Author: Jamie

Well today I started taking Vitamin B12 Supplements that helps promote nerve regeneration and nerve damage repair. With Guillain Barre Syndrome the myelin sheath the coating on your nerves gets damaged. This is what causes paralysis. If people think of an electrical cord getting cut or damaged the electricity cannot pass through. With the myelin sheath being damaged signal cannot get through. As previously mentioned before it takes a long time for your nerves to heal and repair. With Guillain Barre Syndrome your nerves heal at a rate of 1mm a day. Takes a long time!!!

I brought this up with my doctors a long time ago after much research into Guillain Barre Syndrome on articles related to Vitamin B12 supplements nerve regeneration and nerve repair. Therefore after reading about it I wanted to give my body every possible help I can to recover from Guillain Barre Syndrome. They ordered a blood test however my B12 level were with the normal range. My B12 levels were 370 and normal range is between 150 and 569. As a result the doctors did not feel it clinically necessary to take a Vitamin B12 Supplement.

This has been on my mind for a while so I decided to order some in from Walmart. My reasoning is, could a higher level of vitamin B12 in my system help therefore help with nerve regeneration and nerve damage repair? Could more be better? Could it possibly help my recovery from Guillain Barre? I don’t know, but if it can’t hurt me by taking them, why not try. I’d love to know if higher levels of B12 in your system helps more? Well I’m going to try and find out. If something can’t hurt you why not give your body an extra fighting chance.

Vitamin B12 Supplements Nerve Repair – Consider Taking It

For anyone going through Guillain Barre Syndrome perhaps look into also taking Vitamin B12 Supplements. I knew about how it helps with nerve regeneration but after being in a Facebook Group Guillain Barre Syndrome Survivors with almost 8,900 people in there I’m going to try. Lots of people talking about it as well as Lions mane. Furthermore if there are possible benefits to recovery, try. I wish you all the best for anyone going through this and as always stay strong, you got this!

Sorry I haven’t posted much lately as I’ve been just working hard with my weight loss business, Weight Loss Program & Business Opportunity. I’m going to be posting more here. I just took some time for me lately, and planning on my return home. Lots of planning that’s for sure however things are going well and I’m just taking things one day at a time. That’s all you can do. Time heals everything.

Well good news today, my GBS recovery continues and I’ll be staying here longer at The Stan Cassidy Rehabilitation Centre in Fredericton. They had their rounds today, every Tuesday morning, and my discharge date is now May 1st. Great news! I still haven’t finished what I started and I’m determined to get to the finish line. So it looks like I have 1 more month to work on my recovery from Guillain Barre Syndrome.

To be honest I wasn’t sure what the decision was going to be today. I was hoping to stay but after having a conversation with the doctor yesterday I wasn’t sure. He’s been after me to sell my house since I got here. I’m not selling my house. He had one of those conversations preparing me for home and what’s to come. Those difficult conversations. I’m not giving up so don’t you give up on me is what I’m thinking. I’ve come along way and I’m not done yet, I’m progressing still. Everyone is different and you can never compare one case of GBS to another.

Recovery From Guillain Barre Syndrome Is Different For Everyone

So many factors contribute to how people recover differently from GBS. For instance my friend that was here with GBS got treated in less then 12 hours while I wasn’t treated till day 3. Who’s going to have more nerve damage? It’s going to be longer to recover for me. Most recover from Guillain Barre Syndrome in between 6 months to 1 year. Some even longer. It’s been 8 months for me as of tomorrow. Guillain Barre Syndrome started for me on August 1, 2019. I know it’s going to be a year for me, I know it. I mentally prepared myself in Moncton. I’m not done yet, I’ll know when I’m done and it isn’t there yet. Guillain Barre Syndrome recovery time is different for everyone.

My First Fall Today In Physiotherapy

Now that the good news is out there I unfortunately had my first fall today. I had just finished doing my lap walking around the building in the SteadyMate Walker in Physiotherapy. I got back to the gym and I sat down in the wheelchair. They were getting my braces off and my sling when all of a sudden at the end the wheelchair tipped forward. I still don’t even know how that happened. Never had it tip before. It ended up projecting me forward out of the chair and onto the floor.

Luckily I didn’t get seriously hurt. My knees were quite sore when it happened as my feet were bent up touching my butt as I was leaning against the wall. My ankles were sore too. I’m still sore now but I’m okay. I’ll know more in the morning and how I feel when I wake up. I took some Tylenol, some Celebrex and iced my knees. I just hope that after sleeping tonight they don’t get all stiff and tight. We’ll see in the morning but for now I’m okay. My first fall in 8 months and I’m sure it won’t be my last. During your GBS recovery in rehab you have your successes and your failures. These things happen. I always thought when I fell it would be from a walker not falling out of a wheelchair. The regular walker is next week, that’s the one I’m worried about. If I fall it will be from my knee buckling. Hopefully it’s good. It hasn’t buckled in over a week and a half now I think.

My GBS recovery continues for another month! I’m happy my discharge date was extended. 🙂

Well today is Day 242 of my recovery from Guillain Barre Syndrome GBS. It’s been a long road to recovery but I’m making progress so that’s good! It’s hard to imagine that it’s been 242 days now since I went into the George L. Dumont Hospital in Moncton on August 1st, 2019 and was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome GBS days later. Many factors influence recovery from GBS but for most people it usually takes 6 months to 12 months to recover. For me it’s looking like it’s going to be a full year for me before I get better from Guillain Barre.

As you know I am now out of the parallel bars and I’m now walking in the SteadyMate Walker. Things are going well and I feel the DonJoy knee braces are helping until my knees get stronger. I walk everyday and I feel I’m getting stronger. I don’t take breaks at all. Once I’m up walking I go right till the end of my physiotherapy session. They use to bring a wheel chair at the start in case I needed a rest but never used it at all. Now they don’t take it with me. Once I’m up I feel like I could walk forever.

Tomorrow is a start of a new week and there was talk last week about possibly getting me out of the SteadyMate Walker and into a regular walker. This here is a big step! I’m not sure right now as my knee has buckled in the past and I would have no support to catch me if they did. As much as I want to, little hesitant too. I can imagine most people are when it comes to this transition. I feel like I can but if my knee buckles even with the brace I’m going down. The thought is to try it in the gym first then go in hallways after a while. We’ll see what happens tomorrow and what my physiotherapist decides.

My discharge is coming up soon. It’s only 11 days away! My discharge date is April 10, 2020 but due to the statuary holiday I would be leaving on April 9th instead. There is a chance they’ll keep me longer with everything going on with the a Coronavirus pandemic going on but nothing mentioned as of yet. Some people think I’ll be staying but nothing said to me so far. I want to go home but I hope I stay to get where I need to be in my recovery from GBS before going back home. I haven’t accomplished my goals yet. When I first came here I said that when I leave here I’ll be walking out that door on my own two feet. More work to go before I’m there.

My house is not ready for me either. The two biggest things I need done are a ramp to get in my house and a stair lift. Not sure how that’s going to get done. I’ve decided that I’m going to be shutting down the Jamie Boyle GoFundMe page here soon. If people would still like to help towards getting me back home they still can if they want. With this Coronavirus pandemic going on and so many people out of work I don’t think it’s right for me to have it up. I haven’t shared it at all really since this pandemic got worse and a state of emergency was declared. To everyone, take care of your families and be safe.

New week tomorrow so we’ll see how my recovery from Guillain Barre Syndrome continues and maybe in a regular walker this week. I also ordered B12 supplements to help with nerve regeneration therefore perhaps helping towards my recovery from GBS. Always open to trying new things if it can have a chance at improving my recovery.

I’m now 2o days away from possible discharge and with the Coronavirus pandemic affecting people worldwide leaves many questions unanswered. How is this Coronavirus pandemic going to affect me in my recovery from Guillain Barre Syndrome and my discharge. April 10th is so close, I’m hearing that if I do leave it might be on April 9th due to the statuary holiday. That’s only 19 days away! I’m hoping to stay longer to get where I need to be. The last place I want to go is back to the hospital in Moncton where there are several cases of Covid-19 now back home.

Coronavirus Pandemic Shutting Down Everything

With the coronavirus going on it may help me stay. It may work in my favour, it may not. There are no outpatient services being offered right now in hospitals due to Covid-19. This would impact my recovery from Guillain Barre as there was a state of emergency declared in New Brunswick. I don’t want to take a step backward for all the work I’ve done to get here for my recovery from Guillain Barre Syndrome.

Discharge planning is stressful enough and I’m the type of guy who likes to plan ahead and so many things are out of my control right now. The coronavirus doesn’t make planning any easier now. I’m not sure how house is going to get done and made accessible for me due to the financial issue as I’ve received no help from government at all yet. No income for many, many, many months. Companies are closed and organizations closed due to Coronavirus and non essential businesses required to shut down. So many unknowns…. All I can do is wait. I’ll have to wait and see what happens.

As for now I’m happy with my progress and recovery from GBS as I move one step forward with my recovery by walking in SteadyMate Walker. 🙂

One day at a time, one step forward!!! I’ll walk again independently but as to when that day will be I don’t know. My story continues, my story goes on and one day I’ll reach the ending! 👍

To everyone, please stay safe during these unprecedented times we are all facing with the Coronavirus. Stay home, follow the directions set forth by your government and one day we’ll beat this pandemic. Until then, enjoy some family time at home and be safe. 🙂

Walking With SteadyMate Walker In Physiotherapy For The First Time Today! Walking Aid & Knee Braces Helping!

Well today was the day I was walking with SteadyMate Walker outside the parallel bars for the first time. The knee braces and walking aid definitely helping. I’m glad to have my knee braces as I’ve been waiting for this day for a while.

At first it was only going to be walking inside the gym using the SteadyMate Walker but I always push for more. I want as much physio as I can get to try and improve faster. My physiotherapist asked me, are your good? I was like yes, I’m good! She then said okay let’s go outside the gym to the photocopier machine and back. Once I got out there, I was like I’m good… Sam, the physiotherapist assistant knows me all to well, she knew what I was going to say. My physiotherapist asked me again are you sure? I told them I’m 1000% okay, and said I could make the complete circular loop back to the gym. I went down this hallway here, down another hallway on my right and then back down the next hallway over and back to the gym. It was a good day!

Walking Aid SteadyMate Walker In Physiotherapy Today ! First Time Walking Outside Parallel Bars

Now that I’m in the SteadyMate Walker I’m hoping to get more steps in, in a day. Hoping to further increase muscular endurance and eventually get to a normal walker as I used the other day. My discharge date is coming up on April 10th as of now. I’m in full swing for discharge planning so we’ll see what happens. So many unknowns especially with the Coronavirus going on. I’m hoping I can stay longer as my physiotherapy needs to continue. I can’t take a step backward for all the work I’ve put in as the outpatient therapy is shut down for now. I’ll have to wait and see but for now, today was one step closer to my goal. I’ll walk again independently but as to when that day will be I don’t know. My story continues, my story goes on and one day I’ll reach the ending! 👍

Well great news, my DonJoy knee braces have arrived! Now I can focus more on my recovery from Guillain Barre Syndrome and hopefully be walking with a walker outside the parallel bars soon. Happy the knee braces are here!

I’ve been a little stressed lately as it’s been a while since Orthopaedics Plus came in to fit me for knee braces. Almost 2 weeks ago now. The issue was I had to pay for them up front and these DonJoy knee braces are expensive. They decided these were the best for me and unfortunately SunLife Financial, my insurance company at work through RBC doesn’t do direct billing.

With the Coronavirus going on and my last $1,000 to my name intended for my braces and bills this month I bought $300 worth of groceries for my family. I had to! The panic buying people were doing I had to and therefore placed an order on the Walmart website for groceries for my kids. Secondly the shelves were getting empty.

Still No Help From Government

To this date I still haven’t received any assistance from the government whatsoever and delay upon delay with CPP Disability. Sad and certainly disappointing when you work your whole life only to be let down in your time of need after paying into a system your whole life.

As a result of doing what I had to do this caused a delay in getting my DonJoy knee braces. I’ll get reimbursed 80% once they’re paid for. Most importantly this money will be used for my bills this month on the 20th of March. The last of my money now, I’m tapped out officially as I haven’t received any help from government at all yet.

Last Friday Tim from Orthapaedics Plus came in to drop me off the invoices for the braces. I just had to wait for my prescription from the doctor this past Monday. Luckily everything worked out! I submitted the receipts and prescription online to SunLife and they paid me basically the next day. This allowed me to pay for them now since I was short. What a relief!

This morning I had messaged Tim from Orthopaedics plus here in Fredericton and I told him to charge my card. He responded back saying my knee braces were in and my physiotherapist told him to come in now.

DonJoy Knee Braces Helping With Walking

The day I’ve been also waiting for is finally here. The DonJoy knee braces were good, and above all they helped offer more support for my knees. It will take some time to get used to them but I feel they will help get me to the next step. Walking with these knee braces went well. I also can’t wait till Friday and see what my physiotherapist has planned for me next. Looking forward to continued progress as I recover from Guillain Barre.

My walking rehabilitation in physiotherapy went well today as I did 1 hour walking between the parallel bars. The previous time I did 45 minutes however I could have done longer. My physiotherapist didn’t want me to hurt my knee before. We had to compromise on 45 minutes instead on an hour last time. Today, she gave me a choice, more SciFit bike or more walking. I told her whatever she thinks is more beneficial I’ll do. She said you can always benefit more from walking between the parallel bars so why not do it today. I said no problem.

She let me do 1 hour today walking. I felt fine afterwards and I’m okay with whatever length of time I’m allowed. I know I can do more. As I said before you get me on my feet and I’m not stopping. My determination is too great and muscle fatigue is not really an issue with me. The next day after working hard I still feel fine. My knee didn’t buckle at all today but when do you put me in a walker is the question. I got to get over this last hump here to the next level.

After my session I talked to my physiotherapist about doing 1 hour each day on the SciFit bike. I’m going to do whatever I need to do to help me further towards my walking rehabilitation and recovery from GBS. I want more exercise for my legs using the SciFit bike an hour each day. This can only help me further towards making my legs even stronger. She was open to the idea and will look at doing this going forward. I’m happy to have a physiotherapist that works with me. She knows I’m willing to do anything and I’ll bring the effort. Some people can’t handle more sessions due to muscle fatigue but I want them. I want more time. When discharge is so close you need to do everything you can to help you with your recovery from Guillain Barre Syndrome. That’s exactly what I’m going to do!

Well everyday lately I’m looking more at my Guillain Barre Syndrome recovery time and I need to look at increasing muscle strength for my legs. It’s not just muscle strength that needs work as my legs are pretty strong now. It’s my nerves that still need to heal. I know, but I’m going to do everything I can to help further my recovery from Guillain Barre. If my muscles are really strong and the nerves continue to heal I’m hoping one day here soon everything will just click and come together.

With your Guillain Barre Syndrome recovery you can’t help but think of when your discharge is going to happen. I know my discharge is coming up here soon on April 10, 2020. I feel lately I haven’t been progressing any further as I hit a stand still more or less. That doesn’t mean I’m not benefiting elsewhere. But when it comes to walking at the next level in the walker I’m not there yet.

At the start of this week I decided I’m going to Level 10 on the SciFit bike. This is a hard level but I’m okay with it so I can continue towards more leg strengthening. Not a bad day! Level 10 on SciFit bike, 3.48 miles in 25 minutes…. I always work hard, always willing to up my physiotherapy and always willing to try something new. I need to try. When people stop progressing here they go home. I’m hoping more progress shows here soon. As long as I continue to show some significant advancement in my recovery my stay here at The Stan Cassidy Rehabilitation Centre in Fredericton will be extended. Hoping anyways. As much as I want to go home I haven’t got where I need to be yet. Don’t give up on me yet Stan Cassidy, I’ll get there, I just need more time.

When it comes to recovering from Guillain Barre Syndrome, everyone is different. The severity of the variant of GBS the patient has, the effort one brings to the table, how soon treatment for the patient was given etc.. More time allowed for the nerves to be damaged before treatment, the more time required to heal. Just because 1 person went home, walking and healed pretty good at 193 days doesn’t mean the same for the next. I might need an extra month before I get to same level of recovery. Everyone is different.. Time will tell.

I have to get my DonJoy knee braces here soon and hoping this helps with my recovery. As I always say one day at a time and all you can do is work your butt off and hope for the best. You got to keep going full steam ahead. Hoping to have knee braces next week to help more towards walking.

Is Guillain Barre Syndrome rare? I thought it was but I’m thinking not so much really now. I knew last week that there was a new patient coming up here with GBS to The Stan Cassidy Rehabilitation Centre this week. Did I ever think in a million years that I would know the person? Not all all. What are the chances in that? Guillain Barre Syndrome is rare, 1 in a 100,000 people get it every year. Now having an old friend having Guillain Barre Syndrome at the same time as me really, that’s more like 1 in a million. Yes! The new patient up here in Fredericton that has GBS is an old friend of mine and my brothers. I haven’t seen him in years until today!

This morning I went to physiotherapy worked out my arms on the Bowflex machine. After that I wheeled myself down to occupational therapy.

When I was outside waiting for my therapist when a guy says, hey Jamie. At first I was like hey there, just assuming this must be the guy that has GBS and one of the therapists or nurses told him about me. I had already given them permission to tell the person about me if they wanted to talk or ask questions. Then the guy says, do you remember me? I started looking at him more from the hallway as he was in the room and I was saying to myself he looks familiar. He then says Pinder? I’m like oh my god, how are you? What are the chances of this? So your the one with GBS? I said I knew someone was coming but didn’t think in a million years I would know them. We talked for a bit before I had to go to my next session.

I’m happy to hear that he’s doing well. He’s walking and his recovery is coming along pretty quick. When you can get treated in less then 12 hours versus waiting 3 days for me makes a huge difference. When allowed to progress the severity of your GBS will be worse causing more damage to your nerves. Guillain Barre Syndrome started for me on August 1, 2019 as was allowed to get worse before treatment started. He’s lucky and happy his doctors treated him right away. That has definitely improved his recovery time. I haven’t seen him in like 15 years probably. Not the way you want to reconnect with an old friend, but someone to talk to now. I’ll have to hear his full story the next time I see him this week. So how rare is GBS, not that rare I’d say!

A big thank you goes out to Jason Holmden of EKA Spray Foam Insulation who decided to donate his $500 winnings back after winning the Jamie Boyle GBS Fundraiser 50/50 Board on Facebook. Thank you so much for your kind words and generosity. I’ll never forget this. Wow…. Thank you so much!!!!

Wow! I wasn’t expecting that. I had already sent the e-transfer and he declined it and sent me a message wanting to donate his winnings back to help out. Thanks Jason Holmden of EKA Spray Foam Insulation. I’ll never forget this. Thank you! 🙂

This will help towards bills and getting my home ready for when I come home. So much is needed for me to come home such as stair lift purchase and installation, wheel chair ramp to access my home, bathroom renovation for wheelchair access and other equipment. My discharge date is April 20, 2020. If you would like to help you can donate by visiting my GoFundMe page. Donate and share, thank you!

Help Jamie Boyle Guillain Barre Syndrome GoFundMe page