Young man triumphs over Guillain-Barré syndrome

Over seven days, 20-year-old King City resident Jackson Villanueva went from an athletic college student to a young man wracked with pain, unable to even sit up, and struggling to breathe and swallow.

The culprit was Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks the nerves that carry signals from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis, and in some cases, difficulty breathing. Guillain-Barré syndrome can range from mild to life-threatening, as in Villanueva’s case.

Fortunately, most people recover, even from severe cases. And that’s Villanueva’s experience, thanks to his commitment, support of family and friends, and a deep bench of medical experts, including the team at the William R. Lewis, MD, Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit (IRU) at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.

Sudden onset of Guillain-Barré syndrome

Villanueva’s ordeal began in August 2024 when he noticed tingling in his hands while working at a local feed store. After lunch, his knees and elbows felt numb. At a local clinic that afternoon, a doctor attributed the sensations to anxiety and ordered lab tests.

Over the next few days, Villanueva felt weak and had trouble walking. Then, he collapsed at his grandmother’s house and couldn’t get up. His parents rushed home from Southern California where they were dropping off his sister at college. They took him home, hoping he would feel better. But at dinner, he choked on pizza, unable to swallow. They rushed to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas.

After examinations, blood work, and scans, they got a diagnosis: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a disease usually believed to be caused by an infection. A neurologist told them the long-term outlook was good, but that it would get worse before it got better.

Villanueva was moved to Salinas Valley Health Medical Center, and as predicted, he got worse, his pain increasing and his breathing becoming difficult. As they prepared to intubate, he worried, “Oh my gosh, am I dying?” His father, Mac, reassured him and told him that recovery was ahead.

Villanueva was intubated, sedated, and put on a feeding tube, and he received the standard treatment: infusions of blood carrying healthy antibodies. Over the next two days, his condition improved enough to take him off the ventilator. After about 10 days, he was transferred to Community Hospital’s IRU to focus on the recovery his dad had promised.

When I was in the IRU they told me stories of former patients who came walking in the doors and were perfectly normal. I knew I was going to get better. It was just a matter of when. I never doubted it.
— Jackson Villanueva, patient

Inpatient rehabilitation at Community Hospital

The IRU specializes in the rehabilitation of patients recovering from serious illnesses, injuries, and surgeries, including:

• Stroke
• Spinal cord injuries
• Brain injuries
• Neurological disorders
• Cardiac events
• Orthopedic surgeries

Patients work with a multidisciplinary medical team including:

• Doctors
• Rehabilitation nurses
• Neuropsychologists
• Nutritionists
• Registered-nurse case managers
• Physical, occupational, speech, and respiratory therapists

When he arrived, Villanueva was at a very low baseline, unable to move on his own, says Shaun Soelberg, a physical therapy clinical specialist in the IRU.

The team began working on basics with Villanueva and building from there: stretching, moving his arms and legs for him when he couldn’t, helping him sit up in bed — which took two or three staff members given his 6-foot-3-inch frame. They focused on transferring him to a wheelchair, using his hands, breathing techniques, speech, and swallowing. And his pain.

“The nerve pain was terrible,” Villanueva says. “It was mainly in my feet, and then randomly in my hands. It was kind of like walking on a super-hot blacktop. Or scraping the bottom of my feet.”

He couldn’t bear to have the weight of a blanket on his feet and “even slight touches, even putting on his socks was very, very painful,” Soelberg says.

Multidisciplinary treatment for Guillain-Barré syndrome

IRU staff used a range of strategies for the pain, from ice packs to pressure point therapy, says Eden Rothacker, an IRU occupational therapist. Dr. Ni Sun-Suslow, a neuropsychologist, introduced Villanueva to mindfulness practices, implementing a variety of relaxation techniques including abdominal breathing and guided imagery.

The multidisciplinary effort was critical, Rothacker says. “Everyone on this case did a fantastic job,” she says. IRU patients have at least 3 hours per day of therapy, but with Villanueva, “any time we could give him an extra session, we did. That intensiveness really does matter.”

“His family support was also incredible; his mom was here every day,” says Jessica Moon, a speech therapist who worked with Villanueva on speech and swallowing, both impaired by GBS’s toll on the muscles in his face and throat. “That’s not an easy diagnosis to receive, especially at that age, especially at that baseline. Jackson was very responsive to therapy. He was a very big factor in his own recovery.”

His mom, Heidi, made the hour-plus drive from King City daily. As IRU staff helped Villanueva recover basic skills, they taught Heidi how she and the rest of the family could support him.

Regaining strength and independence after Guillain-Barré syndrome

Typically, patients stay in the IRU for about 14 days, depending on their diagnosis. Due to the unique and complex nature of Villanueva’s case, his recovery required a longer stay. After about two months, he regained enough skills to be discharged.

“He made incredible progress functionally,” Soelberg says. “When he had the end goal in sight to go home, that’s when he was able to push through and get better.”

Physical therapy continued and Villanueva regained strength and weight; he had gone from 258 pounds to 199, then back up to 210 and counting. He’s walking on his own and hoping to return to classes at Hartnell College.

“When I was in the IRU they told me stories of former patients who came walking in the doors and were perfectly normal,” he says. “I knew I was going to get better. It was just a matter of when. I never doubted it.”

Take a virtual tour of the IRU