Pray for Gavin -- LiveWire Teen Forums

I know many of you may not be christian and wont pray but maybe it will still raise awareness. Gavin is one of my good-frineds and i miss him dearly. he has not been at school for 2 months and will never be able to return. I love him, please pray

Gavin White has a long road of recovery ahead of him.
The 16-year-old, has lived a normal, active life up until now. Yet today, he needs help with virtually everything, after coming down with a severe case of Guillain-Barr� syndrome.
The syndrome, which has led to Gavin being temporarily paralyzed, has affected his ability to breathe.
As of press time, Gavin was still having difficulty. He had two episodes on the weekend that led to him needing to be put on a respirator in intensive care.
Tim, Gavin's dad, said that staff at McMaster Hospital assure him that Gavin will make a full recovery � he just has to go through this difficult period where his lungs haven't recovered to the point where he can breathe on his own.
It's been a difficult and scary journey for Gavin and his family, who never heard of Guillain-Barr� before Gavin succumbed to this rare condition.
Two months ago, Gavin noticed some weakness in his limbs, and felt extremely tired. Considering the active life of this teen � a student at Our Lady of Lourdes(MY SCHOOL) in ****, and a hockey player in **** Minor Hockey, as well as a part-time employee at McDonald's in ****� this complaint was an unusual one.
It was the beginning of a progression of symptoms that ultimately led to his admission in McMaster Hospital in ****.
"He just noticed a weakness," said Tim ****. "He'd be weak and tired, and his hands and feet were slowly becoming numb.
"It eventually got worse, so he couldn't feel his hands or his feet at all. He couldn't open doors."
Gavin had a series of appointments over the coming weeks, and eventually saw a pediatrician.
When he saw the doctor, Gavin suggested Guillain-Barr� as a possible culprit, after a friend found the syndrome on the Internet.
The key to treating Guillain-Barr� is to catch it quickly.
Unfortunately for Gavin, it took three weeks to diagnose. By this time, Gavin was having difficulty breathing, and his parents took him to McMaster emergency to get treatment.
Twenty-four hours later, he was diagnosed.
Tim said he hopes that this article will make other parents more aware of the symptoms, and that other children don't have to go through what Gavin has gone through.
"If you can catch the disease in the early stages, and get diagnosed quickly, Gavin wouldn't be in this situation.
"Awareness is a big thing."
As a patient in a teaching hospital, Gavin sees more than 20 doctors a day, sometimes just during the morning rounds. He has also been a willing participant in helping new doctors diagnose him trying to figure out exactly what he has.
Guillain-Barr� is a relatively rare condition, affecting one in 100,000 patients. It occurs a few days or weeks after the patient has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. The body's immune system goes into overdrive, attacking the nervous system � destroying the myelin sheaths that cover the nerves.
Right now, Gavin is experiencing a great deal of pain, as his damaged nerves regenerate.

Post edited at 9:55 am on Nov. 17, 2008 by audrey820

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'Oh hot damnn

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