My journey
It started with strep throat, then moved to Mono, one day I woke up and felt a slight tingling in my hands and feet and didn't feel quite right, so I went to the ER and the Drs ran several tests, but came up with nothing and sent me home, over a 24 hr period my condition got worse and went to the ER 2 more times. On my final trip to the ER, my words were slurring and I couldn't walk or stand on my own. The hospital was gonna send me home again when my mom and grandma insisted the Drs admit me, and that is when they figured out that it was GBS. From there I was put on the IVIG treatment and went in and out of the ICU. Fortunately they caught it before I had to have a Trac tube put in, thank the Lord. But I did have a pic line put in and also a filter for a blood clot that was found in my left leg. After a few days of being on blood thinners, I started to have sever pain in my other leg, that's when then found out I had a subdermal hematoma in my calf. They took me off the blood thinners and my leg returned to normal after a week. This happened all in the first month of being hospitalized. Once I was stable enough to be out of the ICU finally, I started PT and OT. From there I struggled to make progress then was diagnosed with Pneumonia and had to be transfered to a bigger hospital, where I got better, then was introduced to water therapy and my progress really started to take off. I worked hard for the next 3 months and was finally able to take my first step since being diagnosed. It was amazing! I had been so depressed and lost before that, I was ready to give up and nope for the rest of my life, but at 21 I wasn't ready to do that. I picked a date and said I will be out of here before my 22 birthday which happened! I moved home with family and continued to make progress, I eventually got rid of the walker and wheel chair. And was even able to go back to work for a little while.after 6 months of feeling semi normal I found out my boyfriend and I were expecting our first child. At that time I went blind for a few months and was diagnosed with inter-caranial hypertension. (I had too much spinal fluid on my optic nerves) I went months with battling to get my vision back, which finally happened but not to what it was before. I was told it is related to GBS. Since then I had my beautiful baby boy in September of 2011 and now he is almost 6. I currently work 3 days a week at a hotel as a desk clerk, but I struggle with nerve pain and tingling all the time. I also struggle with fatigue, but I push through and thank God I'm alive and cam see my son grow up and hopefully have more children. I wouldn't wish this disease on anyone else.
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