Figuring out that it was GBS.

Figuring out that GBS was the problem took several months.  When my husband started having issues, we didn't know what was going on.  

How it started

Looking back, we think his disease was triggered when he had a bad virus of some kind.  My usually hard-working husband, the one who never took a day off, was too sick to go to work.  He had a severe headache and was running a fever over 101 for several days.  We thought it was just the flu or something and that he'd be better in a couple of days.  

Was it a virus?

When he didn't get better, we went to the emergency room.  The first time, they did a head CT, looking for meningitis and other stuff like that.  When it didn't show anything, they sent him home.  

We went back a week later.  Same symptoms.  This time, they did nothing but watch him.  We're not entirely sure they believed he was still having problems.  After a few hours, they sent us home again.

But he wasn't any better.  As a matter of fact, he was getting weaker.  His walking took much more effort and he had trouble coordinating his steps.  We contacted his primary doctor, who saw us another week and a half later.  By this time, my husband would fall for no apparent reason and could only get up and down the stairs by pulling himself up with the rail.

Why couldn't my husband walk normally?

We set up an appointment with the neurologist, who took two more weeks to see him.  They wanted to do some nerve testing and MRIs, which needed insurance approval and then time availability.  Of course, they found nothing.

We then went to a spine surgeon.  They wanted more MRIs.  This took more time and still showed nothing.

By this time, my husband could only walk using a wheeled walker.  And even then, he'd just lose his strength and melt to the ground, unable to stop it.  

That evening, I called the neurologist and begged for an appointment.  They were able to see him the next day but STILL found nothing.  They said they could do more tests, but it would take a couple more weeks to get insurance approval.  Worried that things would continue to get worse, we decided to go to the ER for the third time.  

Gettings some answers

Finally, we found a doctor who swore to find something.  A healthy man who does a physical job doesn't just go to only walking by using a walker without a reason.  

Among other things, the doctor did a spinal tap.  And that did it.  The protein in the fluid was extremely high, indicating a disease called Guillain-Barre Syndrome, or GBS for short.

Almost 3 months later, we finally had a working diagnosis. We didn't understand it, but we could learn about it. In the meantime, my husband got so weak that he couldn't work.  But now, at least maybe he could start getting better.