Death of Durango veteran follows COVID jab & battle with dementia

The death of a Durango veteran while he was isolated from his family in a nursing home came after receiving a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination and a battle with dementia.

Burnie Gurule, 85 years old, died on Mar. 18, 2021 at Four Corners Health Care Center in Durango of perimyocarditis, according to the death certificate.

Specifically, perimyocarditis is primarily a myocarditic syndrome, according to the Amercian College of Physicians. It’s a condition where the body’s immune system causes the heart muscle to become inflamed in response to an infection or some other trigger, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

To protect Burnie against the threat of the COVID-19 virus, his caretaker daughter in law Danise Gurule took him to get vaccinated, she said.

“I was scared to death that he would get COVID, and of course I wanted to protect him. And they were recommending that all the veterans have their vaccine. He had the first shot, he never got the [second one],” she said.

One day around February 26, 2021, Danise took Burnie to to the Veterans Administration clinic in Farmington, said Danise Gurule. At the clinic, Burnie Gurule was given the Pfizer BioNTech mRNA jab.

“He was 85; about to turn 86 in August. Until then he would go with me to town. He was capable of walking and getting around. I took care of him every day. I would take him to town, and take him to lunch, and get his mail, and do whatever we needed to do while I was out working. Cause I work for myself. I could make it work around him and my schedule. He was talking and doing well prior to that.”

“Within less than two weeks, he ended up very sick with perimyocarditis,” she said.

Feverish symptoms followed by hospitalization

On the day when Burnie Gurule began getting sick, he developed feverish symptoms, according to Danise Gurule.

“I came to do food and everything,” said Danise. “He couldn’t get up out of his chair. He was profusely sweating; had taken some of his clothing off. Within probably 30 minutes from the the time I left to the time I went back to his house, he was just so bad that I had to call an ambulance.”

“He felt warm,” said Danise. “I checked his blood pressure. His blood pressure was fine. But I could tell he had a fever. And for some reason he was bad about hiding stuff. I couldn’t find the thermometer.”

An ambulance came and transported Burnie to Mercy Regional Medical Center.

“So when they got him there, it took them days to figure out what was wrong. They kept doing different scans and different things to find out what was wrong. And they came back with this perimyocarditis,” he said.

Burnie was also tested for COVID-19, which came back negative, Danise said.

“He went into the hospital, they treated him with antibiotics and everything, but he never really came back to being himself, you know, as he was days prior.”

“The hospital had to get him because he was requiring full care,” she said. “He couldn’t get up and down. He was too weak and too much going on.”

“The only choice we had was to transfer him to Four Corners Health Care Center,” she said.

Patient transferred to Four Corners Health Care Center

Danise and Rick Gurule did not know when they transferred Burnie from Mercy to Four Corners Health Care Center that they would not be allowed to see him, Danise said.

“He was in there several days. He got transferred. I bet he wasn’t even in there five days. I think it was more like three,” she said.

“So it was kind of upsetting for me and Rick because we thought we could go ensure his placement, and observe him, make sure everything was ok, and we had clothing to carry to him, and things that we wanted to take to him while he was in there,” she said.

Danise and her husband Rick were told that they would have to wait 14 days before they could see him, Danise Gurule said.

“We were not allowed to see what kind of care he was getting. We didn’t know if a doctor was seeing him there. We don’t know if they continued his meds or his IV’s or antibiotoics,” said Danise. “We don’t know any of that.”

“They’re not very helpful when you call them either. You know. It’s hard to talk to anyone,” she said. “So I called almost every day to check on him.”

“Rick tried to drop off a few things for him, but they said, well you can leave them at the door. So anyway we did bring him some things from the hospital. But Rick wouldn’t bring him everything because they said just bring it to the door and we’ll get it,” Danise said. “And when we did get his stuff back we got other people’s shoes, and other people’s clothes, and not his clothes.”

“In the interim between both places we lost his hearing aids,” she said. “The hospital lost one, and then when I went to get his things at the nursing home after the fact, they just threw all this crazy crap in a little suitcase that I had left for him, and I didn’t get the other hearing aid,” she said. “They were custom made hearing aids and I thought well I could donate them to someone in need maybe that might be able to use them. I didn’t get them back. And then Mercy was suppose to call me about the one they lost, and they didn’t.”

“Then all of the sudden Rick called one morning and said ‘dad just died,'” she said. “Rick didn’t get to see him or anything.”

Rick Gurule talks about his dad Burnie Gurule

Burnie’s son Rick Gurule talked about his dad and his life in southwest Colorado.

He was a very simple person; a ranch hand, said Gurule.

Burnie lived in Durango most of his life before his death, he said.

“I don’t believe there was anything anybody could’ve done,” said Rick. “I don’t think anybody did anything wrong. It was his time to go, and there was nothing that anyone could have done about it.”

“No matter what, I would’ve pushed for my dad to have the shots,” he said.

Rick was disturbed with what happened when they moved Burnie from the hospital for Four Corners Health Care Center.

“They did an immediate lock down on him because of the covid, and he died without a family around him,” said Rick.

“Between the hospital and Four Corners, it had probably been at least a week since I had seen him,” he said.

“My dad was in the very final stages of this disease. People were telling me things that I didn’t understand, so I investigated all of that. I found out that he was in the very dark stages, the very last stages of what was going to happen to him,” said Rick. “He had it bad.”

“It was a normal passing for a person with those kinds of problems,” he said.

“I do honestly believe he died of dementia, and it was not the vaccine,” he said.

“Did the vaccine contribute to it? It’s possible,” he said.

“He died of fluid around the heart, which is a common thing with dementia patients,” Rick said.

“They can’t breathe. They won’t eat because their mouth hurts. They kind of forget how to breathe, and how to eat,” Rick said. “It’s a very sad thing.”

I believe it was time for god to take him and he took him, he said.

Death came after COVID shot was administered

The symptoms of perimyocarditis and subsequent death of Burnie Gurule occurred after receiving the Pfizer BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, according to Danise Gurule.

“I still have some concerns that maybe his covid shot flared up his particular illness (dementia),” said Danise Gurule.

“Matter of fact, they called me on the 19th of March because he was supposed to have his second one,” she said. “I had to call them and say well look he’s not getting his second one because he passed away yesterday.”

Another thing that is disturbing to Danise was knowing how Burnie’s separation from her and not seeing her while at the nursing home would upset him.

“So I knew that him being transferred there, not knowing what was going on, probably had him in turmoil. I mean I cried for days because I was like oh my god, he’s going to freak out and he’s used to me being there every day for 11 years,” said Danise. “And he is going to be panicked”

“And you know, but I just keep telling myself, it’s going to be ok, he’s going to get his medicine that he needs; his IVs or whatever. He’s where he needs to be right now. And when Rick called and said he died, I was freaking the hell out,” she said. “What do you mean he died? I thought he was going to be home in a few days?”

Death from myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination

The CDC has acknowledged that myocarditis is occurring following the administration of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Here are some of the points that they made on their web page regarding the condition:

Since April 2021, there have been increased reports to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) of cases of inflammation of the heart—called myocarditis and pericarditis—happening after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) in the United States.

These reports are rare, given the number of vaccine doses administered, and have been reported after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna), particularly in adolescents and young adults.

Cases reported to VAERS have occurred:

• Mostly in male adolescents and young adults age 16 years or older
• More often after getting the second dose of one of these two COVID-19 vaccines than after the first dose
• Typically within several days after COVID-19 vaccination

Altogether since the year 2020, there have been 19 deaths in Colorado reported to the VAERS associated with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine alone.

Throughout the nation, over 4,050 deaths were reported to VAERS in association with various mRNA COVID-19 “vaccinations,” according to VAERS data.

In Colorado, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has reported 6,718 deaths due to COVID-19, and 543,174 cases as of 6/1/2021. That equates to a .o1% death rate, or a 99.99% survival rate after becoming infected by COVID-19.

Danise Gurule sickened by Moderna jab

Danise Gurule took the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, she said.

“Some of the reactions as far as Rick and I went was Rick got headaches and didn’t feel very well,” said Danise. “I did the same thing. I got headaches, but I just took my Tylenol. I worked straight through it all the time. But I wasn’t comfortable.”

“The second one that we got a month later, Rick had blood pressure elevation, and pain and headaches, and so foggy you can’t think,” she said.

“So when I took it, 36 hours I suffered after the second one. My heart was racing out of control, a lot. I had severe pain, not a headache. Pain in my head that was isolated pain. You know, like one spot would hurt,” she said.

“Then, another spot would hurt,” she said. “It was like affecting the blood vessels or something”

“And then pain from my back, my lower legs. Pain like you’ve never felt from the flu. It’s worse,” said Danise.

These reactions were occurring as Burnie was being treated at Mercy following his jab, she said.

“And I was still getting calls, because I had mine when Burnie went in the hospital. And I had to go take care of Burnie too. So even though I was hurting, I would get called up to the hospital. My concern for Burnie was him being older, his kidney functioning was like 40 or 50 percent. His kidney functioning wasn’t great. And he had dementia, and he took blood pressure meds,” Danise said. “But other than that, he was pretty healthy. When he was a good 200 pounds. A really strong old man.”

“So my concern was that if it made me feel that way and my heart go out of control, what was it going to do to an 85 year-old man,” she said. “And especially with his kidneys and things like that.”

“My concern was more, do I not let him take it and get the covid, and then for sure he’s going to be hospitalized,” said Gurule.

“And I talked to everybody and they were like no, we better get him the shot,” said Danise. “And I thought OK, we’ll get him the first one, and we’ll see how he does with the first one. If he doesn’t do well, then I won’t let him have the second one.”

“That was my idea,” said Danise. “Well that idea went to shit, because it wasn’t long after he got that that here we are; he’s sick after the first one.”

Adam Howell is a writer who believes in free press and the importance of the constitution. He can be reached by clicking on this link to the contact page.