The Microvascular Research Foundation in Birmingham is focusing on advancements and innovation in long COVID, despite pushback from the country's medical establishment.
The foundation, founded by Dr. Jordan Vaughn, owner and CEO of MedHelp, was created following years of research into long COVID.
Nurse practitioner and director of Clinical Research Summer Powers said the center is one of the nation's first dedicated long COVID programs. Powers has over 20 years of experience in clinical research and education.
Powers said in August 2021 that she and her husband were working at UAB, so they placed their daughter in daycare. Their daughter contracted COVID-19, and before they knew it, they all had it. They eventually got over the initial symptoms, but the battle wasn't over for Powers and her daughter. They continued to get sick for months after the diagnosis.
After experiencing chest pains, Powers found out she had pericarditis. By December 2021, both Powers and her young daughter were in the emergency room for breathing treatments. After returning home, she had to wake up her daughter every two hours for breathing treatments to avoid respiratory distress.
"Between the two of us, we had like eight visits to the emergency room, where every time she would get cold, we would get sick, and then we would have to go get some sort of respiratory support," Powers remembered.
Although she was vaccinated, Powers had COVID-19 four times.
Further, Powers has been diagnosed with multiple lesions in her right breast, on the same side she received her vaccines. Powers believes there is a link between the lesions and the vaccine.
After consulting doctors who refused to acknowledge Powers had a problem, she was sent for psychological evaluations multiple times. Still, she didn't give up on trying to figure out what was going on with her and her daughter.
"I knew there was some sort of genetic component to it," she said. "I couldn't figure it out. I felt too sick. I didn't have the brain power. You know, I kept going to the specialist. They kept telling me nothing was wrong, and I got my psyche eval. But I didn't want to take no for an answer."
At the time, long COVID was not well known, but she found a clinical trial out of UCSF for patients with lingering COVID symptoms. She was given Paxlovid for five days, but when the trial ended, she could no longer get the drug.
She was connected with Vaughn through social media and was able to learn more about what her body was experiencing on a microvascular level and how spike proteins impacted her vascular system. She started with monoclonal antibodies and anticoagulated treatment.
"I got really sick, you know, from detoxing, which was crazy," Powers said. "Trying to get all that out of my system, breaking down clots, and all the things, that was pretty rough. But we were chatting through it, and, you know, a couple of days into it, I was chatting with him, and I'm like, 'This is the answer."
Powers was later even more validated after a scan found tiny clots in her lungs.
Still working at UAB, Powers began to work with Vaughn because she now had a new mission: to help others and continue her research.
Even when she went to Johns Hopkins with her portfolio to share everything she had found, she said a physician was unwilling to listen and threw her portfolio in the trash. That moment did not discourage Powers but empowered her.
In June, Powers began working full-time with Vaughn after UAB began investigating her treatment methodology.
"They launched an investigation against me, which at that point, I really had not a whole lot of choice, but to leave that position, which I planned to do anyway, but that's not exactly the way that I thought that would go," she said. "I had been employed in that institution for almost a total of 20 years."
Powers said the experience has helped her realize the healthcare system is broken.
Her research shows both COVID-19 and the vaccine have caused serious issues, including difficulty breathing, seizures and heart risks.
"The vaccine and the virus cause the same thing," Powers explained. "They induce spike protein and this amyloid microclotting."
As a UAB employee who gave people the "jab," Powers said she has witnessed vaccine injuries.
"I know from taking care of patients and from myself, the vaccine has injured people," Powers said. "And it is not good to inject people with spike protein, which is causing these issues."
Powers, along with Vaughn, has partnered on research into amyloid microclots, genetic markers and vascular syndromes. She will now advance clinical research, develop trials for microvascular dysfunction and novel therapeutics, and foster global collaborations on these initiatives.
"Together, we are building a national model for research, innovation, and comprehensive care," Powers said. "My track record in patient outcomes, research collaboration and educational leadership reflects my commitment to advancing the Foundation's mission and delivering meaningful change for millions living with long COVID."
The foundation is building a repository of data and tracking trends.
The foundation intakes patients every day. Powers said so many people are impacted by long COVID that patients desperate for care are finding their way from all over, including other countries, to the Birmingham location.
For help or questions on long COVID, contact MedHelp.
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