A speech therapist - who spent her career helping others find their voices - experienced a cruel twist of fate when she lost her own ability to speak and became paralysed from a rare neurological disease.
Vanessa Abraham, 45, had dedicated over 15 years to helping children overcome speech obstacles when her life transformed in March 2019.
What began as severe flu-like symptoms rapidly progressed to something far more serious when she was soon moved to intensive care as she faced respiratory failure and progressive paralysis.
The mother-of-one found herself in a devastating situation – a speech-language pathologist suddenly unable to communicate verbally.
What began as severe flu-like symptoms rapidly progressed to something far more serious when she was soon moved to intensive care (Stock)
GETTY
"In the ICU, I was unable to move my arm or hold my head up. The neck muscles were so weak that my neck basically fell to the side, and I had to use a neck brace to hold it up," she told the Daily Mail.
Her condition deteriorated rapidly, leaving her unable to move in bed or use the toilet and having to rely on tube feeding.
She eventually needed a tracheostomy to help her breathe while she relied on eye movements, an alphabet board, and text-to-speech apps to communicate.
Despite multiple medical opinions suggesting multiple sclerosis or neuromyelitis optica, Abraham went a full year without a proper diagnosis.
LATEST HEALTH NEWS:
It wasn't until June 2019, when she visited a neurologist at the University of California in San Diego, that she finally got answers.
"That neurologist was able to diagnose me in a few minutes," she explained. "She said she had seen this before in her career and was very confident I had the PCB-Variant of GB."
She was diagnosed with pharyngeal-cervical-brachial variant, a rare form of Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Unlike typical GBS which spreads from feet upwards, her variant progressed from head to feet, making it difficult to identify.
"For my recovery, I took the most natural approaches I could find. I did acupuncture, cranial sacral therapy, chiropractic treatments, endermologie, stretch therapy and lasers," she said.
It wasn't until June 2019, when she visited a neurologist at the University of California in San Diego, that she finally got answers (Stock)
GETTY
She also received monthly infusions of antibodies recommended by her neurologist and, working with another speech pathologist, she slowly relearned how to swallow, speak and move.
"Recovery was awful, long and required a lot of mental health services to address severe depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation," she revealed.
She couldn't drive for nine months or eat for six, and did not work for a year.
Six years after her diagnosis, Abraham continues to struggle with physical and mental challenges.
"I am six years out and still participate in weekly ICU support groups. I am unable to sleep through the night without anxiety attacks - I have insomnia," she said.
Still, in the face of adversity, she now runs a neurological rehab business called A Neu Healing, where she assists patients recovering from neurological impairments.
