Reply To: Hope

A need for a ventilator and a tracheostomy is not unusual in the most serious cases of GBS, which this is. The good news is that there is definitely hope for recovery from even extreme cases of GBS. It is much too early to say how complete a recovery she will make, but she will certainly make some. Recovery will take a long time, however, up to a few years. I did not require a ventilator or tracheostomy, but was paralysed below the neck for a few weeks. Today, two years later, I walk without assistive devices.

I suggest you get a copy of “GBS — from diagnosis to recovery” by Parry and Steinberg. It explains much of what you need to know.