Jamie Boyle’s Fight With Guillain Barre Syndrome
My name is Jamie Boyle and I have a personal experience with Guillain Barre Syndrome. In fact I’m still recovering from GBS. I am going to share with you my story below. It’s weird how one moment it’s just another day and then the next your life takes a drastic turn literally out of nowhere. Within a matter of hours your life has just changed and there is nothing you can do about it. It can be quite scary for you and your family around you as they sit there and hope that everything is OK. Now here is my story.
The Day My Life Changed Forever
I was at work on August 1st, 2019 enjoying my new job working at Royal Bank as a Banking Advisor. When all of a sudden I started feeling weakness in my hands, heaviness and numbness in my feet, legs and arms. My legs felt like they weighed a couple hundred pounds a piece therefore I went to the hospital. I was quickly admitted to trauma and continued losing feeling until I couldn’t even breathe on my own.
Guillain Barre Syndrome A Rare Autoimmune Disease Affecting The Nerves
On the second day they diagnosed me with Guillan Barre syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease in which your body’s immune system attacks your nerves. For example the hospital sees maybe 1 case a year, with very little research as to what causes it. After that I was intubated and placed into a coma. So for the next 10 days, my family watched me as I lie there in a coma hoping things would get better. My family heard from multiple doctors that with the severity of my case, the chance of myself making a full recovery was very slim.
Guillain Barre Syndrome Paralyzed Me
When I awoke, I was completely paralyzed head to toe and was on breathing tubes. For the next 60 days I was in intensive care and encountered many complications along the way. I endured lots of pain along the way including pneumonia and infections. 4 rounds of treatment for Guillain Barre, countless tests, injections and the feeling that my body was on fire. My entire body had to be covered in cold face cloths. As a result the nurses even used ice at times due to this.
A Long Road Ahead
After over 2 months in ICU, I was transferred to the Stan Cassidy rehabilitation centre in Fredericton. They will work towards regaining the ability to do everyday tasks that we take for granted. Learning to walk again, feeding myself, picking up a cell phone to make that call or text to name a few. In other words, basically just regaining mobility.
Healing Will Be Slow
In addition the nerves heal at a rate of 1mm per day and being 6’4” tall it will take a while. Therefore healing will be very slow with months of rehabilitation ahead of me. Meanwhile I was 20 days short of getting long term disability from my insurance through work. As a result has left me with no income.
Message From My Family
We’re hoping to keep his spirits up which is imperative for his recovery. Therefore we’re trying to take care of some of his worries for him for bills and equipment that will be needed. So any help would be greatly appreciated. Therefore let’s show Jamie we care and we’re all wishing him a fast recovery.
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To learn more about Jamie Boyle Fight With Guillain Barre Syndrome – GBS right from the beginning read his blog starting with The Day Guillain Barre Syndrome Changed My Life Forever!