December 17, 2024 • 28 mins
Trent was a vibrant and successful insurance assessor when his life took an unexpected turn. While working under a car, he sensed something was off. It wasn’t until later that day -- when his legs stopped responding while driving -- that the severity of the situation hit him. What followed was a baffling health crisis that turned his world upside down. With two newborn twins at home, Trent's sudden immobility brought his worst fears to life.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Rube.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I couldn't move my arms the way I needed to.
My head was kind of like a bottlehead. I couldn't
really control the muscles of my neck. He reminded me
of kind of like a baby deer. The inabilities to
control the balance for perception, the coordination, all the things
in his lower body just wasn't there.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
And they told us when he first got sick that
I would be a widow in about two months because
whatever he had was progressive.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
How do you process that?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
And I just I was helpless. I was completely helpless. Yeah,
she got these brand new babies at home, so need
their father, and she needs her husband.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
How terrifying would it be to fight an unknown enemy,
one you didn't recognize and didn't see coming. What if
that enemy was coming from within a disease that even
doctors couldn't identify. Nearly half of all Americans suffer from
some chronic illness, and many struggle for an accurate diagnosis.
(01:16):
These are their stories. I'm Lauren Brete Pchecko, and this
is symptomatic. Trent Fielder, a seasoned insurance appraiser with a
(01:40):
knack for problem solving, centers his life around his family,
deep rooted faith and his service dog Gunner, a loyal
Laborador Retriever. Dedicated and genuine, Trent is the kind of
person you'd want in your corner, both at work and
in life.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
The majority of my job was spent out in the field,
so I was driving around down the coast of Florida.
That was basically my job.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
What did you do?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I supervised auto appraisers for an insurance company, So I
had the best job ever. I loved it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
After the loss of his first wife, Trent experienced a
roller coaster of emotions. During this difficult time, his mom
and sister stepped up to support him.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I had a discussion with my mom, who is still
in Texas, and told her, I said, look, I think
I don't want to go down this road again. Suddenly,
the next morning, my sister had shown up, you know,
and I knew exactly what was going on. So we
talked throughout the day and I had work and did
their thing. But the next morning I needed to take
her back to the airport, and so I went to breakfast.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
That's when Nicole entered the picture.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
It was a breakfast place called the First Watch, and
it was super fast paced place you had your regulars
and you knew their names and their faces, but everybody
else they were just in and out so quickly.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And as we're sitting there at breakfast and talking about
that my mother had and concerns that other people would have.
I was sitting there, the cherver came up and she
asked us for we'd had a chance to look at anything,
and that obviously was Nicole. And I looked up at
her and lost my train of thought and lost my
ability to speak, and that's not me. So when she
(03:19):
walked away, my sister just looked at me and she said,
you've never done that before, and I was didn't what
she said? She completely she I floored you. You lost
your train of thought, you couldn't say anything. I was like,
let's just get back to what we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
And you know, I was just doing my job and
waiting tables, and then all of a sudden, the woman
came back into the kitchen and I was like, hi,
she goes the food was wonderful, the service was excellent,
and my brother thinks you're cute, and I was like brother,
I was like, uh okay, and she gave me his
business card and then a couple of days later, I
was doing laundry and just going through my pockets and
(03:56):
I found his business card and then I was like,
you know what, life's too short. I'm going to email him.
And so I emailed him. This is my name and
this is who I am. So if you want call me.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
What was it about her once you got to know
her that made you realize you were going to break
that vow you made to not get married again.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Nicole has and I'm sure deny it all the time,
but she has a natural light about her that is undeniable.
And it's fun to introduce her to additional people or
to watch her kind of under element and see how
people respond naturally to her. They naturally want to open
up to her, and they naturally feel better no matter
(04:39):
what their circumstances are.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
And for people who don't know Trent, how would you
describe him?
Speaker 3 (04:46):
He's just a one tough son of a gun. And
you know, it's like, don't tell him he can't, because
he's going to and he will do it, maybe just
despite you. He's very tenacious.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
To set the stage for the battles. Trent would face
ahead after a whirlwind romance and wedding, the couple discovered
they were expecting twins. However, complications arose in the womb
when their daughter Nevah began taking nutrients from her brother Logan,
putting both at risk.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
It became very dangerous. So, I mean we went from
the joyous moving along the process to suddenly realizing something
was wrong, and it kicked everything into overdrive. And from
the moment of our first I guess realization is something
was wrong. Within two weeks, the doctors came in and said,
we have to take them. We had to take them now.
(05:41):
Logan was a great risk and Avaiah was as well,
and then if things didn't go right, then the risk
was Nicole and I just had to button up and pray,
but keep her excited and energize that you know you're
going to be a mom.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Logan was born weighing just too pounds five ounces and
Navajah at three pounds eleven ounces. Both babies spent their
first few months in the nick you fighting to grow stronger,
a stressful start for the new family. At the time
you started exhibiting symptoms.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
The symptoms actually came months later, but they started piling.
I mean, I was definitely I was wearing down my body.
I was wearing down emotionally and spiritually fast because Logan
was in the hospital for about almost three months and
he had multiple times where there was possibility that he
wouldn't make it. You know, they took us into that
room that's in a hospital, or a room that's in
(06:39):
a nicku that no parent ever wants to go into,
and they're telling us that your son is dying. It
was a lot to handle. And Nichol's very strong, but
at the same time, I had to be stronger.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
And at this point you began to experience symptoms you
couldn't quite explain. Take me back to that moment.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
The first ones, they were very obvious to me. I
guess they didn't make sense, but I at the same
time I was justifying why they were happening. December sixteenth,
twenty eleven, was the day that everything went south for good.
I was actually underneath a car and was trying to
work an estimate on a vehicle. I'll never forget the
vehicle either, Toyota, camer and Gray and at a body
(07:27):
shop that wasn't very friendly. And while I was under there,
after I was done, I was trying to get out
from underneath it, and my legs wouldn't hold my weight
to be able to pull my body.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Out, something you had done a million times before.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Right I was worried I was gonna be stuck under there.
It was the first moment I think I felt far
that was distinct as to what is happening.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Attempting to shake off the awkward maneuvering, Trent took over
two hours to drive just six miles home, struggling the
whole way to control his eat on the pedals.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
What did you initially chalk that up to?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
I just thought I was tired. You know, we were
coming up on Christmas. I had saved all year for
Christmas time off so that we get spend our first
Christmas with family, and I just thought my body was
really a step ahead of me wanting to go on
vacation a little early. And it was Nicole who said,
this is not exhaustion, this is something else, and she
called the position. She did all of this, so I
(08:30):
would have continued just to write it off. And then
he said I need to see him right away.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
And even in the midst of newborn twins with challenges,
your wife took one look at you, and it was
blatantly obvious to her.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
And she was not going to accept my answer if
you're just tired.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Okay, so you go to the doctors the next day.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
I did, and he could tell something was obviously wrong,
but you know, it's kind of hard to diagnose just
in a primaries office. So they sent me over to
a facility that's just next door to get a seat
exam done. And after it was all done, they said, okay,
you can go, and I just looked at them and
I said, I can't. I can't get up.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
And you know, the.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
First response was okay, that's sometimes that's normally been laying
down for a while, and so we'll set you up.
Was they're trying to sit me up, I'm still going backwards,
so I can't move my arms the way I needed to.
My head was kind of like a bobblehead. I couldn't
really control the muscles of my neck. So they realized
something was wrong in contacted ems. Then everything just cascaded downhill.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I'm sorry, but that's it sounds like a horror movie.
You can't wake up from.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Very much, so because you're suddenly completely dependent on everybody else,
and you don't know why.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Trent suddenly began losing control of his motor skills. With
no family nearby for support, Nicole had to stay home
with the kids, receiving updates from Trent only when he
had the energy, which made the uncertainty overwhelming.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
I was probably in disbelief, like, they'll figure it out.
This is weird, just acutely paralyzed. It was kind of
like he couldn't feel his arms, and then he couldn't
feel his legs, and I was like, what is going on,
and they'll figure out something, but they never did.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
So, yeah, spinal tap, reflex exams, strength testing, trying to
figure out how spasticity. They were doing everything they could
and nothing was spastic. It just wouldn't move. The main
neurologist there, he was fantastic. So what he did. It
brought in other neurologists. I think there were five or six,
and they all came up with essentially the same diagnosis.
(10:47):
But what was interesting is the first time I knew
I was really in trouble was I noticed that they
pronounced it a different way, each one of them, and
so I just asked him point blank, I said, you
don't see this very often? Do you, And he said
most neu all just will go through their entire career
and never see this like wellish comfort. And that was
(11:09):
when it started to set in that something was really wrong.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Trent soon found himself paralyzed from the waist down and
losing feeling in other parts of his body. Doctors diagnosed
him with Guyan Beret syndrome or GBS, a rare autoimmune
disorder where the immune system attacks the nervous system, specifically
the spine, causing muscle weakness and paralysis.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
And they told us when he first got sick that
I would be a widow in about I think it
was two months.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Honestly, tell me exactly what they said and how.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
You process that?
Speaker 3 (11:48):
I mean, they said that his disease was progressive and
that he wasn't going to make it and to prepare,
you know, how do you process that? I think the
only thing that I like, truly, really vividly remember is
the grocery store down there is a Publix. I just
remember being in like Aisle five of publics and then
I have a little mental breakdown and I cried for
(12:09):
about thirty seconds, and then I was like, Okay, put
in my big girl pants in day by day. You
just gotta do what you gotta do. That's like the
one thing that I vividly remember from the whole thing,
because all of it is just a blur, honestly.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Once moved to the ICU, Trent's lungs began to shut
down and he started losing more control of his bodily functions.
Doctors acted quickly to prevent further damage. They attempted to
regulate his immune system with steroids. Plasmaphoresis a process that
filters harmful antibodies from the blood and replaces the plasma
(12:50):
and intravenous immunoglobulin an infusion of antibodies, often called ivig.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I needed to help give my body something else to
fight instead of fighting itself. So the steroids did one
good thing. They kept my lungs functioning, even though the
rest of my body was getting worse. I was able
to breathe independently. I was trying to move my body
by trying to do what I could to move whatever
would move like. I fell out of the bed a
(13:20):
number of times, just trying to get some sort of
function back. I just I didn't understand what was happening.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
The doctors were able to get Trent breathing on his
own again, but regaining feeling in his limbs took more time.
Once his GBS was under control, he was transferred to
a rehab hospital to start rebuilding his strength. Do you
remember the first time you saw in a coal?
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I saw in a coal right before they were going
to transfer me.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Do you remember the look on her face the first
time she saw you in the hospital?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
What I remember? And I wish I could get the
memory out of my head, but I remember being at
to see through the doors of the ambulance and see
her in my car behind the ambulance, and she could
just kept wiping her eyes. She was going And I've
never talked about that before, and I just I was helpless.
(14:19):
I was completely helpless. Now she got these brand new
babies at home that need their father, and she needs
her husband. And that was what I broke. That was
the first time I broke Ah, Trent. I felt like
maybe I just needed to see her, Maybe it would
give me a better perspective of what she was going through.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Have you ever told her about that?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
No, that's literally the first time I've ever talked about it.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So where were you on day one, had you lost
all mobility?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I was able to move my neck around, I couldn't
really lift it very well, so I'm trying to get
my neck to do that. That was difficult, but I'd
learned is to compensate by trying to start turning on
my side or helping somebody to turn on my side
where I could look from different angles. But I tried
to start building my hands back.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Trent struggled to comprehend how he had lost his mobility
so rapidly, even more daunting. He had to focus on
building the resilience to fight through whatever recovery he could achieve.
Are you being given options in terms of treatment at
this point.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
No, This hospital had only seen it once or twice.
The neurologists and some of the physicians, even the physical
therapists had read about it, but they never treated a
patient with this condition. And they were very honest about
that fact, saying we're going to learn as we go,
and that was a comfort to me. I was afraid
that there was nobody I had to talk to, but
(15:50):
for them to make that specific, I guess goal in
mind that we're going to work on this together and
figure this out together. That was incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
At thirty seven was seven month old twins at home.
Trent faced an unexpected and terrifying new reality. His vision
of fatherhood turned on its head. The fear and uncertainty
were beginning to feel insurmountable.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
I was overwhelmed. I remember that one as I could
not get my heart to slow down because I was
now farther away from my children and farther away from
my wife. The only things that I could think about
were the negative things. I couldn't think about the opportunity
that was there in front of me with the people
that were part of my support team, and my focus
was on what I lost. You know, it was am
(16:38):
I going to be able to go back to what
I used to do? Not like this? It was very
much wrapped up in the I can't do this anymore.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
We'll be right back with Symptomatic a Medical Mystery Podcast.
Now back to Symptomatic a Medical Mystery Podcast. Trent's life
suddenly changed when GBS caused him to lose control of
his motor skills, landing him in the ICU with failing lungs.
(17:13):
Doctors work to stabilize him with treatments like plasmaphoresis and IVG,
eventually getting him breathing on his own again. However, feeling
and mobility did not return, leaving his recovery uncertain. At
thirty seven, with seven month old twins at home, Trent
and his family were desperate to rebuild his strength and
(17:34):
adapt to this new reality.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
He was in this motorized wheelchair. We were living in
a two story home at the time. He was never fat,
that he was a lot heavier than he is now,
and just being able to not use his hands fully.
I mean, our life was like a shit show for
like a very long time because we got the infants
and then they're in their little bumbo chairs and then
(18:09):
their little bouncy chairs, and there's like bottles everywhere and
the dog running around, and then this motorized wheelchair that
was like a behemoth, and he couldn't really use his
arm so much, and then we had to physically restructure
everything in the house because he couldn't reach things up
in the cabinet.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Feeling overwhelmed, Trent and Nicole decided to move from Florida
to Texas. Being closer to Trent's family meant they would
have the extra help and support they truly needed.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
And literally the first day we moved back to Texas.
The next day my father died and so we were
short of a huge part of my support system because
he had really come through and been there to help
me try to get back up on my feet. So
we navigated a lot of grief and a lot of
difficult situations.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Thankfully, through seemingly in surmountable challenges came a glimmer of hope.
Trent's new physical therapist decided it would be beneficial to
involve his family, including the kids, while establishing a strength
building routine. This was especially meaningful because his son, Logan,
born prematurely and delayed in his development, was still learning
(19:20):
how to move and walk.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
A lot of the physical therapy movements were trying to
get at core strength, so it puts you on a
big medicine ball rolling back and forth. Logan was laying
next to me, and so somebody went and got a
small medicine ball and put him on the medicine ball.
Here's this little baby who is learning how to walk
(19:44):
the same time his dad is. It gave me such
an inspiring view as to my relationship with my kids,
because I felt like I was losing that because I
was away from them. It was beautiful. He got stronger, stronger, quicker,
and quicker because we spent that same time together.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Oh, does he have any idea how much he inspired
you through those dark times?
Speaker 2 (20:10):
I let him know that. All the time people ask
me who your hero is or who gives you the
most strength? And my kids do. And I told Logan
from the beginning, I said, people think I'm a fighter, said,
they don't know your story. I said, when they hear
your story, they realize where my strength comes from. And
I said, my strength comes from comes from you, Bud.
(20:33):
And you can see the mile creep in on this
little teenager face.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
A smile I got to see. So you guys learned
to walk together. Basically, Yes, that's amazing. Do you know
what he told me? What he told me that you
are his hero?
Speaker 2 (20:51):
He is also my hero. So started to see some improvement.
We reached a point where I was able to use
a walker with some AFOs, the ankle foot orthosis, which
for those that don't know, it's basically a brace that's
right on top of your calfs and your legs and
(21:13):
designed to give you some stability. So I was able
to reach the point where I was able to function
that way. I couldn't drive or anything like that, but
I was able to get some movement. And then about
ten months later I started going downhill again.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
And when it came back, what were the symptoms? What
did that look like?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
The pain was immense, the spasticity was just out of control.
The best explanation is, if you get the right treatment
and your body starts to restart, because basically your body
is shutting down, you have a really good chance for
the nerves to start connecting the way they should. In
my case, they didn't, so it sparked sharp pains. The
(21:51):
spasms were brutal. The spasms were so bad at some
point in my neck my neck would try to snap itself.
I couldn't keep it in control, job would pop. It
was very painful. So as the pain continued, the depression
kicks in, the fear kicks in at that point. From
what you read is that it's extremely rare for gallmbre
(22:13):
to come back, and if it does, it will typically
come back worse. But this was very similar.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
So you now have a great team caring for you.
Are they testing you now? Are they questioning your initial diagnosis.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
They weren't necessarily questioning the initial diagnosis, but the longevity
of what I was going through, so GALLMBRE. Typically, whatever
damage it's done is done towards the beginning and next
days in your system, usually typically around two years. But
min had gone well beyond that, and I'd seen such
a drastic quick decline on the second go ROUNM that
(22:53):
that's when they went in and took a look at it,
and they said, okay, well, whatever was in the beginning
may have been so, but what fit much more broader
base in terms of what I was going to face
for the rest of my life was CIDP.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Due to the prolonged duration of the symptoms, doctor's corrected
trench diagnosis to CIDP chronic inflammatory demielinating poly neuropathy.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Maybe the best description I was given about CIDP is
your nerves have a covering on top of it, and
the covering is a milin sheath. And what happens that
your body is attacking that mile in sheet that's attacking
your nerve endings. So as it goes through the mile
in sheath, and your nerves are kind of exposed, and
so if they're exposed it becomes more difficult to do
the things that you would normally do. Your body can't recover,
(23:40):
it doesn't function the same way you know where. It
might affect your gait, It might affect your breathing, It
might affect your ability to pick things up, your dexterity
that could be very frustrating. In a similar form is
the GBS. Basically, your body is constantly attacking itself. So
it's another autoimmune situation.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
And I'm assuming you'd ever heard of it before.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
I had no idea what it was.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
CIDP is a rare disease, often misdiagnosed as GBS. While
GBS comes on quickly and intensely, CIDP develops gradually over
time and becomes chronic, making it a long term challenge
to diagnose and treat. And Trent was hit with both
in just a few years. Were you given a prognosis,
(24:29):
were you told what you should expect?
Speaker 2 (24:33):
So we did ibig. So that is a really kind
of a go to treatment protocol for people with CIDP
in most cases, especially the ones that are more severe.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Due to the similarities between GBS and CIDP, both conditions
are treated with the same methods over different periods of time.
Trent's IVIG treatment was reinstated in hopes that it would
be more effective over a longer deraation.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
It gives your body something else to fight, so your
body that's become very confused and is attacking itself will
start to attack the medicine to where your body can
start to rebuild that mile in sheath, so there's a
small shelf life. Ten days into the treatment, you could
feel it, you could fill. Your body starting to get weaker,
(25:22):
and it becomes harder to push a wheelchair. You start
dropping things and get much more exhausted quicker.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
By twenty thirteen, two years into his fight, Trent faced
a new challenge CIDP. The progress he had made in
physical therapy was slipping away, and painful flare ups had returned.
Seeing this, Trent's doctors decided it was time to take
more drastic measures to stop the deterioration and repair the damage.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
I went to a particular doctor that I'd heard of,
and he recommended that I get an implant put into
my spine. So I agreed. I was nervous, but having
something that was really stuck with me for the rest
of my life, but it made sense the way it
was explained. But something went wrong. So in the surgery,
there were some decisions made by the surgeon that went
(26:15):
against protocol for what she would do with that implant,
and he ended up cutting into my t ten vertebra.
So I didn't know what had happened. I knew before
I had weak and kind of the tingly feeling of
my legs that's really annoying pins and needles type feeling.
Suddenly I went to I couldn't feel them at all.
(26:35):
And then it wasn't until twenty fourteen where I realized
just how bad of the mistake he had made.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
On next week's season finale of Symptomatic, we continue Trent's
story as the consequences of the failed surgery quickly push
him to the brink of death.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
I ended up having two embolisms by back. The second
one actually killed me, and I wasn't gone very long
and they sat down and they said they needed to
talk to me. That's never a good starting point to
a conversation when it's a doctor. And they said, there's
not anything more that we can do for you.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
But Trent refused to let his dire prognosis to find
his future. Determined he would discover a treatment that would
not only restore his mobility, but also place him on
a path to becoming a world championship athlete. As always,
we would love to hear from you. Send us your
thoughts on this episode or share a medical mystery of
(27:41):
your own at Symptomatic at iHeartMedia dot com. And please
rate and review Symptomatic wherever you get your podcasts, and
if you know someone who you think might benefit from
the information in this episode, we encourage you to share it.
We'll see you next time. Until then, be well. Symptomatic
(28:01):
is a production of Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia. Our show
is hosted by me Lauren Bret Pacheco. Executive producers are
Matt Romano and myself. Our EP of Post Production is
James Foster. Our Supervising producer is Cierra Kaiser. Our writers
are John Irwin and Diana Davis, and our editor is
Sierra Spreen, with additional help from Matt Stillo.
Rube.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I couldn't move my arms the way I needed to.
My head was kind of like a bottlehead. I couldn't
really control the muscles of my neck. He reminded me
of kind of like a baby deer. The inabilities to
control the balance for perception, the coordination, all the things
in his lower body just wasn't there.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
And they told us when he first got sick that
I would be a widow in about two months because
whatever he had was progressive.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
How do you process that?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
And I just I was helpless. I was completely helpless. Yeah,
she got these brand new babies at home, so need
their father, and she needs her husband.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
How terrifying would it be to fight an unknown enemy,
one you didn't recognize and didn't see coming. What if
that enemy was coming from within a disease that even
doctors couldn't identify. Nearly half of all Americans suffer from
some chronic illness, and many struggle for an accurate diagnosis.
(01:16):
These are their stories. I'm Lauren Brete Pchecko, and this
is symptomatic. Trent Fielder, a seasoned insurance appraiser with a
(01:40):
knack for problem solving, centers his life around his family,
deep rooted faith and his service dog Gunner, a loyal
Laborador Retriever. Dedicated and genuine, Trent is the kind of
person you'd want in your corner, both at work and
in life.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
The majority of my job was spent out in the field,
so I was driving around down the coast of Florida.
That was basically my job.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
What did you do?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I supervised auto appraisers for an insurance company, So I
had the best job ever. I loved it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
After the loss of his first wife, Trent experienced a
roller coaster of emotions. During this difficult time, his mom
and sister stepped up to support him.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I had a discussion with my mom, who is still
in Texas, and told her, I said, look, I think
I don't want to go down this road again. Suddenly,
the next morning, my sister had shown up, you know,
and I knew exactly what was going on. So we
talked throughout the day and I had work and did
their thing. But the next morning I needed to take
her back to the airport, and so I went to breakfast.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
That's when Nicole entered the picture.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
It was a breakfast place called the First Watch, and
it was super fast paced place you had your regulars
and you knew their names and their faces, but everybody
else they were just in and out so quickly.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And as we're sitting there at breakfast and talking about
that my mother had and concerns that other people would have.
I was sitting there, the cherver came up and she
asked us for we'd had a chance to look at anything,
and that obviously was Nicole. And I looked up at
her and lost my train of thought and lost my
ability to speak, and that's not me. So when she
(03:19):
walked away, my sister just looked at me and she said,
you've never done that before, and I was didn't what
she said? She completely she I floored you. You lost
your train of thought, you couldn't say anything. I was like,
let's just get back to what we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
And you know, I was just doing my job and
waiting tables, and then all of a sudden, the woman
came back into the kitchen and I was like, hi,
she goes the food was wonderful, the service was excellent,
and my brother thinks you're cute, and I was like brother,
I was like, uh okay, and she gave me his
business card and then a couple of days later, I
was doing laundry and just going through my pockets and
(03:56):
I found his business card and then I was like,
you know what, life's too short. I'm going to email him.
And so I emailed him. This is my name and
this is who I am. So if you want call me.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
What was it about her once you got to know
her that made you realize you were going to break
that vow you made to not get married again.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Nicole has and I'm sure deny it all the time,
but she has a natural light about her that is undeniable.
And it's fun to introduce her to additional people or
to watch her kind of under element and see how
people respond naturally to her. They naturally want to open
up to her, and they naturally feel better no matter
(04:39):
what their circumstances are.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
And for people who don't know Trent, how would you
describe him?
Speaker 3 (04:46):
He's just a one tough son of a gun. And
you know, it's like, don't tell him he can't, because
he's going to and he will do it, maybe just
despite you. He's very tenacious.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
To set the stage for the battles. Trent would face
ahead after a whirlwind romance and wedding, the couple discovered
they were expecting twins. However, complications arose in the womb
when their daughter Nevah began taking nutrients from her brother Logan,
putting both at risk.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
It became very dangerous. So, I mean we went from
the joyous moving along the process to suddenly realizing something
was wrong, and it kicked everything into overdrive. And from
the moment of our first I guess realization is something
was wrong. Within two weeks, the doctors came in and said,
we have to take them. We had to take them now.
(05:41):
Logan was a great risk and Avaiah was as well,
and then if things didn't go right, then the risk
was Nicole and I just had to button up and pray,
but keep her excited and energize that you know you're
going to be a mom.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Logan was born weighing just too pounds five ounces and
Navajah at three pounds eleven ounces. Both babies spent their
first few months in the nick you fighting to grow stronger,
a stressful start for the new family. At the time
you started exhibiting symptoms.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
The symptoms actually came months later, but they started piling.
I mean, I was definitely I was wearing down my body.
I was wearing down emotionally and spiritually fast because Logan
was in the hospital for about almost three months and
he had multiple times where there was possibility that he
wouldn't make it. You know, they took us into that
room that's in a hospital, or a room that's in
(06:39):
a nicku that no parent ever wants to go into,
and they're telling us that your son is dying. It
was a lot to handle. And Nichol's very strong, but
at the same time, I had to be stronger.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
And at this point you began to experience symptoms you
couldn't quite explain. Take me back to that moment.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
The first ones, they were very obvious to me. I
guess they didn't make sense, but I at the same
time I was justifying why they were happening. December sixteenth,
twenty eleven, was the day that everything went south for good.
I was actually underneath a car and was trying to
work an estimate on a vehicle. I'll never forget the
vehicle either, Toyota, camer and Gray and at a body
(07:27):
shop that wasn't very friendly. And while I was under there,
after I was done, I was trying to get out
from underneath it, and my legs wouldn't hold my weight
to be able to pull my body.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Out, something you had done a million times before.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Right I was worried I was gonna be stuck under there.
It was the first moment I think I felt far
that was distinct as to what is happening.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Attempting to shake off the awkward maneuvering, Trent took over
two hours to drive just six miles home, struggling the
whole way to control his eat on the pedals.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
What did you initially chalk that up to?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
I just thought I was tired. You know, we were
coming up on Christmas. I had saved all year for
Christmas time off so that we get spend our first
Christmas with family, and I just thought my body was
really a step ahead of me wanting to go on
vacation a little early. And it was Nicole who said,
this is not exhaustion, this is something else, and she
called the position. She did all of this, so I
(08:30):
would have continued just to write it off. And then
he said I need to see him right away.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
And even in the midst of newborn twins with challenges,
your wife took one look at you, and it was
blatantly obvious to her.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
And she was not going to accept my answer if
you're just tired.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Okay, so you go to the doctors the next day.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
I did, and he could tell something was obviously wrong,
but you know, it's kind of hard to diagnose just
in a primaries office. So they sent me over to
a facility that's just next door to get a seat
exam done. And after it was all done, they said, okay,
you can go, and I just looked at them and
I said, I can't. I can't get up.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
And you know, the.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
First response was okay, that's sometimes that's normally been laying
down for a while, and so we'll set you up.
Was they're trying to sit me up, I'm still going backwards,
so I can't move my arms the way I needed to.
My head was kind of like a bobblehead. I couldn't
really control the muscles of my neck. So they realized
something was wrong in contacted ems. Then everything just cascaded downhill.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I'm sorry, but that's it sounds like a horror movie.
You can't wake up from.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Very much, so because you're suddenly completely dependent on everybody else,
and you don't know why.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Trent suddenly began losing control of his motor skills. With
no family nearby for support, Nicole had to stay home
with the kids, receiving updates from Trent only when he
had the energy, which made the uncertainty overwhelming.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
I was probably in disbelief, like, they'll figure it out.
This is weird, just acutely paralyzed. It was kind of
like he couldn't feel his arms, and then he couldn't
feel his legs, and I was like, what is going on,
and they'll figure out something, but they never did.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
So, yeah, spinal tap, reflex exams, strength testing, trying to
figure out how spasticity. They were doing everything they could
and nothing was spastic. It just wouldn't move. The main
neurologist there, he was fantastic. So what he did. It
brought in other neurologists. I think there were five or six,
and they all came up with essentially the same diagnosis.
(10:47):
But what was interesting is the first time I knew
I was really in trouble was I noticed that they
pronounced it a different way, each one of them, and
so I just asked him point blank, I said, you
don't see this very often? Do you, And he said
most neu all just will go through their entire career
and never see this like wellish comfort. And that was
(11:09):
when it started to set in that something was really wrong.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Trent soon found himself paralyzed from the waist down and
losing feeling in other parts of his body. Doctors diagnosed
him with Guyan Beret syndrome or GBS, a rare autoimmune
disorder where the immune system attacks the nervous system, specifically
the spine, causing muscle weakness and paralysis.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
And they told us when he first got sick that
I would be a widow in about I think it
was two months.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Honestly, tell me exactly what they said and how.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
You process that?
Speaker 3 (11:48):
I mean, they said that his disease was progressive and
that he wasn't going to make it and to prepare,
you know, how do you process that? I think the
only thing that I like, truly, really vividly remember is
the grocery store down there is a Publix. I just
remember being in like Aisle five of publics and then
I have a little mental breakdown and I cried for
(12:09):
about thirty seconds, and then I was like, Okay, put
in my big girl pants in day by day. You
just gotta do what you gotta do. That's like the
one thing that I vividly remember from the whole thing,
because all of it is just a blur, honestly.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Once moved to the ICU, Trent's lungs began to shut
down and he started losing more control of his bodily functions.
Doctors acted quickly to prevent further damage. They attempted to
regulate his immune system with steroids. Plasmaphoresis a process that
filters harmful antibodies from the blood and replaces the plasma
(12:50):
and intravenous immunoglobulin an infusion of antibodies, often called ivig.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I needed to help give my body something else to
fight instead of fighting itself. So the steroids did one
good thing. They kept my lungs functioning, even though the
rest of my body was getting worse. I was able
to breathe independently. I was trying to move my body
by trying to do what I could to move whatever
would move like. I fell out of the bed a
(13:20):
number of times, just trying to get some sort of
function back. I just I didn't understand what was happening.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
The doctors were able to get Trent breathing on his
own again, but regaining feeling in his limbs took more time.
Once his GBS was under control, he was transferred to
a rehab hospital to start rebuilding his strength. Do you
remember the first time you saw in a coal?
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I saw in a coal right before they were going
to transfer me.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Do you remember the look on her face the first
time she saw you in the hospital?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
What I remember? And I wish I could get the
memory out of my head, but I remember being at
to see through the doors of the ambulance and see
her in my car behind the ambulance, and she could
just kept wiping her eyes. She was going And I've
never talked about that before, and I just I was helpless.
(14:19):
I was completely helpless. Now she got these brand new
babies at home that need their father, and she needs
her husband. And that was what I broke. That was
the first time I broke Ah, Trent. I felt like
maybe I just needed to see her, Maybe it would
give me a better perspective of what she was going through.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Have you ever told her about that?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
No, that's literally the first time I've ever talked about it.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So where were you on day one, had you lost
all mobility?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I was able to move my neck around, I couldn't
really lift it very well, so I'm trying to get
my neck to do that. That was difficult, but I'd
learned is to compensate by trying to start turning on
my side or helping somebody to turn on my side
where I could look from different angles. But I tried
to start building my hands back.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Trent struggled to comprehend how he had lost his mobility
so rapidly, even more daunting. He had to focus on
building the resilience to fight through whatever recovery he could achieve.
Are you being given options in terms of treatment at
this point.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
No, This hospital had only seen it once or twice.
The neurologists and some of the physicians, even the physical
therapists had read about it, but they never treated a
patient with this condition. And they were very honest about
that fact, saying we're going to learn as we go,
and that was a comfort to me. I was afraid
that there was nobody I had to talk to, but
(15:50):
for them to make that specific, I guess goal in
mind that we're going to work on this together and
figure this out together. That was incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
At thirty seven was seven month old twins at home.
Trent faced an unexpected and terrifying new reality. His vision
of fatherhood turned on its head. The fear and uncertainty
were beginning to feel insurmountable.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
I was overwhelmed. I remember that one as I could
not get my heart to slow down because I was
now farther away from my children and farther away from
my wife. The only things that I could think about
were the negative things. I couldn't think about the opportunity
that was there in front of me with the people
that were part of my support team, and my focus
was on what I lost. You know, it was am
(16:38):
I going to be able to go back to what
I used to do? Not like this? It was very
much wrapped up in the I can't do this anymore.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
We'll be right back with Symptomatic a Medical Mystery Podcast.
Now back to Symptomatic a Medical Mystery Podcast. Trent's life
suddenly changed when GBS caused him to lose control of
his motor skills, landing him in the ICU with failing lungs.
(17:13):
Doctors work to stabilize him with treatments like plasmaphoresis and IVG,
eventually getting him breathing on his own again. However, feeling
and mobility did not return, leaving his recovery uncertain. At
thirty seven, with seven month old twins at home, Trent
and his family were desperate to rebuild his strength and
(17:34):
adapt to this new reality.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
He was in this motorized wheelchair. We were living in
a two story home at the time. He was never fat,
that he was a lot heavier than he is now,
and just being able to not use his hands fully.
I mean, our life was like a shit show for
like a very long time because we got the infants
and then they're in their little bumbo chairs and then
(18:09):
their little bouncy chairs, and there's like bottles everywhere and
the dog running around, and then this motorized wheelchair that
was like a behemoth, and he couldn't really use his
arm so much, and then we had to physically restructure
everything in the house because he couldn't reach things up
in the cabinet.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Feeling overwhelmed, Trent and Nicole decided to move from Florida
to Texas. Being closer to Trent's family meant they would
have the extra help and support they truly needed.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
And literally the first day we moved back to Texas.
The next day my father died and so we were
short of a huge part of my support system because
he had really come through and been there to help
me try to get back up on my feet. So
we navigated a lot of grief and a lot of
difficult situations.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Thankfully, through seemingly in surmountable challenges came a glimmer of hope.
Trent's new physical therapist decided it would be beneficial to
involve his family, including the kids, while establishing a strength
building routine. This was especially meaningful because his son, Logan,
born prematurely and delayed in his development, was still learning
(19:20):
how to move and walk.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
A lot of the physical therapy movements were trying to
get at core strength, so it puts you on a
big medicine ball rolling back and forth. Logan was laying
next to me, and so somebody went and got a
small medicine ball and put him on the medicine ball.
Here's this little baby who is learning how to walk
(19:44):
the same time his dad is. It gave me such
an inspiring view as to my relationship with my kids,
because I felt like I was losing that because I
was away from them. It was beautiful. He got stronger, stronger, quicker,
and quicker because we spent that same time together.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Oh, does he have any idea how much he inspired
you through those dark times?
Speaker 2 (20:10):
I let him know that. All the time people ask
me who your hero is or who gives you the
most strength? And my kids do. And I told Logan
from the beginning, I said, people think I'm a fighter, said,
they don't know your story. I said, when they hear
your story, they realize where my strength comes from. And
I said, my strength comes from comes from you, Bud.
(20:33):
And you can see the mile creep in on this
little teenager face.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
A smile I got to see. So you guys learned
to walk together. Basically, Yes, that's amazing. Do you know
what he told me? What he told me that you
are his hero?
Speaker 2 (20:51):
He is also my hero. So started to see some improvement.
We reached a point where I was able to use
a walker with some AFOs, the ankle foot orthosis, which
for those that don't know, it's basically a brace that's
right on top of your calfs and your legs and
(21:13):
designed to give you some stability. So I was able
to reach the point where I was able to function
that way. I couldn't drive or anything like that, but
I was able to get some movement. And then about
ten months later I started going downhill again.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
And when it came back, what were the symptoms? What
did that look like?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
The pain was immense, the spasticity was just out of control.
The best explanation is, if you get the right treatment
and your body starts to restart, because basically your body
is shutting down, you have a really good chance for
the nerves to start connecting the way they should. In
my case, they didn't, so it sparked sharp pains. The
(21:51):
spasms were brutal. The spasms were so bad at some
point in my neck my neck would try to snap itself.
I couldn't keep it in control, job would pop. It
was very painful. So as the pain continued, the depression
kicks in, the fear kicks in at that point. From
what you read is that it's extremely rare for gallmbre
(22:13):
to come back, and if it does, it will typically
come back worse. But this was very similar.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
So you now have a great team caring for you.
Are they testing you now? Are they questioning your initial diagnosis.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
They weren't necessarily questioning the initial diagnosis, but the longevity
of what I was going through, so GALLMBRE. Typically, whatever
damage it's done is done towards the beginning and next
days in your system, usually typically around two years. But
min had gone well beyond that, and I'd seen such
a drastic quick decline on the second go ROUNM that
(22:53):
that's when they went in and took a look at it,
and they said, okay, well, whatever was in the beginning
may have been so, but what fit much more broader
base in terms of what I was going to face
for the rest of my life was CIDP.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Due to the prolonged duration of the symptoms, doctor's corrected
trench diagnosis to CIDP chronic inflammatory demielinating poly neuropathy.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Maybe the best description I was given about CIDP is
your nerves have a covering on top of it, and
the covering is a milin sheath. And what happens that
your body is attacking that mile in sheet that's attacking
your nerve endings. So as it goes through the mile
in sheath, and your nerves are kind of exposed, and
so if they're exposed it becomes more difficult to do
the things that you would normally do. Your body can't recover,
(23:40):
it doesn't function the same way you know where. It
might affect your gait, It might affect your breathing, It
might affect your ability to pick things up, your dexterity
that could be very frustrating. In a similar form is
the GBS. Basically, your body is constantly attacking itself. So
it's another autoimmune situation.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
And I'm assuming you'd ever heard of it before.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
I had no idea what it was.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
CIDP is a rare disease, often misdiagnosed as GBS. While
GBS comes on quickly and intensely, CIDP develops gradually over
time and becomes chronic, making it a long term challenge
to diagnose and treat. And Trent was hit with both
in just a few years. Were you given a prognosis,
(24:29):
were you told what you should expect?
Speaker 2 (24:33):
So we did ibig. So that is a really kind
of a go to treatment protocol for people with CIDP
in most cases, especially the ones that are more severe.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Due to the similarities between GBS and CIDP, both conditions
are treated with the same methods over different periods of time.
Trent's IVIG treatment was reinstated in hopes that it would
be more effective over a longer deraation.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
It gives your body something else to fight, so your
body that's become very confused and is attacking itself will
start to attack the medicine to where your body can
start to rebuild that mile in sheath, so there's a
small shelf life. Ten days into the treatment, you could
feel it, you could fill. Your body starting to get weaker,
(25:22):
and it becomes harder to push a wheelchair. You start
dropping things and get much more exhausted quicker.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
By twenty thirteen, two years into his fight, Trent faced
a new challenge CIDP. The progress he had made in
physical therapy was slipping away, and painful flare ups had returned.
Seeing this, Trent's doctors decided it was time to take
more drastic measures to stop the deterioration and repair the damage.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
I went to a particular doctor that I'd heard of,
and he recommended that I get an implant put into
my spine. So I agreed. I was nervous, but having
something that was really stuck with me for the rest
of my life, but it made sense the way it
was explained. But something went wrong. So in the surgery,
there were some decisions made by the surgeon that went
(26:15):
against protocol for what she would do with that implant,
and he ended up cutting into my t ten vertebra.
So I didn't know what had happened. I knew before
I had weak and kind of the tingly feeling of
my legs that's really annoying pins and needles type feeling.
Suddenly I went to I couldn't feel them at all.
(26:35):
And then it wasn't until twenty fourteen where I realized
just how bad of the mistake he had made.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
On next week's season finale of Symptomatic, we continue Trent's
story as the consequences of the failed surgery quickly push
him to the brink of death.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
I ended up having two embolisms by back. The second
one actually killed me, and I wasn't gone very long
and they sat down and they said they needed to
talk to me. That's never a good starting point to
a conversation when it's a doctor. And they said, there's
not anything more that we can do for you.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
But Trent refused to let his dire prognosis to find
his future. Determined he would discover a treatment that would
not only restore his mobility, but also place him on
a path to becoming a world championship athlete. As always,
we would love to hear from you. Send us your
thoughts on this episode or share a medical mystery of
(27:41):
your own at Symptomatic at iHeartMedia dot com. And please
rate and review Symptomatic wherever you get your podcasts, and
if you know someone who you think might benefit from
the information in this episode, we encourage you to share it.
We'll see you next time. Until then, be well. Symptomatic
(28:01):
is a production of Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia. Our show
is hosted by me Lauren Bret Pacheco. Executive producers are
Matt Romano and myself. Our EP of Post Production is
James Foster. Our Supervising producer is Cierra Kaiser. Our writers
are John Irwin and Diana Davis, and our editor is
Sierra Spreen, with additional help from Matt Stillo.
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