A few weeks ago, one of my oldest and dearest friends (not to mention one of the funniest) contacted to let me know some scary news: her younger sister Emily had been hospitalized with a rare neurological disorder called Guillian-Barre Syndrome.
Poor Sherri sounded distraught and overwhelmed on the phone as she recounted the last few days of her and Emily's life: on the previous Sunday, Emily had complained of some tingling in her extremities. She saw a doctor on Monday who was quick to pass it off as work-out fatigue and wrote her a script for Vicodin. (ah, healthcare in America). Thankfully, Emily listened to Sherri when her symptoms did not abate and she headed to the hospital on Tuesday.
By Wednesday, she had almost full-blown paralysis of her entire body.
Currently, she is still in the ICU and on a ventilator. She is being fed via a PEG tube in her stomach.
Sherri lives almost three hours away from her sister and has been making the trip to see her on the weekends. Their parents, thankfully, live in the area and are able to visit Emily daily. It is so surreal to think that Emily, a little girl I watched grow up doing gymnastics in her parents' living room, is currently intubated and on heavy sedatives. I cannot imagine the stress the Knapp family must be under, and my heart goes out to them.
The prognosis for Emily is bright, though it will be a long road to health for her. If you would like to keep up with her treatment and progress, Sherri has created a website in Emily's honor. Stop by, leave a comment, and be sure to send them some positive vibes.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/emilyknapp
Poor Sherri sounded distraught and overwhelmed on the phone as she recounted the last few days of her and Emily's life: on the previous Sunday, Emily had complained of some tingling in her extremities. She saw a doctor on Monday who was quick to pass it off as work-out fatigue and wrote her a script for Vicodin. (ah, healthcare in America). Thankfully, Emily listened to Sherri when her symptoms did not abate and she headed to the hospital on Tuesday.
By Wednesday, she had almost full-blown paralysis of her entire body.
Currently, she is still in the ICU and on a ventilator. She is being fed via a PEG tube in her stomach.
Sherri lives almost three hours away from her sister and has been making the trip to see her on the weekends. Their parents, thankfully, live in the area and are able to visit Emily daily. It is so surreal to think that Emily, a little girl I watched grow up doing gymnastics in her parents' living room, is currently intubated and on heavy sedatives. I cannot imagine the stress the Knapp family must be under, and my heart goes out to them.
The prognosis for Emily is bright, though it will be a long road to health for her. If you would like to keep up with her treatment and progress, Sherri has created a website in Emily's honor. Stop by, leave a comment, and be sure to send them some positive vibes.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/emilyknapp
RSS Feed