5 Years and a Day….The battle with GBS, God’s Grace, and never giving up.

The Last Thing I Remembered 

On April 19, 2016 at approximately 6 PM, a ventilator was installed, just short of 24 hours after the onset of the illness. 

At this time I had no body function control, was completely paralyzed and could not move a muscle except I could move my eyes up and down if someone held my eyelids open.

One of the last things I remember before they sedated me to put the ventilator in was a Deacon from moms church. This Deacon had just lost his son to an automobile accident a few months before. I remember him looking at me as he took a bottle of anointing oil out of his shirt pocket and stated, we need to pray and we need to pray right now. I remember very little after that for the next month.

Guillain-Barre syndrome 

GBS as we now call it,  is a rare disorder in which your body's immune system attacks your nerves. Weakness and tingling in your extremities are usually the first symptoms.

These sensations can quickly spread, eventually paralyzing your whole body. Guillain-Barre syndrome often begins with tingling and weakness starting in your feet and legs and spreading to your upper body and arms. In about 10% of people with the disorder, symptoms begin in the arms or face. As Guillain-Barre syndrome progresses, muscle weakness can evolve into paralysis.

In my case, the entire syndrome took my body within 24 hours. 

The days that follow

I spent seven days in a local hospital and received an initial round of plasmapheresis treatment.

I was transferred to the university of Kentucky medical center in critical condition where I spent 17 days in the intensive care unit. I received a round of IVIG treatments while there.

I was then transferred to Select Hospital where I remained until mid November 2016. While at Select, I was told I would never get off of the ventilator, would never get off of the feeding tube and would never have any activity from the waist down.

11 months and two weeks

I was transferred from Select specialty hospital to Kingsbrook, a rehab center. In Ashland Kentucky. It took me seven months to get off of the ventilator and eight months to get off of the feeding tube. I am still in the wheelchair but I can walk for short distances with the assistance of crutches or a walker.

I was released from Kingsbrook on the last day of March 2017. It had been 11 months and two weeks since I had spent a night in my home.

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