Mike what you mentioned about GBS being tough on the partners and family is so true. My husband was so determined to be strong and try to be there for me and my children he wouldn’t entertain the idea of counseling for himself. However this backfired massively because 2 years after I’d been home and finally started working a day a week he finally cracked. The doctors think it came because in his eyes I was back in work and in a sense back to being me so he then felt he could let go. He’d carried so much on his shoulders it’s a wonder it hadn’t happened sooner. After a few counseling sessions he was able to really let go and that was exactly what he needed. GBS really does change things for the whole family. Please if you and your family are offered counseling sessions do take them. It’s not weakness - we all need help through this.
Dad said:
Hi, I am sorry about your Brother-in -law. I do not write much on this. My wife had this in Feb 2013 in the hospital for a month
The best that I can tell you is give your sister a break she needs to get away from things at the long term care facility. The road is long and hard as you have found out. The family must be there to protect him. I do not say this lightly as things will slip through the cracks. Who ever is with him needs to pay attention to him and what is happening to his body. The care givers who are family must !!! do the physical therapy with him every day even when not going to the classes. Watch his body for signs that things are not right. I am talking about the feet as has been explained in prior comments. The staff will give you stretches and exercises to help with this. As he is in.bed do movements with his fingers just stretching and flexing helps. Let him do things for himself as he can, resist the urge to keep doing things for him. Someone needs to go with him to physical therapy. Pay attention ask questions. This helped with my wife as I watched for the signs that she was getting fatigued. I also helped with the therapy and they could watch her and see what was working and how she reacted. Last thing is we were not prepared for the length of the recovery. We though maybe a month or two it took almost a year for her to get back to 90% After reading some of the story on here we realize that she is lucky. I do know the Doctors and the physical therapists all said it was due in part because I was a partner in her therapy. We did exercises in bed before she could even sit up or move her legs or arms. Last comment is as a care giver make sure you keep an eye on your sister. I did not relealize how draining and stressful it was. It just sneaks up on you. My emotions are still in turmoil, I start crying at the drop of a hat and dealing with family things is very hard. I hope this helps you and your family.
Good Luck and a good recovery
Mike