Fall 2000 newsletter

[FONT=”Comic Sans MS”][SIZE=”2″]Bonnie.
Here is an excerpt from the Foundation’s 2000 Fall Newletter.
May I suggest you print out the whole article and take it with you to the hearing?
The archives are full of articles like this, so browse them and see if you come up with anything significant to your case.
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Disability After “Recovery” From GBS
Kleopas A. Kleopa, M.D., Neuromuscular Fellow
Mark J. Brown, M.D., Professor Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is the most common cause of acute neuromuscular paralysis in developed countries. Most patients recover and return to productive independent lives. In a recent representative survey of 140 GBS patients, 70% made a complete neurological recovery within a year, 22% could walk but were unable to run, 8% were unable to walk unaided, and 2% remained bedridden or ventilator-dependent after a year. Thus, despite the good prognosis for recovery, GBS can cause long-term disability. Persisting disability is largely the result of weakness from the motor nerve injury that occurred during the acute illness. An estimated 25,000 to 50,000 persons in the United States alone are experiencing residual effects from the disease. Most research on GBS has focused on understanding the cause and fending better treatments. Much less attention has been paid to the long-term disability caused by GBS. In addition to the previously mentioned residual weakness, there may be pain, fatigue, psychosocial dysfunction, possible relapses of the illness, and late progression of weakness.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Just as an aside, although I don’t have personal experience of your case, I have several friends who have told me that one you add an attorney into the appeal, it’s a done deal and you’ll be approved.
Hope thois helps.
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