Updates on Kathy

Hello, ladies,

As you heard at last week’s meeting, one of our dear members, Kathy is having some huge health struggles.  We wanted to pass along updates that her husband has posted on Facebook.

 The neurologist has settled on a diagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS, pronounced “gee-on baray”) for Kathy. It’s an autoimmune disorder that is thought to be triggered by some kind of viral or bacterial infection. The prognosis for full recovery is very good – most patients recover fully in a matter of a few days to weeks. She didn’t exhibit all the classical effects early on, but the results of her tests and elimination of other possibilities has resulted in this diagnosis. In her case, it was caught before it affected her breathing too much; it affected her arms the most (she still has no normal reflexes in her arms); it was starting to affect her throat and her legs. They are starting her today  on immunoglobulin therapy (IV infusions). She has a bad headache today from everything (spinal tap, lots of nerve/muscle tests), so she is resting a lot today. She will most likely be staying in the hospital for a few more days while they monitor the effects of the treatment.

From Sunday:

Kathy is responding very well to her treatment. Her numbness in her arms is starting to go away, and her grip and coordination has improved greatly in the past 2 days. She still has a way to go, but the rapid improvement immediately after treatment started Friday evening is a very good sign.

Looking at a release date of maybe Wednesday.

Praise God that she is getting the treatment that she needs!

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