In 2011, Holly Gerlock was 26 years old and had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Casey. Just a few weeks after Casey was born, Holly began experiencing numbness and tingling in her finger.
That same day, she began feeling weak, had a hard time lifting her legs and experienced severe pain in her neck. Then when I stood to feed my daughter in the middle of the night, I collapsed to the floor, explained Holly. I ended up going to the Er thinking it was a pinched nerve.
The Er doctor called for a neurologist, and the symptoms were recognized by the neurologist right away. He immediately suspected Guillainbarre syndrome. I didn’t get a confirmed diagnosis until the spinal tap came back about 12 hours later, but after only a few hours in the hospital, they were certain it was GBS. My case came on very fast and severe, and I was completely paralyzed in the ICU after 72 hours. That was helpful in diagnosing me, Holly said.
When the doctors told Holly she had GBS, her initial thought was whatever this was because I had never heard of GBS before, it would be mild and I would get through it. I was naive. I had no idea what was about to come. But Holly learned rather quickly what GBS was all about. When you have GBS, your own body attacks the peripheral nervous system paralyzing your body.
I often describe GBS as a cousin to multiple sclerosis, except that it’s a one time attack and you do get better, she noted. As doctors explained to Holly, there could be varying degrees of GBS. They warned me that I could have a severe case and that I would need to learn to walk again. At first, I didn’t believe that my case would be severe. But once I was in ICU and I realized I was not getting better anytime soon, I began to question whether I ever would.
The doctors said I would get better, but I found it hard to believe the severe impact of this disease shortly after the birth of her first baby was a traumatic experience for Holly. It was a tragedy, Holly noted. I barely got to know my daughter before my life was taken away. Being in the ICU for three months, although she was there with me every day, was devastating. I was angry and depressed for a very long time, but she was my Guardian Angel.
She was the light for our family during such a dark time. In total, Holly spent ten weeks in the ICU, six weeks in the neurology Ward and three weeks in a rehabilitation hospital. She did get better, but it took a lot of hard work for Holly to regain her physical strength. I had to strengthen the muscles in every part of my body, she recalled. The first thing I had to do was learn to breathe on my own and get off life support.
I spent mere seconds, then minutes, then hours practicing off the ventilator and it took several weeks of practice to finally be strong enough to come off it. It was the most difficult thing I had ever experienced and it felt like running a marathon every single day.
Holly said she then worked on lifting her toes and fingers up and down, lifting her arms and legs and pushing against her therapist’s hands. I practiced my fine motor skills by buttoning shirts and opening closed pins. I strengthened my hands by using putty and my legs by using a pedal bike at the edge of my hospital bed.
Once I was strong enough to get out of bed after three months, I did full body workouts and practiced walking every single day to strengthen my legs, said Holly. Learning to walk again was a challenge for Holly but worth the pain.
I am fortunate that I made a complete recovery when Holly was able to finally return home. Her daughter Casey was six months old. At first I was very angry that I was robbed of that time with my daughter, but over time I saw that it only strengthened my love for her, Holly said.
Going through what I did, it taught me the importance of family. It reminded me to live my life to the fullest and to never take the small things for granted. After overcoming GBS, Holly discovered a love of fitness. Through my time in rehab, I saw all the benefits that activity had on my body and I became a fitness fanatic. Going to the gym is a lifestyle for me now and I am stronger than I ever was before.
Gbs Holly’s other great passion is to help others on their GBS journey. In fact, Holly has written a book about her experience titled Happily Ever After, My Journey with Guillainbarre Syndrome and How I Got My Life Back. I wrote my book, started my website and connected with people all around the world.
I want to share my story because I never want anyone going through GBS to feel alone or like they will never get better. She also wants to bring more awareness to GBS and the horror that it is.
That’s it for today, Thanks for reading.