When Garrett came to visit his mother in the hospital the day her gallbladder was removed, he probably never imagined he would end up staying. He was a robust college wrestler, and aside from a little headache and cough, he didn’t feel very sick. But his feet had been falling asleep, and he had a tingly feeling in his hands. He’d been dragging all month, and he felt so weak that he actually fell as he was leaving the hospital.
So the doctors admitted Garrett for observation. They found he couldn’t push or pull his arms with as much strength as a normal 18-year-old, and he could barely lift his legs. When they asked him to touch his nose, his fingers trembled, and when they tapped his tendons with a reflex hammer, his muscles barely responded.