
10/01/2025
In September 2024, Liberty Hill, Texas resident Joe Pearson started his year-long work assignment in Italy. However, eight months into his job, he started experiencing odd symptoms.
“I can see them [my legs], but I can’t feel them,” Pearson told the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.
Pearson was diagnosed with Guillain Barre syndrome, a rare condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves causing weakness, numbness and even paralysis. Learn how our team at our Round Rock, Texas rehabilitation hospital not only worked to get him back closer to his home and family but also to get him the care he needed to regain his independence. When he arrived at our hospital, he couldn’t even sit up on his own. By the time he left, he was able to transfer from a bed to his wheelchair and was even able to stand using the parallel bars.
Guillain-Barre syndrome following a virus can damage nerves. Intense physical therapy needed to rebuild connections.