Reply To: Rare situation of severe GBS case

Hi Lauren,
my mom (73) was admitted to the hospital with GBS on december 1st, put on a respirator on december 3rd, and in a coma for a week after that. Today is day 257 in the hospital. She went to rehab on May 1st, but has been back to the hospital 3 times. In May, so after 4 months, she had a (very) limited range of motion in her hands, nothing in her legs. A month and a half ago, so after 7 months, she was admitted again to the ICU (because she’s still on the respirator) and only then did we first notice tiny movements in her toes. By now, she can wiggle her toes a little bit, and move her feet and knees a few millimeters.
Of course, mom is a lot older than your brother, which explains the slow recovery, but I wanted to let you know that even after many months (research says even after more than a year) recovery is still possible.
Last week, my mom was taken off the ventilator for the first time, for 30 minutes; she has now improved to be able to do that for an hour, twice a day. And last thursday, she was able to eat something for the first time 😀 😀 😀 This is a horrible disease, but the worst part for patient and family is that you need an insane amount of patience. Please hold on – he WILL recover from GBS.