful. 20:22 My partner was very helpful at the time as well, but to kind of stay on top of it. 20:26 But ensuring that when I got discharged that the entire relevant historical information that I had from day one when I was admitted was in those notes, including all the multiple treatments that we tried and attempted. 20:41 and just didn't see the results from. 20:43 But everything that I could have included was included in all of those pages. Speaker 1
20:48 Well, thank you. 20:48 As I said, once again, Mike's MP Dawson said, well, we really apologize for anything that you've been through. 21:00 And it's just, as we hear these stories, I think it's important that as more people hear what's going on, that we can continue to push to see changes being made 21:11 and whatever programs are there or the absolute recognition of individuals. 21:15 So, thank you for being here. 21:17 Thank you for the opportunity. 21:18 Thank you. Speaker 4
21:19 And, Jasmeet, I also understand that it was difficult for you to be here. 21:24 It's one thing when you're in a wheelchair, but because you have those pumps and that pool, you took the train because those pumps need to be plugged in. Speaker 4
21:34 The batteries don't last long. 21:35 In fact, that was a concern for you being here today is with the pumps. 21:39 Would the batteries fail? 21:40 I think we arranged to have an extension cord for that eventuality. 21:45 So you actually, it was not clear that you would be able to get here and get transported here. 21:51 And we really appreciate you coming. 21:53 Of course. 21:54 We really appreciate you sharing your story. 21:57 I pray that you'll help change the world and allow us to have this conversation and look at things. 22:03 I'll do my best. 22:04 Yeah, so thank you. 22:05 Thank you very much. 22:06 Thank you all.