A University of Arizona student who became paralyzed on a trip in Spain has seen incredible improvements, officials say.
Kara Dunn, 20, a pre-med honors student at the UA, was recently diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which the immune system attacks the nerves.
Dunn calls the experience the "most terrifying two weeks of my life." She was unable to speak or move, and the doctors didn't know if she would survive, she says in a news release from Barrow Neurological Institute, where she is recovering.
The horrifying experience started in early June, when Dunn began experiencing paralysis in her face. By the time she arrived to a hospital in Spain, her arms and legs were paralyzed and she had trouble breathing. She attracted pneumonia as well, the release says.
Dunn's mother and brother flew to Spain after receiving the news.
Dunn's brother, who is a medical student, was able to communicate back and forth between doctors in the U.S. and Spain. Finally, Dunn received her diagnosis, the release says.
Nearly two weeks later, Dunn was airlifted from the hospital in Spain to Arizona and is being treated at Barrow.
Dunn is now able to walk and will be discharged from the hospital soon. Dunn's doctor, Christina Kwasnica, expects a full recovery, the release says.
