Renee Ball a dancer with the Touch Compass Company was struck down by GBS but made a determined and remarkable recovery to dance again. She interprets her story in this dance routine.
Read Renee’s Story as told from an article authored by Linda Shackelford, “Renee Ball’s amazing dance encore”, published in the Women’s Weekly in Jan 2015:
Renee Ball was an agile and graceful young dancer who was moving towards a career in performing arts when tragedy struck. She had just turned 19 and was midway through a Bachelor of Dance Studies when, in just a matter of hours, all promise of a bright future was dimmed.
In March 2010, Renee was crippled by Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a condition that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system.
Within days, the syndrome, which developed after a short bout of glandular fever, had triggered extreme weakness, leaving Renee fully paralysed and unable to eat, talk or breathe without help.
“I’d been incredibly active, then all of a sudden I was lying on the floor in agony and could hardly move,” recalls Renee (23). “Before I got sick, I was intensely busy at university and taking dance classes in the evening.
“I felt run-down, but put it down to being busy. Then I got flu symptoms which lasted for two days – but on the third day, I woke up with a painful stomach and couldn’t move or call out for help. I knew something was seriously wrong,” she says.
“I lost all sensation in my feet and hands, and I was having difficulty breathing.”
Renee’s condition worsened and the family doctor was phoned. He made a home visit and immediately called an ambulance. Renee was rushed to hospital and put on a ventilator. A tracheotomy was performed, she remained on life support for seven weeks and was tube-fed for eight weeks after that.
Vivian recalls how in those early days, the idea that Renee would move even a single toe was almost too hopeful a wish. “We had no idea how she would recover. But gradually, she started gaining muscle function, one muscle at a time.”