Amy Hulme Guillain- Barre Syndrome

For those who know Amy Hulme, friend to many and highly accomplished PE teacher & coach in the Tahoma School District & formerly Auburn School District, you know that she is creative, outgoing, kind, and has a huge heart. At this moment, Amy needs her community to return the big love she shares with the world. As some of you may already know, Amy has been has been hospitalized since the day after Christmas. She has Guillain Barre Syndrome(GBS) which is a rare condition where the immune system attacks the nervous system.  Symptoms may start as weakness and tingling in the feet and legs that spread to the upper body, and often lead to paralysis. Paralysis can occur. In a few short weeks, Amy went from walking 15,000-20,000 steps a day to bedridden and needing support in all of her care needs.  Most people eventually make a full recovery from Guillain-Barré syndrome, but this can sometimes take a long time and around 1 in 5 people have long-term problems. The recovery process will require physical, occupational, and cognitive therapy and require substantial funds and much patience throughout a lengthy amount of time. Amy’s doctors are hoping to see her Amy walking some again by this summer, but that is not a given. 


  Amy contracted COVID-19 in early December and missed a week of school. As her COVID-19symptoms subsided, she started having severe leg & back pains. By Christmas day,  she was experiencing extreme muscle pain and weakness as well as numbness. Amy was admitted to the  Auburn MultiCare Hospital on December 27 where she was quickly diagnosed with GBS and subsequently received 5 days of IV treatments. Since her symptoms continued to worsen, she was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA. where she has been since early January.  It has been an unimaginable  journey for Amy starting with numbness from her waist down to needing help in holding her phone and not being able to raise her hands on her own.   After a two week delay due to COVID constraints, Amy was admitted  to the inpatient Rehabilitation Center at Good Samaritan Hospital. She has a rigorous treatment schedule daily that covers physical, cognitive, and occupational skills.  Amy has made tremendous progress, even when it feels slow and continues to impress all of us with her positive outlook and sheer determination. and maintains as positive of an attitude as she can. 


The hospital social worker has been working closely with Amy, her friends,  and her family to create her next step care plan. Unfortunately, it has become clear that Amy cannot return to her split level home anytime in the near future given her current physical capabilities.  She will need ongoing assistance and support in an environment that will allow for wrap-around support that will continue to provide her what is needed to make a complete recovery.  As of Feb. 28,  Amy is exploring whether  staying at an assisted living facility or a group care home situation will be her best option. The hospital release date is scheduled now for March 19. As you can  imagine, the costs from both a lengthy hospital stay and the support needed for the road ahead are beyond that of insurance coverage.  We’re committed that Amy gets to focus solely on getting stronger day by day, without needing to constantly be concerned with the bills and expenses that will get her there. What we do know is that Amy will need financial support in covering all of her medical bills that are not covered by her insurance. 


Please consider supporting Amy's recovery process and making a donation.  All money donated will help Amy in covering her unexpected medical expenses which may include caregiving, assisted living, and machine rental costs. 


Thank you for supporting Amy's recovery.

Warmly,

Amy's Team