Guillain-Barré Syndrome
The diagnoss is Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rapid-onset disease that starts after a viral infection. Sometimes it is also triggered by vaccinations and other autoimmune idiopathies. It is characterized by the demyelination of the peripheral nervous system that leads to motor paralysis.
This was the first time I have encountered a patient with this disease. I was surprised by how fast it progresses. It was pretty painful when the young pediatrician explained to his parents how the paralysis runs from the legs, to the arms and later on to the respiratory system in a few days, and thus the need of intubation for the mechanical ventilator. Rose and Lallaine hid their tears as the doctor discussed how complicated the disease is.
With a simple cold, in a week the 5-year old boy was crippled. He was confined for a week in a medical center nearby. He can no longer wave his hand and can only whisper when he was transferred to the ER where I am currently interning. It was a shame since the boy seems to be healthy and is well taken care off and is really loved by his parents . I rarely use this adjective but, yeah, I think the kid is adorable.
The father asked me how the disease is, so I described a matchstick… I told him how a the flame rapidly extinguises the life out of the little wood; first the legs, them the arms, then the diaphragm, saying that without an immediate intervention, the matchstick will soon snuff off.
23 November 2007 at 5:45 pm
That is scary! I guess there is no cure for that sickness!
Poor kid!
23 November 2007 at 6:54 pm
This is truly a scary disease… So what happens to the little boy?
23 November 2007 at 7:04 pm
aeroz? ikaw ba yan deo? online din ako
23 November 2007 at 7:07 pm
deo musta kayo ni joan? dalaw kayo minsan samin pati kay ruby
24 November 2007 at 6:18 am
the match describes it well.. scary
24 November 2007 at 11:37 pm
this is sad. to see your kid die little by little is unbearable. you know how parents are, how they wish that they be given the illness than see their children live in pain and die.
you have depicted the illness clearly with the lighted match stick.
have noticed a lot of improvements, too, in your posts. keep it up.
25 November 2007 at 2:04 pm
It is both ad and cruel. I hope the little boy recupoerate, just what Wikipedia had read; where there is a wide chance for recuperation as long as pulmonary collapse does not occur. I hope he do regain his functions. I pray.
25 November 2007 at 3:45 pm
GBS, indeed, is scary. The explanation of the pedia will give everyone goosebumps, yet I think I would not handle the look on the child’s parent. Excruciating. But the parents have to be strong or at least show their child that they are strong. At a time like this, prayers come in handy.
This is a very good post, by the way. I give you kudos for this.
The Defender gave you a nice training.
26 November 2007 at 8:49 am
that’s sad. you explained it well with the match.
28 November 2007 at 12:09 pm
My thoughts and prayers are with this little one and his family. Such a terrible disease.
I thank you for share and informing us as you are.
28 November 2007 at 12:24 pm
This is an incredible post, your blog is incredibly interesting, and your patients are fortunate to have you. I am adding you to my blogroll.
http://psychscribe.wordpress.com
28 November 2007 at 1:57 pm
ahhh kawawa naman…I’ll check out the link
28 November 2007 at 10:24 pm
I would like to add clarification to this blog – Guillain-Barre syndrome is a REVERSIBLE neurological disorder that affects the peripheral nerves – those outside the spinal column. As scary as it seems, over 95% of people recover and a great majority can go back to work/school and socialization activities. Additionally, the “treatment” options are not cures – they MAY mitigate symptoms and lessen the duration of the disorder. People recover with or without treatment.
For more information go to the Foundation Web site or call 610-667-0131.
Barbara Katzman
Executive Director
GBS/CIDP Foundation International
29 November 2007 at 12:19 am
The URL for the GBS/CIDP Foundation website is: http://www.gbsfi.com/
29 November 2007 at 11:30 am
Barbara, Thanks for the clarification. It was my bad to forget to mention that.
In fact according to what I have learned in school, the fatality of the disease is only 2-3 percent and that is only because the complications due to poor management of the disease and lack of equipment.
Good luck.
30 November 2007 at 2:14 pm
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4 January 2008 at 3:22 am
I am a survivor of GBS. I had it in 1974. Hospitalized for 10 weeks, intubated and in intensive care for 6 weeks. I was 16 years old. The experience changed my life forever. I did completely recover. I cannot describe what it is like to learn how to breathe, and the anxious moments when the ventilator was turned off to make me breathe on my own. It was the hardest work I’ve ever done. Period.
7 January 2008 at 11:18 am
Darren, that’s.. that’s.. I really do not know what to say.