Man Paralysed From Neck Down After Horror Diagnosis Back In Gym In Miracle Recovery

Just six months after falling ill, a guy who was paralyzed from the neck down has made an incredible recovery and is back in the gym. Actor Cody Hively, 27, was paralyzed within a few weeks and was later diagnosed with a severe case of Guillain-Barre syndrome.

An immunological illness called Guillain-Barre syndrome leads the immune system to assault the patient's nerves. Cody was given intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a medication for people with antibody deficits, while he was in the hospital for three months.

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However, only six months after getting sick and having to relearn how to walk, he is back in the gym. Midway through January 2022, Cody started to experience tingling and numbness in his feet. Cody's condition deteriorated quickly, and on February 6 he was admitted to the hospital after going entirely numb from the shoulders up.

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Cody was entirely paralyzed two weeks later and had an operation since he was unable to breathe or swallow normally. His symptoms were so bad that nurses had to speak to him using an alphabet board since he could hardly move his head.

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) was used to treat Cody, a Los Angeles-based actor, and within a few weeks, his condition began to improve.

He said: "Every day the doctors said the same thing, this could stop tomorrow, or it could just keep getting worse." Cody had effective treatment, and the nerve attack stopped. On March 17, he was sent to an in-patient rehabilitation center, where he started his recovery. Cody had four hours per day of physical therapy and had to relearn how to utilize most of his muscles.

Cody was able to walk a short distance with assistance by the beginning of July.

He added: "It was my discipline and determination to recover that helped me get back on my feet so quickly. I'm a person who enjoys being physical and active, so I'm used to working for things like this.”

"It was really disturbing. I was a prisoner to my own body, minutes turned into days turned into weeks turned into months. My whole body felt like it was on fire. When began walking it felt like I was alive again, each week I would make progress even if it was a couple of extra steps." Cody returned to the gym in August 2022 to continue cycling and lifting weights. "I never thought I was going to die, 1-20 people die from what I had, but I never lost hope," he added.