Guillain-Barre Syndrome

FIL can now walk much better. Acutally he is very lucky that he was diagnosed quickly. As I wrote earlier it all started with tingling sensation on his legs and later general weakness in his legs. This is when the doctor told him that it was due to lack of calcium. His blood was gven for testing and he started using the walker to walk around. It was only when he fell down even with the walker that the seriousness of the situation was realized. He was immediately hospitalised and was in the ICU, under observation. Dr. Madhusudan was not available but the junior doctors were able to have consultations over the phone. They decided not to wait but go ahead with the treatment and this was the best decision. By then he was losing the sensation on his hands too.

Now we hear from many regarding this syndrome and there were unlucky ones who were not diagnosed soon enough. There was one person (50 yrs old) who was supposed to leave Kuwait for good to enjoy his retired life. It started with his hands and he did the usual treatments available but soon he was confined to the wheel chair and he left Kuwait in a wheel chair. By the time he was diagnosed the disease had taken its toll and he died.

This illness can occur at any age and it usually starts of with a normal cold or fever.

Guillain-Barre syndrome

My FIL was suffering from Guillain-Barre syndrome which is an uncommon inflammatory disorder in which your body's immune system attacks your nerves, typically causing severe weakness and numbness that usually starts in your extremities and quickly worsens. Eventually your whole body can become paralyzed, even the muscles used for breathing.
There's no cure for Guillain-Barre syndrome. But two treatments have been shown to speed the recovery from and reduce the severity of the disorder:

 Plasmapheresis. This treatment — also known as plasma exchange — is a type of "blood cleansing" in which damaging antibodies are removed from your blood. Plasmapheresis consists of removing the liquid portion of your blood (plasma) and separating it from the actual blood cells. The blood cells are then put back into your body, which manufactures more plasma to make up for what was removed. It's not clear why this treatment works, but scientists believe that plasmapheresis rids plasma of certain antibodies that contribute to the immune system attack on the peripheral nerves.

 Intravenous immunoglobulin. Immunoglobulin contains healthy antibodies from blood donors. High doses of immunoglobulin can block the damaging antibodies that may contribute to Guillain-Barre syndrome.

FIL was given the second one and it brought back the use of his hands and the sensation to his legs. He was discharged on 1st December and by God’s grace was able to greet the new year from his home. Hubby and his brother took turns to look after him but his brother had to leave early. A wheel chair, a walker etc has been purchased and we were lucky to get a good home nurse too.

Pray that his recovery is complete by the physiotherapy.

An update

My FIL is getting better and may be shifted to the ward in a day or two. It was some sort of Syndrome affecting the veins. Since the doctors started the treatment early it did not spread. It started with his legs when he was diagnosed by another doctor (different hospital) as lack of calcium. He was using a “Walker” to walk around. But then his legs started giving away and he fell down. This made them admit him in the ICU. By God’s grace they started the treatment immediately, on advice from Dr. Madhusudan with some Chinese medicine which is very expensive.

When we enquired with a Nuerosurgeon here in Kuwait he was of the opinion that this is a good medicine and that most such medicines come from either China or Korea. The company name is Hualan Biological Engineering Inc.

If they hadn’t started the treatment in time, he would have been paralysed completely. They say the infection could have started after a normal fever.

Thanks for all the wishes and prayers.