MIDDLETON, N.S. — A Wilmot, Annapolis County, woman who now lives in South Carolina has been sitting at her husband’s bedside for days now, hoping he’ll recover from a rare illness that initially paralyzed him from the waist down.
Jessica (Steeves) Stafford went to Middleton Regional High School from Primary to Grade 12 and went on to a career as a dental hygienist. She married Warren Stafford and the couple now has two young children.
But things went wrong for the 33-year-old auto mechanic in September. He thought he had a cold. It turned out to be much worse. Bronwen Talley-Coffey, Warren’s longtime friend explains in a GoFundMe page she set up to help the young family.
“Warren fell ill with what he believed to be a head cold the weekend of Sept. 21,” Talley-Coffey wrote. “After experiencing a severe headache and numbness in his hands and feet, he and his wife became very concerned. Jessica took him to the emergency room and on Monday, Sept. 23 he was admitted to the hospital with loss of feeling from the waist down, and was no longer able to walk.”
She said, after a CT scan and MRIs, Warren Stafford had a spinal tap that diagnosed him with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system.
The syndrome can be fatal, but so far Stafford has bounced back enough to regain some feeling and has been able to walk. Recovery can take weeks or years.
Talley-Coffey said it has been extremely difficult for Warren, Jessica, and their children.
“The purpose of this GoFundMe account is to provide funds for medical costs not covered by insurance and household expenses incurred while both Warren and Jessica are out of work,” she said. “His wife plans to return to work when he is released from the hospital. Warren’s recovery time is unknown and it could be a year or more before he can return to work.”
The GoFundMe goal is set at $100,000.
Stafford’s father, Dr. Keith Stafford. has been updating his son’s progress on the GoFundMe page noting successes and failures.
“Today has had good progress and disappointing setbacks,” Keith Stafford wrote in an Oct. 4 post. “Warren has gained in strength so that he was able to shuffle down the hallway with a walker. It exhausted him but was a big step forward. His facial muscles improved enough that he was able to get off the pureed and back to real food (the barbecue friends brought in was amazing!). His boys were able to visit today and though they could not understand why their daddy could not smile at them, pick them up or chase them, all were glad for the chance to see each other.”
Keith Stafford said he’s proud of how the young couple has handled everything.
“I say I am so proud of this young couple, because though they are scared and have shed tears and continue to go through all of this, I have not seen anger or self-pity,” he said. “They have been so gracious to all of those who are interacting with them.”
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