hospital — Blog — The Chelsie Channel

I wanted to document this crazy experience so I can forever remember it!

Keeping my eyes closed because I felt so dang dizzy when they were open

My life saving IV treatment! $40,000 a bottle 🤪

Well y’all, I officially have medical proof that I am truly one in a million! 💫😅🙌🏻 This past week has been CRAZY.

Last Friday, I woke up with some blurry vision in my right eye and some numbness in my right hand. Nothing too intense and I could still function fairly typically. By the time Monday came around, I had complete double vision in my eyes and could hardly see, numbness in both hands, feet, and face (mainly mouth, lips, tongue and teeth) as well as weakness in my arms and legs where they would randomly give out and could not support my body or things I was carrying. As a mother of 6 young children and their full time primary care giver, this was completely terrifying and worrisome to say the least! We went to the ER on Saturday but after an MRI, CT scan, back x-ray and multiple blood tests we were sent home the same day with no answers but suggestions and fears of possible MS. When we went back on Monday with my condition much worse, we didn’t know what to expect, but I’m here to testify that Gods hands and literal angels on earth got us to the right people and places that day. 🙌🏻

Due to astute medical professionals and friends who helped push things quicker along the way and gave us crucial advice and direction, our local hospital quickly realized they were out of their depth and that I needed to be transferred to hospitals with better resources and a more robust neurology department in Albuquerque. After being life flighted at 2am Tuesday morning (was hoping for a helicopter but got a small plane instead 🥲😉) I made it to Lovelace Hospital around 3am. After more tests (including a 90 minute MRI scan and a lumbar puncture- the long,hot scan was much worse than the spinal I assure you ha ha ) we had a fairly confident diagnosis by a neurologist with 39 years of experience that same evening: Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. It's usually set off by some type of virus. (I was at the tail end of a common cold when it hit.) They don't know what causes it, just that one day my immune system decided to attack itself. To earn my “1 in a million” status, it was determined that I specifically have Miller Fisher Syndrome, a variant of GBS that specifically attacks the eyes, explaining my double vision.

Luckily, there is an amazing 5 day IV treatment they’ve put me on that essentially boosts my immune system and fills it with antibodies and all the good things to help my body recover and reverse my symptoms. Currently I am on my third dose and MIRACULOUSLY my rapidly progressing symptoms are just as rapidly reversing. The numbness in my face and extremities is completely gone. The weakness in my arms and legs is quickly fading and my eyes are so much better! No more double vision 🙌🏻 (although the left eye is still a little blurry.) This has basically stopped all the dizziness and nausea I’ve had since Sunday and today with physical therapy I walked around the hospital floor without a walker just fine and even went up and down the stairs. If things keep going so well I will likely be released Sunday or Monday once my treatment is complete! 😭🙏🏻 It may still take a bit longer after discharge, but I’m expected to make a full recovery. 🙌🏻

I am here to tell you that God is real, and He is so aware of us! Despite the overwhelm and unknown of this last week combined with my daily struggle with anxiety, I have felt so calm and at peace the entire time. I was given a priesthood blessing on Monday and that swiftly swept away any feelings of fear. Each and every medical professional I’ve come into contact with at both hospitals has been so kind, respectful and diligent in taking care of me and searching for the right answers. Our Farmington church family has bent over backwards to take care of us and our children which has been the biggest stress reliever and allowed Kyler to be with me for most of my hospital stay, (he of course has been my rock and steady companion through out it all. 🙌🏻) I miss my children so much but have felt so much comfort knowing that they have been well taken care of and loved on by our amazing New Mexico community. ❤️

We have felt everyone’s prayers and support from those who knew what we were fighting against. (If this is the first time you’re hearing about this, I’m sorry! It was hard to share with many due to how sick using my phone made me with my eyes and Kyler was quite overwhelmed with a million things to coordinate as well as typical work things on top of it all. We love you!)

I truly feel like we’ve been safely in Gods hands this whole week! ❤️🙌🏻 and as strange as it sounds, this insane experience has also been incredible. I am so grateful for the sweet people I’ve met and for the repeated opportunity to share my testimony of Christ and to feel His power and love throughout it all. I’m so grateful for the people around us and in our daily lives who choose to serve and love and bear one another’s burdens. The phrase that’s been at the forefront of my mind throughout this entire experience has been that God is at the helm! I believe it and know it with my whole heart. ❤️

Giddy with excitement about being life flighted! (Spoiler alert, it wasn’t fun ha ha)

Kyler brought me flowers. 💐

My Russian doctor who had 30+ years of experience studying neurology!

Update a few days later after being home from the hospital. Popping in to say hi! I'm home and I'm doing so much better.

All of my muscle function is back, no more

numbness at all, and my eyes can see perfectly clear. I have a bit of eye strain pain which sometimes leads to a migraine in my face, but other than that life is looking good!

I can walk, I can hold my babies, it's simply amazing! * 1 just can not get over the miracle of it all. Most people who have Guillan Barre Syndrome don't get such a quick diagnosis and treatment. Most people initially think it's just a weird virus, and as they wait for it to go away on its own it just gets worse. Some people lose the ability to walk or even breathe on their own. And once you get the treatment, it doesn't just magically fix everything, especially if the condition was able to progress for a long time. It can take people months and even years to relearn how to walk, hold a pencil and write, get up from a chair by themselves etc. The fact that the onset of my symptoms was two weeks ago tomorrow, and I'm almost completely free and clear from any of the effects of GBS is just straight up astonishing. I don't know why I got so lucky. I don't know why my suffering was so minimal when others have to go through so much worse for so much longer. All I know is that this experience showed me so truly and plainly that God sees me, He knows me, and He is aware of us and our struggles. Thank you so much for those who have sent prayers, help, love and service in which ever capacity. Y'all have been so so good to us.

A slew of pictures from the whole experience:

My awesome tech Stemi

Keeping track of my oxygen levels

My favorite nurse Megan. We became fast friends!

My heart rate monitor ha ha thought the little hearts were cute

They took so many vials of my blood every day, I usually don’t care about being poked, but WOW it got so old.

The cute woman who cleaned my room every day. She only spoke Spanish so I was able to have some convos with her and practice my language skills ha ha

My first set of nurses- Javi and Brian! They were a lot of fun

My nurse Archie, he was pretty good too! Once when I was asleep he tried to wake me up to give me medicine and I apparently swung at him ha ha ha cracks me up because he was also HUGE so why did sleepy Chelsie think I could take him on?!

My sweet friend Julie Dahl came to visit! She happened to be in Albuquerque that weekend for a sisters trip!

Most of the hospital food was alright but this salad was SO GOOD!

When I could hardly I see I thought one of the buildings was the Albuquerque temple 😂 once I could see again I laughed myself silly realizing how wrong I was!