Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source:
4 confirmed 1 suspected
12.06.2008
By Don Farmer
A further case of a normally rare disease that strikes quickly and paralyses its victims has been confirmed in Masterton.
Four people have now definitely contracted Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and yesterday another suspected case this time involving a teenage girl is being investigated by doctors flummoxed as to why the illness has singled out Wairarapa.
The girl's mother was reportedly on her way home from the United States to be at her daughter's side, but late yesterday afternoon doctors said, although the girl's illness is still being investigated, it is unlikely the cause is GBS.
GBS is a mystery illness that suddenly lays low its victims, often within minutes, leaving them unable to walk, lift objects or even sit up straight.
It is regarded as rare but the incidence in Wairarapa in the first half of this year has been well in advance of the national average.
The cluster of cases has baffled doctors who can find no common link as to why it is happening here.
Since publication of stories last week on the outbreak in Wairarapa several other sufferers have come forward to tell their story and to offer support to those who have been struck down.
Neil Hickland, of Carterton, is an eight-year survivor of GBS, having contracted it at a time when few people, including many doctors, had any experience at all of the illness.
He has largely recovered although he still has some problems with his fingers and feet, usually the very last parts of the body to shuck off the effects of the illness.
Mr Hickland is attempting to start a Wairarapa GBS support group to help soften the trauma for those who have either just got the disease or have lived through it from attacks in earlier years.
When he fell victim in 2000, Mr Hickland said a doctor he had spoken with and who had 42 years in medicine had never come across a case of GBS.
"That's how rare it is."
His own Wairarapa doctor told him before his case he had only ever known of four others afflicted with GBS.
Eight months after his diagnosis a young girl in Carterton got GBS and in 2004 he had spoken with a Masterton man, 24, who was recovering from it.
Although most GBS victims recover many are left with lingering after effects from the paralysis.
From 5 to 10 per cent of those struck down die soon after contracting it.
Mr Hickland said a GBS support group in this area would not attempt to offer any medical advice.
It would simply support victims by visiting and talking with them and to hand out written information and newsletters on the illness.
His illness hit soon after he had suffered a bout of campylobacter, leaving him powerless to do even simple chores like picking up his glasses' case or opening a drawer.
Mr Hickland spent nine weeks in hospital, and it was many more months before he regained full use of his body. "I had to learn to walk again. My friends called it the Hickland shuffle."
Gordon Churcher, 75, of Masterton, fell victim to GBS in February.
Ironically he lives only a short distance away from Theresa Wilkin who spoke about her experiences as a GBS sufferer in an interview last week.
Mr Churcher said although the medical profession cannot pinpoint causal links, he suspects the bug is airborne.
Unlike most others who have spoken about GBS, Mr Churcher's illness was not preceded by an earlier sickness.
In all, he spent 10 weeks in hospital, mostly in Masterton but including six days in intensive care in Wellington.
Last November, Mr Churcher had a hip operation and had been recovering, using a walking stick.
One morning in early February he felt weakness in his limbs and knew something was amiss but as he had been troubled by a leg muscle anyway thought that could have had a bearing on it.
"I knew something was wrong so I went to the doctor."
Ironically it was while he was at the doctor's that GBS struck with a vengeance.
"I couldn't stand up and they had to get a wheelchair and put me in it to get me to the hospital.
"When I got there I couldn't get myself out of the wheelchair, it had taken over my legs and within a few hours I was pretty well totally paralysed."
On April 15, Mr Churcher came home but said his feet are "still giving me hell".
"You are driven mad with pins and needles in your feet and hands."
Wairarapa Hospital doctors are saying little about the cluster of GBS cases, not because they are trying to avoid speaking about them but simply because they have no explanations to offer.
A Wellington Hospital doctor spoken to yesterday said he is aware of the Wairarapa situation but like his colleagues in Masterton could offer nothing in the way of explanation.
He said in a normal year Wairarapa could expect 1? cases.
Why the district is running at five times the expected rate is inexplicable, he said.
4 confirmed 1 suspected
12.06.2008
By Don Farmer
A further case of a normally rare disease that strikes quickly and paralyses its victims has been confirmed in Masterton.
Four people have now definitely contracted Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and yesterday another suspected case this time involving a teenage girl is being investigated by doctors flummoxed as to why the illness has singled out Wairarapa.
The girl's mother was reportedly on her way home from the United States to be at her daughter's side, but late yesterday afternoon doctors said, although the girl's illness is still being investigated, it is unlikely the cause is GBS.
GBS is a mystery illness that suddenly lays low its victims, often within minutes, leaving them unable to walk, lift objects or even sit up straight.
It is regarded as rare but the incidence in Wairarapa in the first half of this year has been well in advance of the national average.
The cluster of cases has baffled doctors who can find no common link as to why it is happening here.
Since publication of stories last week on the outbreak in Wairarapa several other sufferers have come forward to tell their story and to offer support to those who have been struck down.
Neil Hickland, of Carterton, is an eight-year survivor of GBS, having contracted it at a time when few people, including many doctors, had any experience at all of the illness.
He has largely recovered although he still has some problems with his fingers and feet, usually the very last parts of the body to shuck off the effects of the illness.
Mr Hickland is attempting to start a Wairarapa GBS support group to help soften the trauma for those who have either just got the disease or have lived through it from attacks in earlier years.
When he fell victim in 2000, Mr Hickland said a doctor he had spoken with and who had 42 years in medicine had never come across a case of GBS.
"That's how rare it is."
His own Wairarapa doctor told him before his case he had only ever known of four others afflicted with GBS.
Eight months after his diagnosis a young girl in Carterton got GBS and in 2004 he had spoken with a Masterton man, 24, who was recovering from it.
Although most GBS victims recover many are left with lingering after effects from the paralysis.
From 5 to 10 per cent of those struck down die soon after contracting it.
Mr Hickland said a GBS support group in this area would not attempt to offer any medical advice.
It would simply support victims by visiting and talking with them and to hand out written information and newsletters on the illness.
His illness hit soon after he had suffered a bout of campylobacter, leaving him powerless to do even simple chores like picking up his glasses' case or opening a drawer.
Mr Hickland spent nine weeks in hospital, and it was many more months before he regained full use of his body. "I had to learn to walk again. My friends called it the Hickland shuffle."
Gordon Churcher, 75, of Masterton, fell victim to GBS in February.
Ironically he lives only a short distance away from Theresa Wilkin who spoke about her experiences as a GBS sufferer in an interview last week.
Mr Churcher said although the medical profession cannot pinpoint causal links, he suspects the bug is airborne.
Unlike most others who have spoken about GBS, Mr Churcher's illness was not preceded by an earlier sickness.
In all, he spent 10 weeks in hospital, mostly in Masterton but including six days in intensive care in Wellington.
Last November, Mr Churcher had a hip operation and had been recovering, using a walking stick.
One morning in early February he felt weakness in his limbs and knew something was amiss but as he had been troubled by a leg muscle anyway thought that could have had a bearing on it.
"I knew something was wrong so I went to the doctor."
Ironically it was while he was at the doctor's that GBS struck with a vengeance.
"I couldn't stand up and they had to get a wheelchair and put me in it to get me to the hospital.
"When I got there I couldn't get myself out of the wheelchair, it had taken over my legs and within a few hours I was pretty well totally paralysed."
On April 15, Mr Churcher came home but said his feet are "still giving me hell".
"You are driven mad with pins and needles in your feet and hands."
Wairarapa Hospital doctors are saying little about the cluster of GBS cases, not because they are trying to avoid speaking about them but simply because they have no explanations to offer.
A Wellington Hospital doctor spoken to yesterday said he is aware of the Wairarapa situation but like his colleagues in Masterton could offer nothing in the way of explanation.
He said in a normal year Wairarapa could expect 1? cases.
Why the district is running at five times the expected rate is inexplicable, he said.
