From paralysis to purpose: My journey surviving Guillain-Barré Syndrome
I was once what you might call a vegetable. From my neck down, nothing worked. I couldn’t brush my teeth, feed myself, or even scratch an itch. My mum had to do everything for me — and for years, I was trapped in my own body, carried around by my brothers from one place to another.
This was my life with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare condition where the immune system turns against the nerves, causing muscle weakness and sometimes complete paralysis.
It all started in my final year of secondary school. I woke up one morning with a sharp pain in my lower back. At first, I thought it was ordinary muscle strain. But within days, the pain gave way to strange sensations in my legs — and before I could make sense of it, I could no longer stand.
Soon, my arms followed. I remember waking up one morning and asking my mum where my hands were because I could no longer feel them. That was when the doctors diagnosed me with Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
According to the World Health Organisation, the condition is rare but can progress rapidly, sometimes leading to respiratory failure. Most people eventually recover, but the journey can be long and challenging.
A brush with death
At one point, I genuinely thought I was going to die. I woke up gasping for air and was told the hospital had run out of oxygen. Six doctors stood by my bed, helpless, as I struggled to breathe.
By what I can only call divine intervention, I survived that day. It was a turning point, but not the end of the struggle. Recovery took years of learning how to eat again, sit again, and write again. I spilled food before it reached my mouth, my handwriting looked like a child’s, and I had to celebrate tiny milestones that others take for granted.
The untold struggles of rare conditions
My experience opened my eyes to how little awareness exists around rare conditions. Before I was diagnosed, I had never heard of Guillain-Barré Syndrome — and yet it nearly took my life.
And GBS isn’t the only one. Conditions like Williams Syndrome, for example, often go unnoticed in everyday conversations, even though many people live with its challenges. Some well-known figures have even used their platforms to raise awareness about it.
Sharing stories like these matters because it reminds those living with rare conditions that they are not invisible.
Choosing hope
Being housebound for nearly three years could have broken me. Instead, I chose to use the time to grow. I read books, studied, and leaned on my faith. Every day, I reminded myself that my story wasn’t over.
Today, I am walking proof that recovery is possible. My life may not look exactly as I once imagined, but it is filled with purpose — and a desire to encourage others never to give up, no matter how hopeless things may seem.
A final word
If you’re reading this and going through your own battle — whether with illness, loss, or disappointment — hold on. As long as you have life, you have hope. Tomorrow may just hold the breakthrough you’ve been waiting for.