Neuro Note #3 - Guillain-Barre Syndrome


For this neuro note, I chose to watch a YouTube video called “Guillain-Barre Syndrome – Miranda’s Journey,” which follows along with a girl in her diagnosis and treatment of this syndrome. I chose to watch this video because I did not really know anything about Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Miranda was a freshman in college when she was diagnosed so it was interesting to watch since she is relatively close to my age.

Miranda began having symptoms of an unknown virus during her finals week of college her freshman year. This was ongoing and around five days later, she began have stranger symptoms like extreme back pain and tingling in her extremities and lips. When she sought medical help, she was given the diagnosis of mono, however, her symptoms kept progressing and getting worse. Three days later, Miranda was weak enough to be unable to walk and went to the hospital where she got her diagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Her symptoms progressively got worse until her whole body was paralyzed, and she could no longer breathe on her own. According the video, her symptoms plateaued at the 12-day mark and the plateau is phase where they are at their worst. Day 17, which happened to be New Year’s Day, was when the plateau stopped and when Miranda finally started to show signs of improvement. For the next 32 days, she would be living in the ICU until she was able to be transferred the rehab hospital, where she spent another 36 days. She had to relearn muscle movements and gain back her muscle strength. Even when she was able to go home, she was still using a walker to ambulate.

From the video and extra research, I learned that Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a rare disorder that attacks an individual’s nerves and ends up causing temporary paralysis. The cause of this disorder is unknown and there is no cure for it (Mayo Clinic Staff 2020). Miranda recovered from her diagnosis in about 6-7 months, but according to the video, it can take up to 2 years for some patients. Overall, this video was very eye opening since I did not know anything about this disorder prior to this video. I would recommend for anyone to watch this video about Miranda’s journey because it shows what Guillain-Barre Syndrome can look like, how treatment might go, and how much of an affect it can have on someone’s life, including their family, who was with Miranda every step of the way.





Clash, Kimberly. (2015, December 23). Guillain-barre syndrome – miranda’s
journey [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pu_upY2OhQ

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2020, May 05). Guillain-barre syndrome. Mayo Clinic.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/guillain-barre-syndrome/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20363006

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