A woman who woke up with “tingy” toes one morning has shared how her body slowly became numb – and she ended up paralysed.
Ali Sudderth says her toes were tingling and slightly numb one evening, before the numbness progressively spread across her body and left her unable to move for three months.
The 33-year-old says she attended a virtual doctor’s appointment, as well as visiting urgent care, in the days leading up to her paralysis but was given no answers – and had no idea what was to come.
“I went to carry my daughter down the stairs and felt so off balance I told my husband we needed to go to the hospital as soon as possible,” Ali, from Athens, Georgia, US, told Need To Know.
“I went and was diagnosed that night.”
The stay-at-home mum was told she has Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition that affects the nerves, senses, movement and things such as breathing and heartbeat.
Some people’s symptoms become so severe that they are not able to move their legs, arms and face.
Ali, who is mum to three-year-old daughter Meredith, and runs a cookie decorating business and manages the social media for her gym, visited hospital on a Saturday – and was paralysed by Monday.
She added: “They actually caught it really early and the fact that I came in before I was paralysed was a blessing.
“They started my treatment that night (which aids in recovery but can’t stop the disease) and I was paralysed by Monday.”
That weekend in July 2024 was the first time Ali had spent more than two hours away from her young daughter – but would not be the last.
Instead, Ali spent three months in hospital recovering and learning how to walk again.
She was so weak that she struggled to even raise her phone, or lift her daughter up.
She said: “I cried myself to sleep so many nights.
“It is heartbreaking to watch everyone around you be able to take care of your child while you helplessly watch.
“I couldn’t even change her diaper.
“All I wanted to do was hold her on my own.”
Ali was allowed to leave hospital in October 2024 and has recently run a marathon – crossing the finish line with her daughter in her arms.
While Guillain-Barré syndrome doesn’t affect Ali physically much any more, she does still get some slight tingling or numbness in her toes.
She added: “Mentally it has changed who I am as a person so in that way everything I do has been affected by Guillain-Barré
“I want to run more marathons; I honestly would love to run an ultramarathon.
“I want to keep pushing my body to its limit and not waste the second chance I feel like I’ve been given.
“I want to keep pushing, getting stronger and showing my daughter what beautiful gifts our bodies are.
“I want to inspire other people and show them that there is hope no matter how dark their situation may seem.”
