Life Changing Healthcare

In a health battle that tested the limits of human strength and resilience, William (Bill) Bolden and his wife, Kim, found themselves up against the unexpected at the beginning of the 2023 year.

 As a highly active individual, Bill recalls a few days of intense exercises that led up to his first symptoms: tingling in the legs and feet. “I thought I had overdone it,” Bill states. “I would get in the shower at night or just lay in the tub with hot water to make the tingling stop. It hurt badly.”

Nearly two weeks had passed, and Bill’s pain only grew worse. His wife, Kim, claims, “He was experiencing so much pain that he couldn’t eat or sleep.” The two then decided to seek emergency care when Bill was sitting at the foot of their bed, rose to his feet, and both legs gave out and he fell forward.

 “I didn’t have enough upper body strength to push myself up off the floor,” Bill recalls. “I told her [Kim] to help me up so we could go to the hospital because something was seriously, seriously, wrong.”

 Arriving at Marietta Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department, Bill was immediately admitted, and his care team quickly began finding a diagnosis. “It was within a day or two that they had a diagnosis,” Kim states. “He had a spinal tap and it confirmed what was wrong with him exactly.”

Bill was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare condition that typically occurs after either a viral infection or, sometimes, after a vaccination. Physical medicine and rehabilitation provider, Richard Hoyt, MD, describes the condition as, “an inflammatory response that affects the nerves, muscles, or even involuntary things like someone’s bladder and other functions.”

Both Bill and Kim, looking back at this time of their lives, wish to stress the importance of recognizing symptoms of Guillain-Barre syndrome because of how rapidly and drastically it impairs the body. Symptoms will oftentimes present themselves the same as in Bill’s case, tingling in the hands and feet; other symptoms can also include weakness in the legs, walking unsteadily, double vision, and a rapid heart rate. Easily dismissed symptoms such as tingling and weakness can quickly spread and may lead to paralysis—and immediate medical attention is required. As always, in cases such as these, the quicker medical care is received the better.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, and Bill’s worsening condition, the decision was made to transfer him to Columbus, Ohio where he was admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Kim recalls, “He spent 34 days in Columbus, in and out of the ICU. He was on a vent, had every tube you could think of, and the pain was unbearable for him. His body kept declining; he couldn’t even move a finger or toe.”

“Bill was basically paralyzed from the neck down.”

Thankfully, Bill’s health turned for the better months after he noticed initial symptoms. Loved ones close to Bill credit his ‘never-give-up’ fighting mindset and positive attitude for his uptick in health. His care team in Columbus recommended that Bill return home and go back to Memorial Health System for his care. This led to Bill’s transformative journey with the Department of Therapy Services.

Upon Bill’s return home, he and Kim met plenty of people who took care of him with the utmost compassion, and he is tremendously grateful to them. Jamie Israel, Physical Therapist, is one of the team members at Memorial Health System who made a lifelong impact.

“When Bill first got here it was very challenging because he did not have any use of his arms or legs,” Jamie recalls. “Initially, we were working on his range of motion and stretching so he didn’t develop joint contractures. We were trying to strengthen his core because he could not balance himself while sitting. We had to use mechanical lifts and harnesses to transfer him in and out of bed.”

 Transiting from a traumatic life change such as Bill’s diagnosis could often discourage one from seeing the positive side of things. Bill admits, “You go from benching a little over 300 pounds to not being able to pinch a clothespin… it’s hard.”

 Bill’s attitude never strayed too far from anything but immensely positive. From the beginning, he stayed true to who he was at the core: a fighter, and a bright light in the darkest of situations—even his own. Bill’s care team did their part as well to continue to encourage both Bill and Kim.

 Dr. Hoyt praises Bill for his attitude during his health journey.

“Bill came in with a positive attitude. He was in a tough spot when he got to us and had a pretty big change in his life. So, I was really impressed with his attitude. He came to work. He came to be positive.”

Bill also worked with team members from Memorial Health System’s therapy services’ Frontier location where he met Occupational Therapist, Rob Moat, and Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant, Tom Davis, and Physical Therapist, Sandy Burge.

Rob claims that any success of Bill’s was noteworthy, no matter how big or small. “Just him being able to do more overall was a success. Our goal was to get him to do more on his own and without assistance.”

 It’s been over a year since Bill and Kim arrived at the emergency department with an unknown diagnosis. Today, it is with an extreme sense of pride that the Department of Therapy Services team members reunite with the family.

 When asked if he would like to share anything with others who may be facing similar situations, Bill states, “I just want to say to you—don’t give up.”

Whereas for Kim, she can only look back at how far her husband has come. “This is a terrible, terrible disease. But it’s not something that you can’t recover from. You can come back. Yes, Bill was very sick. Yes, he almost died. Yes, he couldn’t move his body. But is he getting better? Yes. Every day. And we couldn’t have done it without Memorial Health System.”

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