A musician who began experiencing excruciating headaches eight days after receiving his Covid-19 vaccine has died - after surgeons had to remove a "massive piece of his skull".
Lord Zion's heartbroken fiancée, Vikki Spit, said surgeons said his death may have been caused by the AstraZeneca jag.
The vaccine has been registered on a preliminary death certificate as a factor in his death, but Vikki says she is still pro vaccine after her "extremely fit and healthy" partner's untimely passing.
The Mirror reports that the 48-year-old started having excruciating headaches eight days after having the jab and couldn't get out of bed.
A paramedic called to the scene allegedly didn't think the vaccine was the cause because it had been "too long" since the injection - and thought it was a migraine.
But his condition worsened and a couple of days later he started slurring his words and suffered a seizure.
Vikki believed he'd suffered a stroke and called another ambulance, and he had another seizure while being rushed to hospital.
Hours later Vikki was told by a neurosurgeon that they had to remove a "massive piece of skull" because "the pressure on his brain was enormous".
She said: "They said they'd never seen anything like it - they didn't expect him to wake up, and if he did he'd be in a vegetative state.
"And they said they thought it was caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine."
Zion died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, on May 19, and an inquest will be held into his death.
But a preliminary death certificate cites an irreversible brain injury, caused by a haemorrhage, in turn caused by "complications of a Covid-19 virus vaccine".
Vikki says she has been left "completely crushed" by her partner's death, which came around a month after they were supposed to be married.
Their April ceremony was cancelled because of Covid restrictions, and Vikki said: "I regret that even more now."
He was vaccinated on May 5 and "it was all good, he'd done his bit, he was keeping people safe".
He had no side effects for the first week, but after eight days he started suffering an agonising headache.
Reeling from her loss, Vikki said: "I don't know what to do with myself.
"I feel like my whole life's been smashed into a million pieces and I've got to put it together, but it's not going to look anything like I thought.
"I thought I was going to be with Zion for another 40 years."
The couple met in a London rock club more than three decades ago and toured for many years as glam-punk band SPiT LiKE THiS.
But the "inseparable" couple - who spent just one night apart in 21 years - settled down to a peaceful rural life in Alston, near the Northumberland-Cumbria border, in 2014.
Paying tribute to Zion, she said: "He was wonderful. People used to be intimidated when they first met him because he could look quite scary, but once they got to know him he was lovely, incredibly sensitive.
"He suffered from depression throughout his life. He was really into health and fitness, partly to manage it.
"So many people on his Facebook page have said he took the time to reply to their messages, and a few people have said he stopped them from killing themselves."
Although she says she is still "pro-vaccine", Vikki is calling on the government to better educate medical staff on the side effects.
She said: "I'm still pro-vaccine, I know Covid is killing more people than the vaccine, but Zion should not have died.
"If they had recognised what it was when I called them the first time, he would still be alive."
Since his death, Zion has helped save three lives by donating his liver and kidneys for transplant, as well as donating other organs for medical research.
Vikki has also lodged an application with the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, but it does not apply to fatal outcomes unless it can be proven that the victim was 60% disabled before they died.
Alongside this, the maximum figure for compensation is £120,000.
This figure was set at £10,000 in 1979, when legislation was passed, but has not kept pace with inflation - if it had, the value would be closer to £180,000.
Medical director at North East Ambulance Service, Mathew Beattie said: "We are extremely saddened to hear about the death of Zion; it is an extremely tragic case and we send our deepest condolences to his partner Vikki, his family and friends.
"We undertake a thorough review of all incidents reported to NEAS and we review all deaths that occur whilst patients are under our care, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further until we have further information and completed an investigation."
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