A Leeds mum-of-four has described how a rare illness tore through her husband's nervous system and caused devastating paralysis in just a matter of days.
Until May this year Tony Banks was a healthy 63-year-old, brick-layer by trade, and father of four children.
Right now he is receiving round the clock treatment in Chapel Allerton hospital, and hasn't been home in months. Tony is suffering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome. It is extremely rare and took doctors two weeks to diagnose.
"It began with tingling in his hands and feet", Angela, Tony's wife of 42 years, told LeedsLive.
"He went to see his GP in Bramley because the symptoms were similar in some ways to a stroke. She recommended going to A&E to make sure this wasn't the case - which it wasn't - but when he came home he began to deteriorate quickly.
"He lost his balance, began to feel weak and the tingling was getting worse."
Angela took Tony back to see the GP, but by this point he was struggling to even walk. She suspected it could be Guillian-Barré Syndrome and again he was told to go to A&E.
This time doctors carried out an MRI scan but the results came back all clear. Within three hours, again, Tony was sent home.
"I'd had to leave him at the hospital and didn't even realise he'd been discharged.
"That was until he was crawling up the driveway to the house after getting out of a taxi.
"'Everything is going numb', I remember Tony telling me.
"He said his hands felt like they had been wrapped in barbed wire.
"The condition strips your nerves of protection and we didn't realise but he was seriously ill."
'By Monday morning he was like a piece of jelly'
"The muscles and nerves in Tony's throat were failing him too and he was struggling to breathe and choking.
"The doctor came out to the house and couldn't believe what he was like. He was then rushed to hospital again."
A day later Tony was diagnosed with the condition, and spent some time in intensive care, while also being fed from a tube.
"At that moment I fell to the floor", Angela said.
'This is not my husband'
"It was like someone had run me over in a car. I was in total shock and couldn't imagine how I was going to tell our four children."
Nine weeks later and Tony is an inpatient at Chapel Allerton Hospital and needs round-the-clock care 24 hours a day.
With numbness, paralysis and difficulty to walk or move his hands of feet, it is unclear whether Tony's body will return to full functionaility. He is receiving intense physiotherapy and has undergone a host of treatments for the condition.
Angela, with her four children, have launched a fundraising campaign, hoping to raise £5000 to pay for further treatments and equipment needed for Tony.
They also, crucially, want to raise awareness of the condition.
"Tony could have died from this", Angela added.
"I was absolutely petrified because we really didn't know anything about it. Why couldn't we have somehow had some knowledge of it?
"Routine checks are not done and I think this is not right. Those first moments are crucial.
'It is not known and yet it is so destructive'
"The worst thing about it is noone can tell you how bad the paralysis will be in time. We just have to wait and see.
"There are centres in Leeds that can provide the treatment Tony needs, and we need to get the house adapted to support him when he finally comes home."
"Tony's hope is to stop someone else suffering the way he did - to get the information our there - to get diagnosis and treatment as quickly as possible.
