From Immovable Object to Advocacy Force

While traveling in Australia, Russ Walter was taken to the hospital and treated for heart palpitations. When he returned home, he soon lost the ability to walk. He was diagnosed with the rare autoimmune condition Guillian-Barre syndrome and spent three months in intensive care and rehabilitation. It would take nearly a year of physical therapy before he could walk again. We spoke to Walter, liaison and board member of the GBS-CIDP Foundation International, about his recovery from Guillian-Barre syndrome, the changing medical landscape for the condition, and why his experience led him to become a patient advocate