Juan's Story
Juan Galarza finally stood up.
Until that moment in the gym at Ochsner Rehabilitation Hospital, the 21-year-old had felt helpless. Weeks earlier, a freak spinal cord illness had struck out of the blue, and afterward he’d barely been able to move from the neck down. But when he hoisted himself up onto his own two feet for the first time ― he needed a little assistance from a hanging device that supported his body weight, but it was mostly him ― Juan could see a way back.
“When there is no hope,” he said, triumphantly, “there is.”
For Juan, hope had seemed in such short supply. His health odyssey began innocently enough when Juan took a vacation from his job as a truck driver in Illinois to go on a fishing trip with his father in the backwaters of Louisiana. They’d been out on the road on a food run when Juan felt his left hand go numb. Within moments, the numbness spread all over his body.
Alarmed, Juan’s father pulled into the station of a local volunteer fire department and asked for help. The crew gave the father and young son a quick escort to a nearby urgent care center, and from there an ambulance took Juan to Ochsner Medical Center – West Bank in Gretna, La.
There and later at Ochsner Medical Center’s main campus in New Orleans, there was a full-court press to solve the onslaught of this mysterious illness. Juan underwent MRIs, CT scans, X-rays and even a lumbar puncture, which involves inserting a needle into the lower back to extract fluid. What was it?
Doctors soon found the culprit: transverse myelitis ― a disease so rare it infects fewer than eight people per 100,000 in the U.S., according to the American Academy of Neurology. An inflammation of the spinal cord, transverse myelitis can cause weakness in arms and legs and lead to lasting damage. As many as 50% of its victims are left permanently paralyzed.
Juan’s physicians acted fast, giving him steroids and injections of antibodies pooled from healthy donors. They also performed plasmapheresis ― a procedure that removes a patient’s blood plasma and replaces it with special fluids geared to stop the inflammatory reaction caused by the illness.
After two weeks in the acute care hospital, Juan stabilized. After that, he checked into Ochsner Rehabilitation Hospital. His doctors had told him about the physician-based care he’d receive there ― a team of physical and occupational therapists along with nurses and pharmacists would try to help him recover a semblance of the life he’d had before.
Indeed, back home in Illinois, Juan used to ride four-wheelers and fix up old cars. He missed Bentley, his miniature golden doodle and all his friends. But until that day when he stood at the gym at the rehabilitation hospital, Juan’s old life seemed far away. He couldn’t walk, stand or even sit up. How can you call a friend when you can’t use your phone? How do you get back to what you love when you can’t even feed yourself? He was understandably frustrated.
At Ochsner Rehabilitation Hospital, he would fight through his frustration and find his strength again with his care team. For starters, his physical therapists affixed electrodes over the muscles in his arms and legs and used electric currents to cause them to contract. Each pulse started to rebuild the disrupted connections between his mind and his arms. It also helped him reclaim some of his strength, slowly.
To build on his gains, his therapists also employed a mat specially designed to administer therapy to people with limited mobility. To help him with sitting up, the mat offered handles, a knee block pad and an adjustable seat. Juan embraced the exercises.
His therapists also introduced Juan to a special lift equipped with dangling grab handles that allowed him to get into and out of bed and his wheelchair. Independence was within his grasp. As his muscles grew stronger, occupational therapists had him practice brushing his teeth and combing his hair. Where before he required a catheter to relieve himself, he began to visit the bathroom with assistance.
Family and friends traveled to Louisiana to help through the hospital’s Care Partner Program, which allows families to join in bringing their loved ones back from a health challenge.
“They learned to adapt to my current condition,” he said. They discussed his medication needs and observed him as he practiced the daily tasks of his life that had become new challenges.
But it wasn’t until the day he managed to stand on his own without anyone’s help that he could see some of his old life returning.
Soon, Juan was balancing himself on parallel bars and eking out his first steps. By the end of a month and a half, he was amazed at his progress. “I started from nothing from the neck down,” he said. “I’m able to walk now and stand.”
Juan admits he still needs help with toileting. However, he can look back on the road he traveled and see the distance he marched from that terrifying day when his world seemed to cave in on him.
After leaving the hospital, Juan continued to receive outpatient care, progressing toward additional independence. Life may not be exactly where he left it, but after 44 days at Ochsner Rehabilitation Hospital, Juan can walk.
And owing to one day in the gym he’ll never forget, Juan can stand up.
“It was motivational and challenging in a good way,” he said. “I am more grateful for what I can do now.”