Hello

In 2018 I won the lottery of sorts. Not the Mega Jackpot, but that of a very rare and nearly fatal illness. I was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome which is an auto immune disorder that attacks the nervous system. There are varying degrees of this disorder, some patients experience mild symptoms and could be home within a week, whereas others could become paralyzed and eventually must learn to walk and talk again. My Neurologist confirmed that my case was the worst he had ever seen in his 23 years of practicing medicine. I was 43 at the time of the diagnosis and in peak physical health, running, biking, and bench-pressing weights up to 375lbs. I am relaying this to you, not to brag but to say I had no underlying co-morbidities. The day I went to the hospital, I was experiencing cold and flu like symptoms, but knew something was off when my feet started to tingle and become numb. As I was a stubborn egotistical male, I thought I would wait and just ride it out. When I tried to get up, I had no feeling in my legs and called my dad. Once admitted, they administered a spinal tap and that is all I can consciously remember. After 4 hours of being admitted, they rushed me to Oshawa hospital and was transferred to ICU after going into respiratory failure. They put me into a medically induced coma, and when I awoke some 9 days later and started to regain some cognitive faculties, it was then I realized I was a quadriplegic. I had no movement from my forehead to my toes, and I could not speak. Communication for me became a series of blinks for yes and no. The pain was horrific, as GBS attacks the nervous system and although it destroys the sheathing surrounding the nerve, I could still feel sensations. To describe the feeling, it is like hitting your funny bone, and that sensation was all over my body constantly. I remembered thinking to myself I am going to die, this is it for my life. As I lie there, not even managing to wiggle a toe, and thinking about death, it was my family that kept me going, I did not want to let them down. If I was left alone, I would have panic attacks, so my parents stayed at my bedside constantly. Given the severity of my case, the recovery was very SLOW. Initially my success was measured in millimeters of movement, and eventually I was discharged from the ICU 74 days later and moved to the rehab floor for another 2 months. Once I was finally allowed to go home, I continued outpatient rehab and was essentially bedridden for another 18 months. So now here I am standing before you to share my testimony. Early on in my recovery when I started to remember some events, (I had an out of body experience) I realized they happened while I was unconscious. I saw my lifeless body on the exam table, I could see the doctors, nurses, and respiratory team screaming my name and pumping my chest trying to remove fluid from my lungs. My cousin came to visit me, and I remember hearing him praying relentlessly to Jesus for healing and restoration. Having these experiences at times made me feel like I was crazy, was I hallucinating. At the end of the day, I just resigned myself that God wanted me to see and hear these things. He wanted me to see myself on the edge of life with no control and he wanted me to hear the prayer and see the answer. He said watch what I am going to do to you. It was the miracle of healing. After that moment I started to turn back towards God. I always believed in God and knew he was the creator of the heavens and earth, but through my own ego I had turned my back on him and relied to much on myself. Rather than cursing him for this situation, I began to thank him for all the blessings at the most granular level. I told myself when I get mobile, I am going to my cousin’s church and giving thanks to God. I was overwhelmed when I first went to the church and saw they had a prayer list and were praying for complete strangers. After a while I found myself wanting to attend more and more as God was calling. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour in October 2021, and from there I started to notice changes happening in my life. God has more in store for my life and if you are ever wondering why God would allow certain circumstances to happen in your life, just consider this: God is perfect. He will never choose to protect us from what he desires to perfect us through. Satan causes storms to try to make us bitter, but God desires to work through the storm to make us better. We need to remember the painful circumstances are not fun, but they bring us closer to God and mould us into his image. Your pain will subside, and one day all your questions will be answered.