How it all Started

Today is Thursday May 7, 2009 at 11:00 am. I am sitting in the Critical Care Unit on the 2nd floor in room 23 at the Mayo Clinic Hospital located off of 56th street in Scottsdale, AZ. I am listening to the sounds of the ventilator that is keeping my husband alive, there is a high-pitched sucking sound followed by a sound of air releasing. The sound is in perfect rhythm as Cory’s chest rises and falls. There are other noises of nurses and doctors tending to other patients. The room is dim in light; the curtain is pulled half open along with the sliding glass doors. Cory is resting. He has reached the point of respitory failure and is currently intubated and under controlled sedation.

The reason I was so descriptive in my first paragraph is because that is how Cory would have written it. But, since Cory isn’t writing this I am going to go ahead and write like me from here on out. I am going to try and give as much information as I can about how the last few weeks have evolved, as well as I can remember it. My writing may be boring but I want to try to document the highlights so that Cory will be able to look back a know what he has gone through.

It all started with our entire family getting the flu a few days after Easter. None of us ever got the stomach part of the flu but we had the coughing, runny nose, sore throat, headache, body ache, and fever parts. Cory got it about a week after the girls and me.

On SUNDAY April 26th Cory had had the flu for about a week. That night he fell asleep in front of the TV and when he woke up and walked into our room he noticed his toes were tingling and numb.

MONDAY: He woke up and his toes and heels were still numb and tingling and he was really achy from the flu. Since he had already missed a week of work he wanted to go to the Dr. to see if there was something they could do so he could get back to work. At the Dr. they did a typical exam and said yes you have the flu and there is really nothing we can do for it but, here is some Vicodin for the pain and they ordered some blood tests to make sure nothing else was wrong. They really didn’t address the tingling. He went home and took the vicodin and it made him feel GREAT. So great that I told him he better not get addicted to it. Ha-ha.

TUESDAY: He woke up and felt even worse than Monday so he took another vicodin and it made him sick to his stomach and so he didn’t take anymore. His tingling and numbness now started to be in his fingertips, teeth, left thigh, and entire bottom of his foot.

WEDNESDAY: The numbness and tingling was worsening and so we decided to go back to the dr. and he said the blood test came back normal but maybe this sensation was being caused by stress so he prescribed an anti anxiety med. and a nerve med. and sent us on our way. When we went home he took the meds. And they made him CRAZY LOOPY but he just wanted to sleep it off. By that night Cory was unable to walk normally. He had weakness in his legs and when I asked him if he could crawl like a baby he was unable to coordinate his movement in his arms with his legs.

THURSDAY: He woke me up at 5 am and said that he needed to go to the ER. So my dad drove us to Banner Desert and we were the first people in the waiting room. On our way there we called our home teacher who is a Dr. at the Mayo Clinic Hospital, just to get some insight but he didn’t answer the phone. After waiting 7 hrs. without seeing a doctor, the ER was filled with about 100 people; almost all from what I could tell were there due to the SWINE FLU SCARE!!!! It was so frustrating. So our home teacher called back and he was able to get us into the ER and the Mayo Clinic Hospital. Within two hours of walking in the front door we had seen two Neurologists, had two spinal taps (the first one they couldn’t get any fluid) had a series of blood work, a CT, MRI, and x-rays.

FRIDAY: Cory had the PT stop by and he got to go for a walk with some monster contraption. They did more tests and finally diagnosed him with Guillian-Barre Syndrome. Up until now he has been being monitored, but not treated. They were able to start the first IV Immunoglobuling treatment that evening.

This is where things get a little blurry for me and I am not sure the order of things to tell you but my sister is going to give daily updates from here on out.

All I can say is that Cory has been in a lot of pain and suffering.


Thank you all for your love and support. Cory before he was put under wanted EVERYONE to know how grateful he is. He and our family have felt your thoughts and prayers.

My sister is going to continue updating our daily happenings….


Love Chaney