While home-cooked meals are often healthier and more nutritious, many parents often choose to appease their busy schedules and eat a takeout meal on the run.
In April of 2018, an English father-of-two had no choice but to grab a quick dinner one evening. He knew it wasn’t the healthiest meal, but he had no idea just how bad it really was for him until he was in the hospital and unable to move anything from the nose down…
A Busy Dad
Back in April of 2018, David Braham, a driving instructor and father of two, had a busy day of work teaching students to drive. After that, the busy father had to get to Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales, which was about 20 miles from his home in Bridgend, Wales.
A Meal On The Go
Braham was supposed to go to the stadium to see his seven-year-old son play in his rugby game. Since the father-of-two knew he didn’t have time to stop home and get food, he decided to stop at a roadside cafe when he had a few minutes to grab a fast meal.
The Stomach Pain Begins
“I just picked it up as a quick meal whilst a pupil was taking their test,” Braham said in a statement reported by the Daily Mail. According to Braham, he felt completely fine up until that moment. But shortly after eating the takeout food, his stomach started to hurt.
Instant Regret
“I felt fine until I had the chicken curry,” Braham explained. However, while Braham was sitting in the stands watching his young son play rugby, his stomach started to cramp and turn. Braham instantly thought about the meal he had just eaten and started to think it was causing his discomfort.
More Than An Upset Stomach
“I’m almost certain that’s what caused it,” Braham said. At first, the 40-year-old thought it was just an upset stomach. Later on that night, however, Braham started to think the chicken curry dish that he had eaten earlier that day had given him food poisoning.
A Weekend In Bed
“I didn’t feel quite right. That night I felt a bit dodgy and I got really ill over the weekend,” Braham said. Normally, Braham was a fitness enthusiast and trained at least six times a week in the gym. However, after the food poisoning, he spent all weekend trying to rest and get better.
Time To See A Doctor
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Instead of getting better, Braham explained that his condition only continued to get worse. “I got ill really quickly,” Braham said. Four days later on April 10, Braham was in such bad shape that his family decided it was time to take him to the emergency room.
The First Round Of Treatment
It was clear to everyone that something was seriously wrong. Braham was admitted to the Princess Wales Hospital and spent six days there. After arriving at the hospital, doctors determined that Braham had food poisoning and gave him a round of antibiotics.
A Strange Sensation
After six days, Braham was sent home to finish resting and recovering. The next day, however, Braham started feeling a strange tingling sensation that started to spread throughout his body. “It just started with a tingling feeling,” the 40-year-old said.
24 Hours Later
After the tingling sensation, Braham explained that he started losing control of his body. Within about 24 hours, he was almost completely paralyzed. “Before I knew it I was literally locked in my own body. It was absolutely terrifying,” Braham said about the experience.
A Living Hell
“I had tingling pains in my leg and foot and hands and then I lost all feeling. I was paralyzed from the nose down,” Braham said. “It was like being a living hell. I didn’t know if I’d be able to see my kids again and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to walk again,” he added.
Looking For A Diagnosis
Braham was then rushed back to the hospital in an ambulance. Once at the hospital, doctors frantically tried to figure out how a simple case of food poisoning had progressed to paralysis. “It was food poisoning but they can’t tell me what it was, which of course is frustrating.”
A Rare Disorder
After performing more tests, doctors determined that Braham was suffering from food poisoning caused by Campylobacter bacteria. The severe food poisoning then triggered his immune system and he developed Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder.
The Symptoms
Braham learned that Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare and serious condition that causes the immune system to attack nerves. For many people, symptoms like numbness, tingling sensations, muscle pain, muscle weakness, and balancing issues start first in the feet and hands. The symptoms then begin to spread up the arms and legs.
The Coma
Doctors explained to Braham that while the condition can be deadly, many people are able to eventually make a full recovery. Because Braham was paralyzed from the nose down, he couldn’t speak and ended up on a ventilator to help him breathe. Doctors also placed the 40-year-old in an induced coma.
Four Weeks Later
After four weeks, Braham woke up from the coma and was devastated to find he was still paralyzed. “When I woke up out of the coma I had no idea what was going on. I was paralyzed and couldn’t feel a thing,” he said. “I was literally locked in my own body. It was absolutely terrifying.”
A Father’s Nightmare
“I didn’t see my children for three months whilst I was in intensive care.” After four months, however, Braham started to improve and he was taken off the ventilator. During those dark days when he just wanted to give up, Braham explained thinking about his kids gave him the strength to continue.
Braham’s Motivation
“It was the thought of my kids that kept me going. I have been fighting for them. I didn’t think I’d survive,” said Braham, who then began a long and difficult road to recovery through intense therapy. “I did wonder if there would ever be a way out. All I want to do is play with my kids again and be a dad again.”
Baby Steps
Braham’s voice slowly came back after five months and he started gaining strength and mobility throughout his entire body. “I had to learn how to wash myself and brush my teeth again. It took me three months to be able to move my legs again,” he explained. “It was like being a baby and having to learn how to do simple things again. My mind knew how to do everything but my body just wouldn’t respond.”
Fighting To Get Home
Now, Braham has been allowed to make home visits to see his children and is working hard to get home for good. “To see my kids … will be the most special feeling ever,” Braham said. “I can’t wait to be a dad again, just to spent time with the kids. It will feel amazing. I’m over the moon. It feels like there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel.”
