Quarterback Danny Wuerffel had a successful college football career winning the Heisman Trophy in 1996 before being drafted by the New Orleans Saints and eventually playing for the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins and now we have learned that the former NFL player has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
The rare autoimmune disorder which can cause paralysis is only found in approximately 1 in 100,000 individuals and often presents itself after a viral infection.
The Decator, GA native realized that he was losing the sensation in his legs and the strength in his arms after he battled a stomach virus June 4 when the disease is thought to have attacking his nerves.
According to his wife Jessica his strength is half of what it was prior to his stomach virus and:
“He’s hanging in there,” and “It’s a distressing situation but, to be honest, his faith is strong.”
According to various reference sources the syndrome most typically reaches the weakest point for individuals two to four weeks after symptoms show themselves and can cause breathing problems that can often require artificial ventilators and feeding tubes to be required for survival.
Available treatments include plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulins which attempt to remove the antibodies from attacking the nerves and replacing them with healthy antibodies from donors.
It’s unclear how long Wuerffel’s recovery will take as recovery times can run anywhere from a few weeks to a few years, while up to 30% of patients have signs of the syndrome even after a three years span.
