14 DAY TRIAL // A grandfather from Worcester, England, was left paralyzed after eating too many of his favorite sweets. Keith Ballantine devoured a whole bag of liquorice allsorts in one sitting, but never thought the treats would put his health in danger.
The 68-year-old man was diagnosed with the deadly Guillain-Barre Syndrome after consuming too many liquorice allsorts, which caused him a severe indigestion. The upset stomach triggered in its turn the rare nerve disorder.
Doctors believe the antibodies he produced to fight the tummy problem also attacked and destroyed his sensory nerves, leaving him unable to move.
Shortly after overindulging in the multi-colored sugary treats, Mr. Ballantine began feeling weakness in his thumb and lost the feeling in his feet, but blamed it on old age. He really started to worry when he realized he couldn’t turn the ignition in his car.
The numbness soon spread to other areas of his body, and within one week, he was completely paralyzed, Daily Mail informs.
“I ended up having a bit of an upset tummy, and a week later, I was struggling to get out of bed,” Keith recalls. “It's been an absolute nightmare. I lost three stone in a month and it's taken me a year to start walking again.”
Because his condition deteriorated so rapidly, his wife Jennifer took him to the doctor. He was admitted to hospital, but doctors didn't know at first what mystery illness caused his paralysis.
It was only when a doctor at Worcestershire Royal Hospital asked him about recent illnesses that Mr. Ballantine remembered his stomach bug and soon realized GBS was a possibility. The man had worked as a nurse in the past and knew how serious this condition was.
The rare nerve condition usually occurs when antibodies produced by the immune system to fight an infection start attacking the nervous system.
“If you’d asked me two years ago which, of all the illnesses I could get, which one would scare me most, I would have said GBS,” he said.
Almost one year after the diagnose, and after long and painful sessions of physiotherapy, Keith has made an almost complete full recovery. He has started driving again and tries to walk a mile (1.6 km) a day.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system, which controls senses and movements. It is usually triggered by an infection and starts with weakness and numb sensation in the arms and legs.