Patient Story: Dieter
In cooperation with the Therapy Center Burgau
Background
Dieter, 54 years old, from Ravensburg.
Prior to his diagnosis he worked as a service administrator and has a passion for technology.
One of his many hobbies includes hiking, which he enjoys doing most with his wife.
Course of the Disease
Dieter’s journey to Burgau was a long one. In mid-May 2023, when all his muscles failed and he required ventilation, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a chronic nerve disorder.
Despite months of standard GBS medical therapy, his condition did not improve. After being treated in three different hospitals, he arrived at the Therapiezentrum Burgau in early August 2023. Still tetraplegic, he met the doctors at the specialist neurology clinic, who detected paranodal antibodies in his blood and diagnosed a very rare disease – paranodopathy – which initially shows symptoms very similar to GBS.
With the right medication, Dieter improved rapidly; within less than ten days, he was extubated and could move his upper limbs slightly.
Use of robot-assisted mobilization (from mid-October)
After the paresthesia subsided, the well-trained team at the Burgau Therapy Center began the VEMOTION therapy with Dieter.
He enjoyed it so much that he wanted longer sessions of VEMOTION mobilizations. Dieter reports that the active mode – Assist-as-Needed – particularly motivated him. Seeing the return and improvement of activity in his legs during the initial therapies was an incentive for him to continue.
Dieter spent up to three hours a day in the VEMOTION system, shaping his clinic routine around the mobilization therapies. He ate during the therapy, watched TV, or metaphorically raced with his wife.
Outcome (end of November)
In the meantime, Dieter can walk up to 100 steps in the corridor with the walker. Now he no longer needs the robotic support. But he is enormously grateful, because without it he would not have been able to get back on his feet so quickly. Dieter wishes that everyone in a similar situation is given this therapeutic opportunity to build muscle and strength especially in an early phase of recovery.
Goals & Wishes
Dieter’s wish for the future is clear: to be able to walk again, of course.
In addition, he wants to go hiking on a mountain again at some point. It doesn’t have to be the highest, but he wants to be able to pursue his passion for hiking with his wife again.
Follow-Up (Beginning of July 2024)
After Dieter was discharged from Burgau at Christmas 2023 – still with a confirmed MRSA infection – he unfortunately could not start rehabilitation due to this infection.
But he continued to work on his motor skills and conditioning at home with the same motivation as he had in Burgau.
He can walk up the stairs now without assistance and can already walk about 2 kilometers at a stretch, after which he needs a (muscular) break. However, he tells us that it’s still a long way to his first mountain hike.
During a follow-up examination in April, no paranodal antibodies were detected anymore, which makes him very happy. Dieter now hopes that it will remain this way and that he will continue to make progress.
Thank you for your cooperation!
None of this would be possible without the commitment of the team at the Burgau Therapy Centre. We are very enthusiastic about the cooperation and we are always happy to be able to work together with the nursing staff, therapists and doctors in such an innovative way.