Stricken with Guillain-Barré, Yuniquie Robinson found hope on the road to recovery at UTMB
In 2021, Yuniquie Robinson was a healthy, energetic 25-year-old with a fresh master’s degree and a new job. She moved from Virginia to Dickinson with her (now former) husband, who was in the military, and was excited to begin a new life and career.
Yuniquie and her family prepared to go on a holiday cruise in December of that year, along with her mother, who had moved along with them.
While on the cruise, Yuniquie felt “slightly off,” she said.
“I felt a little winded when I walked, but I didn’t think much of it,” she said. “In March of 2022, I went to the emergency room three or four times with a sore throat. I kept feeling worse.”
She had been working remotely for ADP as a payroll support representative, but she began feeling increasingly unwell. What had begun as a simple sore throat progressed to a sense of lightheadedness, nausea, weakness in her legs, a strange tingling in her toes and fingertips and difficulty in simply walking from the bed to the bathroom.
She knew something was wrong.
“I did the slightest thing, and I was winded,” she said. “The last time I went to an emergency room, they did a spinal tap, and they determined I had Guillain-Barré Syndrome. They admitted me that April, but I declined extremely fast. And at that point, my mother decided the best thing for me would be to move to UTMB.”
GBS is a rare neurological disorder that causes the immune system to attack the peripheral nerves of the body, leading to weakness, numbness and paralysis. It begins with weakness or tingling in the extremities and gradually progresses through the body. Its cause is unknown, but it’s thought to be triggered by an infection, such as the Zika virus or influenza. Most people can recover from GBS, but some could have permanent nerve damage.
Yuniquie’s mother, Darlene Robinson, has been her daughter’s caretaker since she became ill. Throughout the ordeal, she carefully documented each visit to the doctor or emergency room until her daughter’s ultimate GBS diagnosis.
“I did not feel that I was getting the answers I needed from the doctors at the other hospital,” Darlene said. “I didn’t think the other doctors knew what was going on, and my daughter was deteriorating so badly. I wanted her out of there right away and moved to UTMB, so I found a way to make that happen.”
Yuniquie was transferred to UTMB and immediately placed in the intensive care unit.
“That first week at UTMB in the ICU was the most critical week of my entire journey,” Yuniquie said. “Everyone was telling me what was going on with my body, but I couldn’t retain the information. My family was there, but I couldn’t see, speak or move my limbs, and if you just barely tapped me, I would feel that for hours—that’s how exposed my nerves were.”
Her condition was extremely serious, but she recalls being managed with the utmost care.
“At UTMB, I received the treatment I needed to reverse the symptoms and help my nerves regenerate,” she said. “I got eight rounds of intravenous immunoglobulin treatment. This was the absolute worst time of my condition, and UTMB saved my life.”
Although she has not yet regained feeling in her legs from her knees down nor from her elbows to her fingertips, she’s able to get around in a wheelchair and can walk with assistance. She has had ongoing physical therapy and is now focused on staying positive and sharing her journey with others to raise awareness about GBS.
“I was completely healthy at age 25, and I guess you could say I was living the dream, when everything in my life was uprooted when I got this sickness,” she said. “Over the past three years, I’ve just been working to create a new normal for myself, heal my body as best I can and move forward.
“But I have had amazing neurologists at UTMB, and I have the hope that I will achieve a new sense of normalcy,” she said.
At the most frightening part of her illness, Yuniquie said, she was in the intensive care unit at UTMB, with Dr. Abdul Khan as her neurologist.
“It was the scariest part of my journey because, at that time, I could not speak, hear or see,” she explained. “He was assigned to my care, and I believe his action plan is what saved my life and allows me to continue working toward my goals today.”
During that critical week in the ICU when she couldn’t communicate, Yuniquie said, she felt confused and afraid with all the doctors and others coming in and out of her room.
“Dr. Khan would get very close to my ear and talk to me, so I could hear what he was saying, and he kept my family in the loop,” she remembered. “If I could describe him in three words, I would say he is attentive, informative and empathetic. He does not see his patients as cases. He sees them as people.”
Yuniquie was sent to inpatient rehabilitation for three months, directly after her release from the hospital. And Dr. Khan was there for her follow-ups.
“His presence has been a great advantage to me,” she said. “He was the first steppingstone to finding out what I needed to do to get better.”
As she was slowly working to regain her mobility, Yuniquie said, she pushed too hard and fell, breaking her foot.
“Dr. Jie Chen, an orthopedist who specializes in foot and ankle surgery, did an amazing job on my surgery and put me back into commission,” she explained. “And Dr. Khan referred me to Dr. Elena Shanina, who was another one of my amazing neurologists who treated me when I was at a crossroads a year ago. I was at a point where I had hit a plateau with my progress, and I did not know what else to do. I was not sure I was going to get any better.”
Once she started meeting Dr. Shanina, Yuniquie said, she began to regain hope.
“Dr. Shanina means a lot to me,” she said. “She ordered tests for me that I had not yet had and explained things to me so I would understand about why it’s all taking so long. She helped me so much.”
While she still suffers from residual neuropathy, or numbness, in her hands and feet, Yuniquie has redirected her energy to supporting the Guillain-Barré Foundation, where she raises money for the GBS Houston Walk and Roll event and shares her journey with others in hopes of offering guidance and inspiration.
“I try to motivate others, especially when there’s a rare condition like this where there’s no known cure and you don’t have answers,” she said. “It’s frustrating and discouraging, but I’m trying to do everything I can to let people know they can make it through this.”
There are two important things she shares most with others about her journey. First, she reminds everyone that self-advocacy in a medical space is critical.
“I went to the ER about five times before they did anything. It’s a slow-progressing condition, but if I had sat at home, I would have died. You must keep telling people something is wrong,” she said.
The second thing, she said, is to just go straight to UTMB for help.
“Don’t go to another hospital first, like I did,” she said. “If I had to do it again, I would have gone straight to UTMB. I found you’re never alone there—I could barely see or hear anyone, but I was always assured that I wasn’t alone, and even when I had follow-up appointments, they were always encouraging and pushing me.
“It’s an environment of inspiration,” she added, “and the knowledge that you always have someone to help you.”
Had she not been at UTMB for that critical week, Yuniquie said she doubts she would be here today.
“I want to tell everyone, don’t ever give up. I got the best possible care at UTMB, and if you are there, you’ll be in the best of hands,” she said. “I hope to inspire others and let them know, they will get better, and they will make it.”