In the spring of 2011 Bill Collins rushed home from Rice University to do an internet search on his computer. The subject was as foreign to him as the name sounded – Guillain- Barre Syndrome (GBS).
Collins was developing symptoms for weeks but with no answers. This was his first clue he was given into what might be happening.
After a quick internet search the words he will always remember stood out on his home computer screen – “seek medical attention immediately.”
Collins has continued to defy logic throughout his career as a masters track and field athlete. How can a 61-year-old sprinter be in such physically superior shape and running times as fast as many high school athletes? But he now faced his greatest challenge yet.
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Collins was becoming incredibly weak, had lost a large amount of weight, along with his appetite, and developed a tingling sensation in his toes. His symptoms perplexed doctors. It eventually brought him to Rice University and onto the massage table of a close family friend.
“She started massaging me and said immediately, ‘you don’t have any muscles left,’” Collins recalls. “At that moment she wrote down the name GBS. I went home to look it up and it said to seek medical attention immediately. I went in and they started running tests and I started treatment the next morning.”
Collins began therapy to work the GBS out of his system. GBS is a rare disorder that attacks the nervous system and, if not treated properly, can cause life-threatening complications and possible paralysis.