A few year back I came down with the Guillain-Barre syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations.
These symptoms most commonly occur in the legs. In many instances the weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body while disease progresses. These symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all. When it is severe the patient could be almost totally paralyzed. In these cases the disorder is life threatening. It is potentially interfering with breathing and, at times, with blood pressure or heart rate. That is why Guillain-Barre syndrome is considered as a medical emergency. Such a patient is often put on a respirator to assist with breathing. Patient should also be watched closely for problems such as an abnormal heart beat, infections, blood clots, and high or low blood pressure. Most patients, recover from even the most severe cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome. However, some patients continue to have a certain degree of weakness.
My experience with Guillain-Barre syndrome started a few weeks before Christmas 2001, I was in NewOrleans at a conference and came down with the flu. I called on the hotel doctor and he prescribed antibiotics and he gave me a injection that he said will get me on the feet quickly ( I wish I remember what he gave me). Next day I was on my feet, back to the conference, still not feeling great but OK. The day after I flew back to Toronto, Canada
(home), had a weekend with my family, during this weekend I started experience some tingling in my limbs, I did not pay too much attention
to it. Monday came around I went to work, the tingling continued in my hands, I had a meeting with my manager and I mention about the odd
tingling in my hands.
Wednesday that week I flew off to Sweden, took my kids with me as we were going to surprise my grandfather on his 90 birthday. During the flight tingling intensified and I start feeling it in my feats as well, I took a few drinks and did not pay more attention. When I came to Stockholm, Sweden I rented a car and drove to my dad's house, the next day was the birthday party I change a got ready to drive down to the part location, odd feeling came through my head, I was think what side off the road should I drive on, I got really confused and had to stop and wait for a car to pass, before I could carry on.
I blocked this though out as a jet lag issue, and did not think any more about it. The party was great, my grandfather was so surprised seeing me and the kids, on the way back to my dad's house I got a grilled chicken from the supermarket, I ate when we got back. During the night I got really sick I had the symptoms of food positioning, diarrhea and vomiting, the whole next day I was back and forth to the bathroom. The muscle pain start developing, my tingling had reach the whole arm and legs, and muscle weakness start increasing. I thought it was all down to the food positioning, was I wrong.
Over the next few days my weakness got worst, the pain in my body increased, especially in my back. I asked one of my sister's if she could find me chiropractic clinic, she found one and we went there I explained my pain in the back and asked for an adjustment. The chiropractor listen to me and said that the adjustment would not help, that there was something else going on, so I left and went back to dads house. There I got weaker and weaker, eventually I asked my sister to take me to the hospital, now have not lived in Sweden for 20 years, the health care system has changed. You had to go to a walk in clinic where they determine if you need to go to a hospital or not, so my sister got me to the walk in clinic, a doctor examined me, he asked me to do a squat, I tried as I fell to the floor.
He immediately reacted and said, I do not know what is wrong with you, but you better get to the hospital, so I went. My sister drove me to the
hospital, in the car I got very emotional fell into tears thought about my kids, what would happen to them, but I got through the worst of my
mini- depression. When we got to the hospital, we went in through the ER, I got examined and they were going to send me to the neurological
clinic but there was no bed available before the next day, so they recommended me to go back to my dad's house.
I went to my dad's house, during the night I woke up not feeling great I was very worried, so I called an ambulance that came and took me to the
hospital, they took me straight up to the neurological department were I was on a gurney to earlier morning, they did a spinal tap in the morning and told me to go a wait tills the doctor was available. I had to wait for several hours before the doctor was available, a few more test was done. Looking back it was as you see watching House, first the doctors has no clue, they eliminate possible illnesses, take some more tests tills they eventually can confirm the diagnostic. In my case it was Guillain Barre Syndrome.
During my stay, they were monitoring my heart beats, I was having high-dose immunoglobulin therapy and exercise moving my legs, the worst thing in my opinion was the daily blood thinning injections to prevent blood cloths. I do not know, but I do not like to get injection in my stomach, it really hearts. After reaching the peak of my illness the recover started, they got me out of bed, I started walking around with a walker. A few times I fell to the floor, as I have to walk with straight legs, as soon as I bent my knee I was on my way down. Towards the end of my stay, I was lobbing the nurses to take me down to the swimming pool, they gave in and I was given a daily swim, being in pool the resistance is much less on your body, and with a floating device you could do leg and body exercise, I was recovering quicker this way.
During this period in hospital, my dad and sisters looked after my two kids, they came everyday to the hospital to visit, this was during the Christmas and New year's period of the year, and the darkest part of the year in Sweden. With Sunrise around 10 AM and sun down at 3 PM, it must have been odd for my kids. My wife flew over from Canada and she stayed for a few days before she and the kids headed back to Toronto Canada. You realize how small the world is, in that my wife knew my doctor they had gone to the same international school in India, actual the doctor had been in my wife sisters class. The other amazing thing with my doctor was that he was working towards his PhD, and his thesis would be on the Guillain Barre Syndrome, you have to be lucky even in a bad situation.
I stayed 5 weeks in the hospital, before they felt I was strong enough to go back home to Toronto, Canada. The hospital arrange with my insurance company to get me back and they paid for me to be accommodated by a person of my choice, I wanted the nurse to go with me, but my dad ended up accommodating me. The day came to leave, the arrange for transportation to the Airport directly from the hospital, but I managed to get the driver to stop at my sisters and grand fathers places, before I took off. The insurance company had the decency to get me business class, so I could have some space, I must have looked like a rag doll to other passenger, thin I lost 20 pounds in hospital, pale and a look of a sick person.
Arriving in Toronto, the insurance company had sent a ambulances to the Airport to pick me up, I went straight from the airport to the hospital. At the hospital they did not know what to do with me, I was sitting in the ER tills a doctor could see me and he said I can not doing anything and sent me home, in his words I was on the re-bounce, so home I went and the next day I set up a appointment with a specialist, I so him and he sent me to physiotherapy. I slowly rebounded, it took 6 months from the time I got sick before I got back to work, my company was very accommodating and supportive during this period.
This episode in life, learnt me a lesson that you cannot take anything for granted, you should be happy with what you have. Today I living a very active life, I commute to work by bicycle (10 Miles one way) and play a lot of sports. From time to time a still experience numbness and tingling in my hands and legs, on occasion I do have muscle weakness as well, but I enjoy what I have and I can live with the symptoms without getting depressed.
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