Name: Randall Hall
Age: 37
Location: Birmingham, AL
Date Diagnosed: 04/11/2017
Symptoms: Classic with Secondary Axonal Damage
Trigger: Unknown
Variant: AIDP
Treatments: IVIG, Plasmapheresis, Tracheotomy, Feeding Tube, etc.
Contact: randallwesleyhall@yahoo.com
My Story:
My name is Randall Hall and I am 37 years old. I live in Alabama with my wife and our three children (ages 8, 4, and 2). I was a corporate attorney in Birmingham for nearly a decade, but I worked long hours and did not find litigation suited me. Therefore, I became an English teacher at an inner-city high school where I loved helping my bright, resilient students. I had a fun and fulfilling life. Then, everything changed…
I was coaching an unruly pack of under-4 girl soccer players when I first felt it. It was a slight “pins and needles” feeling in the big toe of my right foot. It was such a small sensation that I didn't think much of it. In fact, I just ignored it and kept on running and cheering on my team (we didn’t fare too well that day). By the end of the game though, the feeling enveloped both my feet. I started to get a little concerned, but I still didn’t tell anyone. I figured it would pass.
Of course, it did not pass. In fact, it still has not passed. Luckily for me though, the “pins and needles” feeling is one of the last remnants of GBS in my body. It continues to serve as a reminder of what I almost lost and - more importantly - what I gained over my GBS journey. I firmly believe that my illness has made me healthier both physically and mentally. Despite the intense pain GBS caused my family and myself, I am grateful it struck me down!
But before I tell you about everything I gained, let me first take you back to what happened in my “unique” case. I emphasize the word “unique” because it is important to remember that our bodies are all different. I do not want anyone to read this story and assume that their case will unfold the same way. One doctor told me “we are all snowflakes” whenever I asked him to compare me to other GBS cases, and I encourage you to remember that as you read.
The soccer game I described above was on Sunday, April 9, 2017. The next day, I went to both an ER and my physician. Both failed to catch my GBS. I went back to the ER that night as my paralysis was ascending. Once again, they did not correctly diagnose me. In fact, they told my wife “it is all in his head” and sent me home with a prescription for Xanax. I woke up on Tuesday and was barely able to move. I went to another ER who finally admitted me.
By this point, I had difficulty breathing and almost full body paralysis. I was diagnosed with classic GBS with secondary axonal damage. My breathing problems necessitated immediate intubation and later a tracheostomy and the use of a ventilator. My initial course of treatment was intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG). It did not work though, so plasmapheresis was ordered. After seven plasmapheresis treatments, I underwent many more IVIG infusions.
04/22/2017 Devastated by GBS
I was in the ICU for six weeks. During most of this time, I was “locked-in” my body and under the influence of huge amounts of painkillers and other drugs. Since I could not communicate with others, my brain retreated inward. I quickly lost my circadian rhythm and began to suffer from ICU psychosis. My psychological suffering was soon as severe as my physical suffering as I was subject to hellish hallucinations and depraved delusions. I almost gave up hope.
05/09/2017 Still Locked-In
Throughout this time, my wife also felt as if she was going through hell. Although family and friends stepped up to help her with meals and childcare, she still had to make all of my medical decisions while working full time. I could hear the anguish and uncertainty in her voice each night when she would whisper “you are going to be OK” in my ear. She had to watch as I was stripped down to nothing. I cannot imagine how scared she must have been during this time.
To make matters worse, I was hit by back-to-back pneumonias while in the ICU. These illnesses ravaged my already reeling lungs. Despite routine suctioning of my secretions, I suffered from several severe mucus plugs, each of which required a bronchoscopy to be performed. During one such procedure, I even suffered from acute hypoxemia and cardiac arrest. Fortunately, a barrage of respiratory treatments eventually helped my lungs heal.
After my nightmarish stay in the ICU, I was moved to a neurosciences special care unit at the hospital. It was there that I was weaned off the vent and started participating in physical and occupational therapy. I regained movement in my neck first, then my hands and arms shortly after. I was even more overjoyed though when I discovered I could talk again. Being able to communicate helped me drown out my delusions and finally reconnect with my wife and family.
05/22/2017 Sitting Up
Unfortunately though, I was still suffering from intense nerve pain, and I could not move my legs or feet at all. Moreover, I could not drink or eat due to swallowing problems. I knew my rehabilitation journey would be long and arduous, and I wanted to receive treatment from doctors and therapists who were experts on my condition. Therefore, after three weeks in the special care unit, I decided to transfer to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta for further treatment.
05/27/2017 Writing Wife's Anniversary Card with My Mouth
I spent the next three months at Shepherd (two in its inpatient hospital and one in its live-in day program). Shepherd was a terrific place to get better both physically and mentally. With the help of my speech therapist, I quickly regained the ability to eat and drink. My physical and occupational therapists pushed me to work hard every day to regain movement and function. Finally, my “mental” therapists helped my wife and I cope with my illness and its fallout.
06/2017 Shepherd Center
07/04/2017 4th of July with Family at Shepherd
08/2017 Bicycling at Shepherd
08/2017 Bowling at Shepherd
On September 1, 2017 (less than 5 months since I was diagnosed with GBS), I walked out of the Shepherd Center (with the assistance of only AFOs), and I finally headed home. I went back to Birmingham with my wife and three children, and I continued rehab at the Lakeshore Foundation. Although I still suffered from severe nerve pain and unflagging fatigue on a daily basis, I considered myself fortunate though as many other GBS survivors have far worse residual problems. Moreover, I decided it was time to celebrate life with family and friends who I had almost lost.
Five months of “celebrating life” too heartily though created new health problems for me. It had been ten months since GBS had stripped my body of strength. My muscles had severely atrophied, my lungs couldn’t carry me up two flights of stairs, and - even worse - I had lost the huge wave of motivation that had helped me beat GBS in the first place. I had ballooned to over 180 lbs. I was clearly consuming WAY too much considering my weakened physical state.
I knew I needed a total body reset, and it just seemed like serendipity that the 60 Day Challenge at my Life Time gym was starting two months before the one-year anniversary of my GBS diagnosis. Thus, I signed up and decided to dedicate myself to following the program precisely as it was designed. I utilized all the 60 Day Challenge’s wonderful resources, especially the arsenal of easy-to-individualize workouts and the wealth of healthy recipes. Then, the results rolled in.
Over the 60 days of the Challenge, I lost more than 25 lbs and nearly one-third of my total body fat. Since the Challenge ended, I have been working hard to maintain the improved nutrition and exercise programs that it helped me develop. I feel confident that I will be able to sustain my success. It is hard to believe, but it has been almost exactly one year since my diagnosis. I still have some nerve pain and fatigue, but I am so blessed to feel healthier mentally and physically than I have in my entire life.
04/07/2018 Progress Pic from 60 Day Challenge
I am so grateful for the incredible physical and spiritual support I have received and continue to receive from my family, friends, and school and church communities. My family and I have been shown more generosity than we ever could have imagined when I first fell ill. In addition, my doctors, nurses, and therapists at UAB, Shepherd, and Lakeshore have created an ideal atmosphere for healing both my body and my mind. I am forever indebted to all of them.
If you would like to watch a short music video about my GBS journey so far, you can copy and paste this link (https://youtu.be/6JZE5UcHLd4) into your browser. If you want to see a cheesy “Rocky-style” training montage I made (and why wouldn’t you?), here you go (https://youtu.be/rCKXc-Fr6lU). If you would like to see a speech I made at a local school about my battle with GBS, you can find that on YouTube as well (https://youtu.be/B2MR1PitrpU). Also, if you would like to ask me ANY questions about my GBS journey (or your own), please do not hesitate to contact me at randallwesleyhall@yahoo.com.
In closing, I want to say that although GBS is an insidious and devastating disease, it is no match for the will of a positive and persevering person.
Thank you for reading my story!
