![\"Fran](\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Fran_bike2016-300x300.jpg\")
Fran Cosper took a break in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, during the 125-km benefit ride for Toronto\u2019s SickKids Hospital in 2016.<\/p><\/div>\n
Cosper struggled out of bed the next morning and tried to do stretching exercises.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I had a pinched nerve,\u201d he said. \u201cI went to get on my hands and knees, and fell face first on the carpet. I thought, \u2018Well, I can\u2019t move. This is much more serious.\u2019 My wife, Elise, came down and saw I had facial paralysis, and thought I\u2019d had a stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cosper knew it wasn\u2019t a stroke because both sides of his body were paralyzed. (Stroke affects only one side.) Doctors at The Ottawa Hospital diagnosed him with Guillain Barr\u00e9 Syndrome (GBS) in February 2017. This rare autoimmune disorder causes the immune system to attack the nerves, damaging the myelin sheath, which is the nerves\u2019 protective covering. As a result, the brain can\u2019t transmit signals to the nerves in the muscles, causing weakness, numbness or, as in Cosper\u2019s case, paralysis.<\/p>\n
About one in 100,000 Canadians contracts GBS every year. Patients do recover but it can take more than a year because the nerves re-grow slowly, one millimetre per month.<\/p>\n
GBS can be brought on by an infection or virus. The 56-year-old Cosper had had two colds back-to-back, including a high fever, which may have thrown his immune system into overdrive. Within days, his balance was off and he had difficulty lifting pots to cook dinner. Hours later, the disease was full blown, attacking his nervous system. Within 24 hours, Cosper couldn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n
![\"Fran](\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Fran_virtual-lab-225x300.jpg\")
Fran Cosper used the Virtual Reality Lab, which is one of only two in Canada, during his rehab. The lab was purchased thanks to the support of the community and the Canadian Forces Health Services Group. Canadian Forces soldiers, and patients like Cosper, use it extensively to help them regain their balance and learn to walk again.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cWe see patients with Guillain Barr\u00e9 Syndrome at The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre probably five or six times a year,\u201d said Dr. Vidya Sreenivasan, doctor of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Some have mild cases, but others, like Cosper, are more serious.<\/p>\n
For Cosper, the disease continued its nerve damage following his admission to the hospital. After two weeks, he was transferred to the Rehab Centre, where his care team included doctors, psychologists, social workers, recreation therapists, physiotherapists, respirologists, occupational therapists and nurses.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe arrived for physiotherapy in an electric wheelchair that he controlled by moving his head, because motor skills in his arms and fingers were completely absent,\u201d said assistant physiotherapist Andrew Atkinson. \u201cThere was a shorter list of the things he could move. From a chair position, he could extend his left leg and hold it against gravity. His right leg he could kick, but could not hold it. He basically presented like a quadriplegic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cosper was completely dependent for care. He needed to be washed, dressed, and turned in bed. He couldn\u2019t even close his eyes. The nurses had to tape his eyelids shut so he could sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt must be like being buried alive,\u201d said Atkinson.<\/p>\n
![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/J-Dec-Fran-Dr.-Vidya-Sreenivasan-cropped-314-223x300.jpg\")
Both Dr. Sreenivasan (above) and Atkinson (below) agree that Cosper\u2019s excellent fitness level, as well as his determination and positive attitude, helped accelerate his recovery.<\/p><\/div>\n
The worst part, Cosper explained, was the excruciating pain in every part of his body.<\/p>\n
\u201cFran is still in a lot of severe pain because his nerves have been damaged,\u201d said Dr. Sreenivasan. \u201cHe suffers a neuropathic pain that can feel anywhere from numb, burning, electric shock, or deep toothache. Pain management was very important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cosper had physiotherapy five hours a day, including three times a week in the Rehab Centre Pool. Within two months, he could stand and take steps with help. He learned to walk again: at first with a harness, then using the parallel bars. His arms were slower to recover and the fine motor skills in his fingers will take longer. Cosper plays jazz on the saxophone, so is motivated to get his fingers working again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a foregone conclusion that I\u2019ll ever play again,\u201d Cosper said. \u201cThat\u2019s the reality. But you have to have those moments of darkness. Embrace them and move on \u2013 that\u2019s what you gotta do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cosper\u2019s positive attitude was infectious.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stood out about him was that he would encourage other patients as well,\u201d said Dr. Sreenivasan. \u201cEverybody has dark days. They wake up and think \u2018I can\u2019t do it. I just can\u2019t see the light at the end of the tunnel.\u2019 Fran was able to provide that light at the end of the tunnel and help others, which is pretty extraordinary considering what he was going through himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Head](\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Fran-Cosper-300x200.jpg\")
Fran Cosper expects it will take him a year to fully recover from Guillain Barr\u00e9 Syndrome.<\/p><\/div>\n
The nurses helped Cosper with day-to-day care, teaching him how to wash and dress himself and be independent again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can honestly say that the kindness and level of care I\u2019ve got really humbled me. The nurses and staff have just been marvelous,\u201d said Cosper. \u201cI\u2019ve basically been swiped off the planet for a year. But the only negative thing about being in the hospital is the disease itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cosper was discharged and went home just before Thanksgiving. He walked out of the Rehab Centre using a walker. When he returned in early November for a follow-up physiotherapy appointment, he walked in unaided. Cosper is confident that he\u2019ll be back on his bike in the spring.<\/p>\n