A Mother’s Miraculous Recovery After Birth

Since she was a little girl, Holly Gerlach from Edmonton, Canada, dreamed of becoming a mother. At age 26, when she became pregnant and realized she was about to fulfill her greatest dream, she couldn’t have been happier. Nine months later, her daughter Casey was born. But just weeks after the birth, something happened that turned her life upside down. "I started to feel unexplained pain in my neck and severe weakness in my legs," she recalls.

As her condition worsened and she began to feel 'numbness', Holly decided to go to the hospital. There, the worst came to light: she was paralyzed from the neck down and was immediately admitted to intensive care. She was later diagnosed with a syndrome known as Guillain-Barre or GBS — a rare syndrome characterized by paralysis of the limbs, which develops within days or weeks.

According to the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., it’s a condition affecting one in 100,000 people, and in Holly's case, it was probably caused by insufficient oxygen supply during delivery. Doctors noted that while symptoms can disappear on their own, treatment is usually necessary, and in extreme cases like Holly’s, the person is rushed to intensive care and placed on a ventilator.

"All I could do in the ward was wait. The doctors could do nothing, and meanwhile, I suffered from indescribable pain," Holly shares.

"The only thing that gave me strength was seeing my Casey every day"

That period was almost impossible to endure, but one thing gave Holly the power to survive and get through it. "It was my Casey. I waited for her visits every day, and there was nothing that made me happier than when the nurses placed her on my body."

Even though the illness paralyzed every muscle below her neck, Holly didn’t give up her quality time with her daughter. With the help of a special lift, she even managed to sit in the chair next to her bed. She could barely speak and had to communicate mainly with her eyes.

Until one day, the impossible occurred. "I entered the room and heard her whisper something," one of the nurses recounts. "When I got closer, I heard her say, 'It hurts so much.' I felt so sorry for her. And two weeks later, she suddenly started breathing on her own, without the ventilator. It was a major change and a blessed achievement that we couldn’t explain."

And from breathing on her own, slowly the sensation in her hands began to return. The doctors couldn’t explain the rapid improvement, but after 70 days in intensive care, Holly could sit on her own in a wheelchair and began to speak.

"After 78 days, she started physical therapy, which significantly strengthened her legs. You could see the spark of life in her eyes, and after 87 days of paralysis, she stood for the first time in three months. The whole ward was thrilled for her."

Over time, Holly worked on her motor skills and continued to strengthen her arms until she was strong enough to achieve what she had dreamed of throughout this ordeal — to hold her Casey and hug her tight.

And what do the doctors say? "A medical miracle we have no way to explain. Today, Holly is healthier and happier than ever, even though during the illness it seemed it would never happen. Her willpower and unimaginable tenacity for life are what helped her overcome this serious illness."