It all began innocently enough. Chloe D. noticed a tingling sensation in her hands and feet. It wasn’t painful, but strange enough to get her attention. “I had surgery just two weeks prior, and wondered if this could be a complication,” she said. “I called my doctor, and they urged me to go to the emergency room.”

A search for answers

The Salem Hospital emergency room medical team ran a battery of tests on Chloe. But the results were inconclusive, so she went home. As the night unfolded, it became clear something was terribly wrong.

Chloe woke up with severe back pain. “When I tried to get up to go to the bathroom, I couldn’t walk. I was crawling down the hall, struggling, when my partner woke up and saw me. He said, ‘We’re taking you back’ — and that was the last moment I remember clearly.”

A sudden descent

The next thing Chloe knew, she was admitted to Salem Hospital. By the next day, she had reached respiratory failure and needed to be intubated in order to breathe. “My body had betrayed me. I lost the ability to move any part of it, including my diaphragm, which meant I couldn’t even breathe on my own,” she said.

Doctors in the hospital’s intensive care unit immediately started lifesaving treatment for Chloe while they zeroed in on a diagnosis. When Chloe woke up days later, she could only blink. “I couldn’t turn my head or move any other part of my body,” she said. Doctors diagnosed her with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder where the body’s immune system attacks the nerves.

The long road to recovery

Chloe spent three weeks in the Salem Hospital intensive care unit, where the medical team worked tirelessly to stabilize her. Once stable, she was transferred to a specialty hospital in North Portland to begin the arduous process of getting off the ventilator and regaining movement.

It was a painstakingly slow journey. Chloe spent three weeks at that hospital before being transferred to a skilled nursing facility in Mount Angel. “Finally, I was fortunate enough to return to Salem Hospital for inpatient rehabilitation, where the focus was on intensive treatment and therapy,” she said.

The power of persistence

In therapy, every day was a new challenge for Chloe. “I remember one day, they presented me with a yoga mat. I still couldn’t walk at that point. When the therapist suggested yoga, I thought, ‘I’m not ready for this — I’m not strong enough.’ But I trusted them.”

Chloe says, to her amazement, she was able to perform a Sun Salutation, a flowing sequence of yoga poses. “It felt like a miracle — another small victory in my journey to recovery. The gratitude I felt for my body’s healing and the persistence of my therapists was overwhelming,” she said.

Regaining independence

One of the most incredible moments for Chloe arrived when she took her first unassisted steps in inpatient rehab. “After months of being unable to walk, that small act felt monumental,” she said.

Once discharged, Chloe continued working with the Salem Hospital outpatient rehab team. She has since graduated from speech and occupational therapy — and continues to work on her strength, balance and stability with physical therapy.

Embracing a new normal

“Every case of GBS is different, and for me, fatigue and pain still linger,” Chloe said. Experts told her that healing can continue for up to two years from the onset of symptoms.

“I’m grateful every day that I can get up, walk by myself, move my body and enjoy life,” she said. “While I initially wanted to get back to my old normal, I realize I’m living a new normal. It takes a lot of mental energy to manage life in this new way, but I’m adapting.”

You’re not alone

Chloe says she’s sharing her story because it’s personal and tender, and she hopes it’s helpful to others. “If someone else is walking this journey, I want them to know they’re not alone. Recovery is possible, even if it means embracing a new version of yourself.”