05/15/2026
May is Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) Awareness Month, and this one is personal for our family. 💙
On October 18, 2019, Brian woke up with numbness and severe joint pain. Within 12 hours and after 3 trips to the ER, his condition rapidly worsened. In less than 48 hours, he was in the ICU, on a ventilator, and completely paralyzed from the neck down due to Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
What followed was one of the hardest journeys our family has ever faced.
Brian underwent both Plasmapheresis and IVIG treatments. He battled infections, a collapsed lung, and countless complications along the way. After 7 long weeks in the hospital, he was finally stable enough to move to inpatient rehab. He was still paralyzed, but he was breathing on his own, and soon after, his feeding tube was removed.
The first goal in rehab was simply… holding his head up.
Week after week, Brian faced new challenges that most people could never imagine. After another 7 weeks of inpatient rehab, he was finally able to walk with assistance, though his arms remained paralyzed. From there, he transitioned into outpatient therapy and was blessed to work alongside the first Occupational Therapy class at UMHB, with Physical Therapy later added to his recovery journey.
We will forever be grateful for the doctors and nurses who helped save his life. But our deepest gratitude belongs to the respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists who helped Brian relearn how to live again. They laid the groundwork, but it was our incredible community — near and far — that gave Brian the motivation to keep fighting every single day.
Many people don’t realize:
▫️ Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare autoimmune disorder where the body attacks the peripheral nervous system
▫️ Symptoms can progress within hours or days
▫️ Some patients require ventilators and long-term rehabilitation
▫️ Recovery can take months or years, and many survivors are left with lifelong disabilities and chronic pain
GBS treatments like IVIG rely heavily on plasma donations. Plasma donors truly help save lives, and we encourage anyone who is able to consider donating.
Today, Brian still lives with permanent disabilities — many of them hidden from the outside world. But if you know him, you know he rarely slows down. On any given day, you’ll still find him out at The Robinson Family Farm working, building, helping guests, and continuing to push through challenges with determination and grit.
GBS changed our lives forever, but it also showed us the power of faith, resilience, therapy, and community.
Thank you to everyone who prayed, donated, encouraged, checked in, and stood beside our family during the darkest season of our lives. We will never forget it. 💙
This is "Brian Robinson Video" by Monroe Films on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
