'Bachelorette' Alum JP Rosenbaum Diagnosed With Rare Neurological Disorder
The Bachelorette alum JP Rosenbaum has been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder, sharing the [...]
The Bachelorette alum JP Rosenbaum has been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder, sharing the news on social media on Sunday along with his wife, Ashley Hebert.
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"JP was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome yesterday," Hebert captioned a photo of her husband lying in a hospital bed. "He is in treatment and doing well. It may be a long road to full recovery, but we are so grateful to everyone that has helped us get to a speedy diagnosis and treatment."
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention shares that Guillain-Barré syndromeis a rare autoimmune disorder in which a person's immune system damages the nerves, resulting in muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. Symptoms usually begin with weakness or tingling sensations in both legs that can spread to the upper body and can increase until some muscles cannot be used. Symptoms can last from several weeks to several years and while most people fully recover, some have permanent nerve damage.
Rosenbaum also posted several videos of himself discussing the disease, joking, "Yeah, I had to google that one too."
"Very surreal, and humbling and crazy, rare," he said in a video in which he was laying in a hospital bed. "Things you do every day, like picking up this phone, or buttoning buttons, tying shoelaces, putting on deodorant, just can't do it," he continued. "Picking up my kids, can't do it. Wiping your a—, maybe TMI, but might have Ashley assist on the next one."
"Can't really believe it," the 42-year-old added, sharing that the "next steps" are to figure out whether he has plateaued on his symptoms, which may mean a few more days in the hospital as doctors monitor him. "I know there's lot of physical therapy in my future," he said.
"I've heard from a lot of people and I know that things can get a lot worse," he said in another clip. "So knock on wood, hopefully that is not the case for me. Hopefully I'm fortunate enough where we caught it early enough and started treatment early enough where we can now start recovery, but I will know more tomorrow once I speak with a doctor."
Rosenbaum also thanked those who had reached out to offer "advice, guidance, support, love." "It's super heartwarming," he said. "Not just friends and family, but even total strangers who are willing to share their story and offer their phone number to call to talk to about it and it's just really nice, so thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Rosenbaum competed on Hebert's season of The Bachelorette in 2011, where she chose him as her winner. The two married in December 2012 and share son Fordham, 5, and daughter Essex, 3.
Photo Credit: Getty / JC Olivera