Nerve Disorder Linked to COVID Paralyzes LA Firefighter

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A rare autoimmune disorder linked to COVID-19 has left a Louisiana firefighter paralyzed. 

When St. Bernard Parish Fire Department District Chief Rory Miller was hospitalized with the virus earlier this month, he also was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a neurological disorder thought to be triggered by COVID, WVUE-TV reports. The condition has left Miller unable to move from the waist down.

“I think this is even worse than the COVID battle because I walked in here, but I’m not walking out because I lost my legs," Miller told WVUE. "I’m currently paralyzed."

Guillain-Barre Syndrome causes nerve damage and muscle weakness. It also has been connected with the Zika virus.

“Guillain-Barre is very closely associated with infection so it’s not surprising that COVID, being a viral infection, would trigger or cause neurological disorders such as Guillain-Barre,” Dr. Rima El-Abassi of LSU Health Neurology told WVUE.

“More and more research and case reports, actually by the hundreds of patients, have been reported where there has been an observed linkage between COVID-19, SARS virus, and Guillain-Barre,” she added.

Although Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a severe result, patients battling COVID also can experience some form of neuropathy or nerve damage, according to El-Abassi. Along with paralysis, other symptoms can include depression and memory loss.

“I understand long-term I will walk again, God willing, and the amount of work I am going to have to do to get there is going to be a psychological and physical struggle that I have yet to go up against,” Miller told WVUE.