Truth of Diagnosis... FINALLY!

I had a doctors appointment yesterday which set me on a whole realm trip of emotions... from shocked to relieved to infuriated to distraught to grateful to angry again and all back through. Because of the whirlwind emotions I thought it best to wait until today to write about it although, in all honesty, what I really wanted to do after hearing the news was to fling a bunch of hateful words in upset. Today I feel a little clearer and so I wanted to share with all of my family and friends who have stuck by me through this rough, LONG two years and four months of struggle with Peripheral Neuropathy which it turns out is not Peripheral Neuropathy, at all!

Yep, because my original test results and diagnosis, from when I was in the hospital and newly paralyzed, had mistakenly not been forwarded to the doctors who took over my case... it was missed that I had been positively diagnosed with having Guillain Barré Syndrome. My own family doctor only found the results after digging back to consult with a third Neurologist I am now waiting to see. The neurologist in Hamilton I travelled to see had also diagnosed me with Guillain Barré after I was back home and my test results had been sent to her so technically I had two confirmed diagnoses that just weren't shared with me. To say I was pissed off was an understatement when I found out yesterday but I'm just thankful to finally have an answer and a name for the disease that has taken so much of life from me for this past while.

It's hard to say where I would be in my healing today if there haden't been a diagnosis screw-up. Had they started the IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) treatments immediately, who knows, I could already be skating again right now! However, I do know that mistakes happen and I can't let myself dwell on the 'oh wells or what ifs' and I just have to keep plugging through until the Guillain Barré Syndrome finally releases me back to living fully.

There are good things that have come of finally having a proper diagnosis... I won't have to continue to go through annoying and painful testing in trying to find the cause of my symptoms. I don't have to keep telling anyone who asks that "some wonky virus just paralyzed my legs but we don't know what it was" and we can also stop waiting for the what was expected MS to finally show. Probably the best news is that most cases enjoy a FULL and COMPLETE recovery even though it can take many years to get completely through. That I'm going to have to change all my blog posts from PN to GBS... well, that's not going to be so great! ;)

Anyhow, I appreciate you all, more than you will ever know... I doubt I could have made it this far without every one of you backing me. It's a pretty incredible gift to have friends and family who will accept and understand even when there seem to be no answers. But... to finally have an answer, well, a whole world of fear has just been turned again to be full of promise! My REAL 100% is totally on the for reals horizon now!