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November 2007
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| I was diagnosed with GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) in Feburary. I went to the ER five times until they found out what was wrong. I spent four weeks in the hospital, and then 30 days in a nursing home. At the same time I was also a student at the local college, and June 13th I received my college degree. I had to use the walker for the processional, then a wheelchair to get on the stage. After that I walked (not to well); however I got my college degree with dignity and honor. This is Kathy's success story. |
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December 2007
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| I was diagnosed with GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) in 1981. At the age of 9 years. I have dropfeet and still some other weakness in both my legs. But the good news is I am a cyclist. I make use of braces when I walk or cycle. I was in Athens in 2004 and I was in France this year for the world champs.Hopefully I will see you in Beijing next year. So, the bottom line is, you can overcome GBS!! Good luck with your recovery. This is Susan van Staden Pox's success story. |
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January 2008
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| After 4 ER visits I was diagnosed with GBS. I was about to celebrate my 40th Birthday with a new baby at home. I was an Airline Pilot with the best airline and my life was so on track. Once diagnosed, I was admitted into ICU very close to life-support for about 2 weeks. I spent 3 additional months in the hospital and walked around 5 months. Almost a year later, I returned to work as an airline pilot as good as new. If you ever see me piloting your BIRD so to speak, let me know, we have something in common. Terry, Southwest Airlines This is Terry's success story. |
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February 2008
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I've never had more than the sniffles until November 2007. Within weeks, I went from walking, jogging, and living a healthy life to helpless in ICU as a result of GBS. Initially, I experienced tingling in my toes and fingers that spread upwards within a week. Then I began wobbling uncontrollably, and lost the ability to climb the stairs to my bedroom. By the end of the first week, I became weak, unable to write, or walk without difficulty.I had tingling and numbness in both hands and feet. After describing my symptoms, I was diagnosed with GBS. I spent 1 week in ICU for administration of IVIG. I was devastated not being able to walk, barely talk, and my independence quickly vanished. I am a fighter, so I was determined to regain control and be self sufficent again. It's been six weeks, and I am walking again with a cane! I am still weak on one side, and experience pain and tingling, but I am self sufficient, and am able to use a computer which is very important being an IT professional. After receiving GBS/CIDP information I have gained a better understanding of GBS. Thank you, for the wealth of information! It made a big difference in my life, and it helps me to know there is a branch in Chicago. I haven't recovered 100%, but I do have hope, and that's all that matters! This is Ernestine's success story. |
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March 2008
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Two and a half months after giving birth to her first child, our daughter Brie, prepared to return to work as a first grade teacher. Brie went to school for two days before being rushed to the hospital ER, and placed in the ICU unit after being diagnosed with GBS and essentially totally paralyzed from head to toe. All of this took place in October 2007, where she "celebrated" her 28th birthday without her little daughter, Kiera. While our whole extended family was a quivering, freaked-out, distraught mess, Brie remained a tower of strength and power that was amazing to all of us. After leaving the ICU unit and spending a month in the rehabilitation hospital, Brie showed determination and grit while undergoing the hard work to learn to walk and hold Kiera again. The exceptional care at the hospital, including correctly diagnosing and administering treatment within the first couple of hours after entering the emergency room was truly a huge factor in her speedy recovery (after an equally speedy decline). Now as Brie tells it: "It was the knowledge that was obtained through the many people involved with the GBS/CIDP Foundation that convinced her that her condition will be temporary, and better days were ahead and the extreme desire to be back at home with her "new" family (husband Brad and Kiera)." Brie intends to go back to her first grade class on a part-time basis shortly, and we cannot express our appreciation to the Foundation for all the support that has been and continues to be provided. This is Brie's success story. |
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April 2008
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My story starts 34 years ago when I was 4 years old. My parents went to bed for the evening and I awoke to the blazing sound of Johnny Carson. Unable to move I some how mustered the strength to call out to my parents. When they reached me I was completely paralyzed, and they rushed me to the hospital. While there I went through the worst time in my life, I went into cardiac arrest 3 times, my eyes crossed, and I had a feeding tube. After 3 months in intensive care I went home unable to walk or crawl. After many months of therapy I regained my mobility. At the age of 10 I had surgery on my feet to put in bone blocks in to keep them from rolling inward. Now that I am about to embark on my 40th birthday I am a living testimony that there is life after GBS. As a result of GBS I was left with drop-foot which does cause lots of pain and discomfort but my life has been as normal as expected. This is Shelly's success story. |
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May 2008
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My first encounter with a relatively unknown illness, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), occurred in 1962 at the age of 26. The chilling part is that I experienced the very same trauma again in 2002 at the age of 66. There is no known cause and very little treatment for GBS. And while it is very rare to have this illness once, it is even rarer to experience it twice. Each individual's experience is different relative to onset and severity. For me, within 36 hours it meant complete paralysis, breathing through a tracheotomy, unable to speak or swallow and being fed through a feeding tube. Both times I spent many days in the ICU and many hours being rehabilitated. This is a harrowing time in one's life and you are left to wonder more than once, "Why me??" The first time I was very busy with 3 small children, with 2 more to arrive later, so it was pretty much life as usual upon recovering. But this last time, 40 years later, there was a new wrinkle. My family found the GBS Foundation headquartered in Pennsylvania and found a great deal of support and information from that source. Now, six years down the road from that second episode, I think I have found out "Why me??" Four years ago I became the chapter liaison to the Foundation for the East and South Bay areas of California. My "job" is to respond to newly diagnosed patients in hospitals within this area, hopefully providing encouragement, as well as information and support to them and their families. I am told by my patients and their families that there is no substitute for talking to someone who has "been there, done that". And, when I am there with them, I absolutely "know" I am in the right place. This is Beverly's success story. |
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June 2008
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I had GBS in 2000. It paralyzed me completely. I spent 8 months in the hospital. I have excersied continually since. I only have very limited movement and cannot walk. I use a power-chair. However this past week I have regained usage of my left hand and arm. I can write now, (I had to print), and my strenght is coming back in the arm. I thought maybe this would help someone else to know that some times the feeling and usage can come back. It has been Eight years since I have closed my hand, made a fist or could write. I was 72 years old when I was stricken and I am 80 now. This is Billie's success story. |
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July 2008
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I am a 64 year old Catholic Priest. In December 2, 2006, I woke up with numbness on my fingertips. Not realizing or even bothering about what it was, I continued with my pastoral duties as usual. The following day, after a long busy Sunday schedule of Masses and other church activities, I took a short afternoon nap and when I woke up, the numbness had spread to my palms and soles. My primary doctor initially thought it was just an allergic reaction to a new medication that I was prescribed. But after three days he realized it was something else and referred me to Neurologist. After a series of tests, I was hospitalized since I could no longer walk and had totally lost my sense of touch. My neurologist treated me with "immunoglobulin" intravenouisly for five days, after which I began to recover some movement with legs. My recovery has been long and difficult. As a priest when I said Mass I needed a high chair to seat on while I am at the altar, and another priest to hold up the Sacred Host and Chalice during consecration. (For quite a while I couldn't even hold a fork with my hands.) I had to ultimately seek disability retirement from my pastoral duties after one year because I had suffered 10% permanent nerve damage. Now, after one year and a half, I am able to walk easily with a cane; I can say mass by myself again - although I still need one altar server to lean on in distributing Holy Communion. I can drive by myself again and have fully adjusted to my life with disability. I still have a slight numbness on my palms and soles, but looking back to what I was in December 2006, I am very grateful to Almighty God for giving this recovery and a continued opportunity to be able to minister to others. This is Father Arejola's success story. |
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August 2008
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I came down with Guillain-Barre one year ago this month. Maybe I was lucky. They caught it within five days. Still in that time I went from being able to run a sub-6:00 minute mile to barely being able to walk. I was hospitalized and used a cane for months afterward. However in this one year I have regained my ability to bike, run, cross-country ski and swim. In June I was able to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back. I am 47. I still can’t run as fast as I did, but I feel my speed is returning slowly. I plan to enter a running race this summer and try Telemark skiing next winter. This is Peter's success story. |
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September 2008
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Three short years ago, on Memorial Day weekend, I, too, was sticken with GBS. One day I bent over to pick something up and fell over, thinking I lost my balance. This was a Wednesday. By Sunday, I was totally paralized, in a coma-like state and got worse from there, if you can imagine. I spent three weeks in intensive care and a total of three and a half months in the hospital. I completely recovered within that 3.5 months, thank the good Lord. I know many people do not. Keep a positive attitude, and, of course, prayer was a big part of my recovery. I was 86 then. I will be 90 in December. This is Lucy's success story. |
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October 2008
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I contracted GBS on 11th February 2005 when 47 years old. I stopped breathing 36 hours after entering the hospital and then spent 8 weeks on a ventilator - completely paralyzed, except for movement of my head. Three things kept me sane and drove my recovery: 1. I told myself that I would never let GBS get me down. 2. I made the clock in my hospital room my friend and not my enemy (every minute gone is a minute closer to recovery). 3. I set myself a target - it was to walk out of hospital unaided - and I used that to help me battle through the daily pain and struggle. After 16 weeks of treatment, I did it! Sports were and are my great passion. I was an active marathon runner and tri-athlete before I was ill and desperately wanted to start again. I started with short walks, and then progressed to walking with trekking poles. I could stumble and jog 50metres after 14months of recovery, this went up to 2km after 18 months and I am now able to run 15km, as well as cycle 60km and swim 1500m. I am not as strong and still have limited movement in my feet and toes, as well as some paralysis in my face. But hey, I am alive! GBS taught me that mental strength is the key. Focus on what you can do and not what you used to be able to do. Finally, set yourself a target. Yes, there will be ups and downs, but that target will move you on and push you harder than you thought possible. You can do it! This is Martin's success story. |
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November 2008
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I had just had a spinal fusion on my back done. The day I came home from the hospital, my 5 year old daughter, Makyra, came down with strep throat. My husband took her to the urgent care where they put her on antibiotics. A few days later while I was at home recovering from my surgery Makyra started complaining that her legs hurt. I brushed it off and told her that she would be ok and that she was probably just tired. She got increasingly fussier and the next day she came home from summer school and my son DeAron(7 at the time)said she had fallen off of the bus steps. I was a little concerned so I had my husband take her back up to the children's hospital and they diagnosed her with joint inflammation due to strep. They told us to give her Ibuprofen and it should subside. Well, by the end of the next day she was screaming constantly and stuck paralyzed in a fetal position. I called my Mom (my husband was at work) to come get her and take her back to the hospital. She did and the next phone call I got (I could not hardly walk let alone drive) was that they were taking her by ambulance to the downtown children's hospital and it was not good. They were concerned about her breathing. My mom followed the ambulance and later came and got me and took me to the hospital to stay with her. Ten days later in the hospital they decided it was Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The rehab was a lot of work as we were rehabbing together but we got through it. She had a lot of friends and family members praying for her and myself. She recovered amazingly fast through intense therapy. She came home having to relearn to walk, use the bathroom, use her hands, write, eat, and all of the normal things we take for granted every day but she did it and amazingly well! I am so proud of her. She is a real trooper! This is Candice's success story. |
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| February 2009 | |
I was diagnosed with GBS in October 2008. I am 26. I was admitted to the hospital six days after my symptoms began and was treated with plasmapheresis. Within two weeks I was completely paralyzed from neck down, intabated, and then given a trech. Amazingly, I was off the trech and transferred to rehab in three weeks! On the first day of rehab I couldn't sit up on my own. My progress seemed slow at first and I struggled with myself to push through the pain. Then one day it was like I had an inner strength i never knew I had. I would do an exercise for 10 minutes one day and would double the time the next day. It became a game to me, it was fun to see my family and therapists reactions!! This continued for the next three weeks until one day, when I was doing a standing exercise in the parallel bars and decided I would rather try to walk. I walked 20 feet! Everyone was crying because all of our hard work was paying off! I am home and going to outpatient therapy 3 days a week. I continue with support of my family, amazing therapists and doctors to push myself everyday so that hopefully soon I will be able to walk without a walker, drive my car, return to work, and be "normal" again! Living with GBS has been one of the toughest experiences of my life but I am very lucky to have met so many caring and supportive people that are now lifelong friends! This is Jennifer's success story |
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| March 2009 | |
I contracted Guillian Barre Syndrome on July 4th 2008. I woke up that day feeling weak and confused. By the next morning I could not walk down my stairs and later that day ended up in the hospital paralyzed. The doctors told me I had GBS and that I may end up on a respirator. After seeing my three children leave the hospital that day I promised myself I would focus and use all of my mental ability to control my breathing and exude positivity with every breath I took. Well, I ended up not needing the respirator and got out of the hospital two weeks before the doctors initially said I would. Although I left the hospital with a walker and could not step on my own, I promised myself I would walk sooner than I would and would stay ahead of every timeline doctors game me. Well after enduring the most painful three months of my life, I’m ahead of schedule. And today I can not only walk full speed, but I can pass a soccer ball and have baseball catch with my son. I am living proof that if you stay positive and focus all of your energy and determination, that pure will can prevail. I look forward to a full recovery and plan on proving every doctor that tells me I can’t do something wrong. To everyone in need, stay positive, be strong and show the world what you are made of. Good luck to all. This is Ted's success story. |
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| April 2009 | |
My son Tucker was diagnosed with GBS at 17 months old. He was in the ICU within 5 days of symptoms and lost all mobility except moving his fingers. Now, 10 months later, he is running, jumping, and playing like a regular 2 year old. He still lacks any reflexes and will need to get some hearing tests done, but otherwise he is flourishing. During the Charlotte, NC walk-a-thon I brought his stroller for his miracle mile but he refused to use it. We left it on the side and he walked his whole mile only stopping to play with bugs! Tucker is not only my little miracle but he is an inspiration to everyone who meets him. This is Jessica Beatty's success story |
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| May 2009 | |
In January 1992 I was hospitalized with Guillain-Barre Syndrome and within days of hospitalization was totally paralyzed, unable to move any part of my body and couldn’t even lift my head off the pillow. I could only blink my eyes. I had been an all-state track and cross country runner, as well as excelling in other sports. I underwent several weeks of hospitalization, 13 plasmaphoresis treatments, months of rehab, etc. In September 1993, I competed in the Queen City Expo bodybuilding competition and placed 4th! Over the years since, I have competed in half-iron man triathlons, long-distance duathlons , ultra distance cycling, etc. and placed in the top 3 in each and every race. For those currently dealing with GBS, please hang in there and never give up. This is Kim's success story |
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