D-Day (Diagnosis Day) came on Thursday 29th August, when, armed with my Lumbar Puncture results the medical consultant informed me that it was "highly likely" I had Guillain Barre Syndrome and that they wanted to transfer me to a neurology ward at Hope Hospital where I could be observed, and if necessary, given treatment in the form of Immunoglobulins.
I called everyone who needed to know to notify them of the news and tried to prepare myself mentally for a longer stay in hospital. Then after lunch I was seen by one of the neurology consultants from Hope, who after reviewing me, and my LP results decided that all things considered I may not need to be an inpatient after all. By that point it had been 3 weeks and 1 day since my symptoms had first presented, and I'd been stable, with no worsening of my symptoms, for a few days. He wasn't keen to treat me with Immunoglobulins as they're most effective if used soon after symptoms begin, and at that point were unlikely to affect my long term outcomes. He asked how I felt about going home. I could have kissed his shiny bald head but settled instead for "I'd love to" and he said I could so long as I agreed to come back if I deteriorated (obviously) and that I'd need to be seen as an outpatient in clinic in 6-8 weeks time.
So, just as they'd sorted out my transport to Hope it was cancelled and they started my discharge paperwork instead.
Coming home was surreal. Everything was the same but I wasn't. So there I'd been, in hospital thinking I was actually doing pretty well, mobilising around my little side room and suddenly at home I discovered I could barely make it off the sofa (too low and squishy) and don't even get me started on stairs. Bungalow living is the future, I'm telling you.
I think I cried every day of my first week back home. Everything was so much harder compared to in hospital, and the shock of how much I'd deteriorated without knowing and how little I could really do was hard to bear. I also couldn't, and still to a certain extent haven't, really come to terms with my diagnosis. So much about my clinical presentation didn't quite fit GBS (which is why I suppose they kept me a week before doing an LP) that when I was discharged I kept thinking "What if they're wrong?"
In case you're wondering, googling doesn't come up with anything reassuring at all, the top 3 internet diagnoses for my symptoms are Multiple Sclerosis, Guillain Barre Syndrome and Parkinsons. So out of the three I seem to have the best possible outcome (although also the rarest).
It's now been exactly three weeks since I was discharged and just over six weeks since that morning I woke up with "a dead leg".
In six weeks I have gone from being an independent, self-caring 28 year old, working part time, raising two young children, doing (let's be honest) the majority of the housework, walking, driving, swimming, hell even occasionally running, to...this. The new, hopefully temporary, version of myself.
I can walk. Not well, not fast and not very far but I can do it. I can just about dress myself, it takes time and I can't fasten my own bra but since I rarely leave the house that isn't as big a problem as you might think. I can shower myself but I can't wash, dry or straighten my own hair, or even tie it in a bobble some days. I can get in the bath but not out of it. I can make myself a drink although I need both hands to pour the kettle and I wouldn't exactly say it's safe. I can make a sandwich. I can put clothes in the washing machine and take them out again. I can just about dress my children although only if they're co-operative (ha!) and even then it takes a while and socks are a massive challenge. I can change a nappy, just about.
I struggle with stairs. They're a necessary part of my everyday life but also the bane of my existence. I have to have both hands free, and I have to go one step at a time. I fell down the bottom half of the stairs last week as one of my legs just randomly gave way and it was terrifying (and painful).
I can't work (obviously) I can't cook, or clean, or take my children out on my own. I can't drive, or swim. I doubt I'll ever run again.
I feel like a lot of the things that make me who I am (being a busy young Mum, working nights, getting out and about most days, being independent etc) are no longer true, in which case, what is left? Who the hell is this person who need someone to open packets for her, and wash her hair and put on her shoes? I have no idea.
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