"i woke up pralyzed"

In January of 2016 , I was 31 years old. I went to bed one evening after my hands developed a sleepy tingly feeling. I figured this was caused from possibly a pinched nerve in my neck, little did I know my life was taking a huge turn for the worse. I woke up the following morning unable to sit up and get out of bed. The lower half of my body was extremely dysfunctional and I was so week it required help just getting to the toilet to use the bathroom. Within about 20 minutes my lower extremities completely quit working. I was transported from my apartment to my vehicle and I was taken to the hospital. The first hospital had no clue what was happening to me. In route to the second hospital I began to panic as I started having trouble breathing. My body was fading fast as I had no function in my legs and my arms were jello up to my shoulders.  At the second hospital I completely went unconscious. I woke up some time later in a room as the hospital staff was cutting my clothes off. Within a matter  of 24 hours I was paralyzed from head to toe.  I begged the ER doctor to put a tube in my throat when I completely stopped breathing. My body was 100% paralyzed including my respiratory system. I lost the ability to regulate my own body temperature causing a fever over 104 degrees that lasted months. They put me in a coma for a few months while burying me in ice blankets to regulate the fever. It took several spinal taps to determine the cause of this life changing experience. Guillain Barre Syndrome was my culprit that seemed determined to kill me. GBS is a really rare auto immune disease that causes paralysis after allowing the body's  immune system to attack the peripheral nervous system. My case was bad enough that my medical providers were shocked by the fact that I even lived. I spent 3 months in an induced coma where they brought me out here and there for brain stimulation. Even though I was in a coma my world outside those hospital walls was crumbling. My girlfriend and mother of my youngest left me, my vehicle was stolen, and my kids were unable to see me for a long time due to the fact that they weren't allowed in the ICU. One of the times I came out of the coma my room was occupied by one of the guys my girlfriend had left me for. Apparently he felt it was necessary to hold a smartphone over my face so I had proof of what she was up too while I was fighting for my life and all I could do was watch and hear the video. Unable to talk or move I couldn't even object to what I was seeing. The place I was in mentally told me he was wasting his time because at this point I didn't even care, I didn't care to do anything but fight to win my battle so I could still be somebody in my children's lives. I was on a ventilator for over half a year and sadly the vent caused bursts in my left lung several times causing collapses that eventually required surgical intervention.  I was 100% paralyzed and unable to talk for about half a year and the hardest part was that my mind was 100% normal. All that time, all I could do was stare at the ceiling and think, think about what was happening, think about what the outcome might be, think about whether or not my children were going to go on with their lives without me, and I deeply thought about every decision I had ever made in my life. At about that half year mark I finally got a little hope when I finally moved my thumbs. Around this same time they had transported me to a respiratory supported physical rehab hospital and the place was horrible. Being understaffed on night shifts it took forever to get help when it was needed. My head moved side to side a little bit therefore my call light was actually a wedge that sat on my pillow that I could activate just by slightly turning my head. One thing I found that was not one bit fun was tube feeding with a slow response time from the staff when I would trigger that call light. Tube feeding causes very bad diarrhea and when this happens its like acid to the skin. I had this occurrence one night and I activated the call light however it took literally hours to get a response and I still couldn't talk so it wasn't like I could yell. Sitting in my own stool for that long caused my skin to breakdown so bad that when the CNA finally cleaned me up the wipes were covered in blood. The pain was excruciating for days until my lung collapsed again and I was transported out to another ICU where they gave to wounds better attention. I had to have lung surgery this time but even going through surgery it was my saving grace to get me away from the neglect I had been experiencing. I slowly, over that summer, got a little movement in my arms but I stopped making gains in August when the movement I had was my wrists, my elbows slightly, my neck and I could slightly move my upper legs, but it all came to a stop. I fell into a horrible depression thinking this was all I was getting for a recovery. Depression took over bad enough that I began to give up on myself to the point of laying in my hospital bed crying because I wanted to kill myself but was physically incapable of taking my own life. They transferred me to the 6th and final facility at 10  months. The staff at that facility had the experience and the resources that changed my entire battle. I had regular counseling sessions that helped me identify new strategies to fight my challenges with. Before I knew it I began developing a sense of positivity that put me in a new position with my fight. I began making gains again. Every milestone I met gave me a new boost. At about 12 months, with the help of 5 therapy professionals, I managed to take my first step in the parallel bars while actually just working on standing to help me transfer from my wheelchair.   A few months later, with a walker , I managed to walk out of the facility that they had carried me into. I was still about 90% wheelchair bound but the feeling of being able to get onto my feet was a whole new feeling of living. I was still paralyzed from the knees down therefore I had to wear braces that go  from just below the knees down and around the feet called AFOs. As a matter of fact I still wear these to this day. I was released from the hospital after being in for nearly a year and a half. I had been in there for so long that I was actually scared to get out. My dad picked me and my power wheelchair up and drove me home. The chances of me being able to ever get out of the wheelchair were in my control, determination was a huge factor. I was scared out of my mind trying to walk at home because of all the "what ifs" that flew through my mind.  Fears of falling, fears of not having my trained medical staff that had been working with me that were, for a long time, just a call light away. I was living with a couple good friends of mine that took amazing care of me but eventually I moved to a neighboring town with a girl I started dating. I felt pretty good knowing I was in the dating world again while in a wheelchair.  However there came a point in time where her and I grew apart as we found ourselves better off as friends. I was then living in a motel that was perfect for my needs for accessibility. One accomplishment that was made was I managed to go through a process that got me my driving privileges back. My legs were working just good enough to operate a brake and gas pedal. There I was able to drive again and living in a motel however disability was continuing to deny me income benefits even though I was still in a wheelchair most of the time. I had to do something to make money to eat and pay for my motel so I utilized being able to use my phone to navigate social media to start advertising for local businesses on Facebook. It wasn't much but it kept me floating until the day a good friend of mine asked me to drive a pilot car for him while they moved a 30ft wide dump truck box down the highway to a local coal mine. I got in that car with confidence that I could be productive with it. I had my wheelchair in the back seat and I was on the road making a little money. I continued helping in the pilot car industry until I ended up starting my own company running with oversized loads all over the United States. My business turned successful and the more I worked the more I regained my walking abilities. Eventually my wheelchair was given away and I graduated to a cane. I never regained anything from the knees down but I was on my feet and loving life. I relearned to walk while out on the road and along with walking I relearned how to play the guitar. The guitar was something I played for over 20 years and it was the one thing I could turn to when life got hard but this experience left me unable to play for a long time. Today I play at least a couple hours a day even though my hands never completely recovered, it truly is a miracle to me that I can even hold a guitar pick let alone play chords. I've learned so much throughout this experience and that is why I developed the site you are currently navigating. My new goals involve inspiring people all over the world to help them find the keys to opening the doorways to their own success and to make it through their challenges. I feel like my life was spared to help make a difference. That is where my determination is focused and I want all of you to know that I appreciate your time and support in getting this out there. Thanks Everyone, and God Bless!!!