50 years this month

Hi Everyone!

My anniversary is 50 years on Christmas eve. I was 5 years old in 1959. (Now 55). I was not able to walk for almost a year. I was never on a ventilator, if I had needed one, I might not be alive today.

I have fatigue (quite a lot), foot drop and increasing numbnes in my feet. My right foot has become almost totally numb in the last 2 years and I am starting to get numbness in my right hand. I have pain in my left leg.

I have done pretty well, considering there was no treatment available in 1959. I am emotionally still affected. I have anxiety and panic attacks. Sometimes I feel like a really angry 5 year old girl is in charge of my life. She’s not terriby rational either! 😡

I have always been clumsy and have very little strength in my legs.

I was very active in this forum about 8-10 years ago, and was able to reconstruct my GBS experience and figure out some things. All my old posts are gone though.

I think I had campylobactor infection from drinking raw milk. Plus a lot of stress with Mom remarried, moving far away and having a new baby brother.

It has been so very helpful to have this forum, and to read Gareth Perry’s articles on post-GBS effects, people had me believing I was just lazy because I needed to sleep so much and had no energy left after working an 8 hour day. Even at my best level of fitness I could not keep up with other people. I guess the hardest part has been feeling like such a loser most of my life. 🙁 In spite of getting a master’s degree and having a successful career.

Thanks for letting me vent. :rolleyes: Take care!