Sufjan Stevens Hit By Rare Neurological Disorder, Reveals He Must ‘Learn To Walk Again’
20.09.2023 - 21:51
/ etcanada.com
Sufjan Stevens won’t be doing much in the way of promotion for his upcoming album, Javelin, and explained by in a post he shared on his website.
In the post, the singer-songwriter revealed he’s been hospitalized after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, described as “a rare neurological disorder in which your immune system mistakenly attacks part of the peripheral nervous system — the network of nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord.” Symptoms can be mild or severe, with the worst cases resulting in complete paralysis.
“Hi Friends. Quick update on my life. I’m very excited about having new music to share, but I just wanted to let you know that one of the reasons why I haven’t been able to participate in the press and promotion leading up to the release of Javelin is bc I am in the hospital,” he wrote.
READ MORE: Sufjan Stevens Recalls ‘Traumatizing’ Performance At 2018 Oscars: A ‘Horrifying Scientology End-Of-Year Prom’
“Last month I woke up one morning and couldn’t walk. My hands, arms and legs were numb and tingling and I had no strength, no feeling, no mobility. My brother drove me to the ER and after a series of tests — MRIs, EMGs, cat scans, X-rays, spinal taps (!), echo-cardiograms, etc. — the neurologists diagnosed me with an auto immune disorder called Guillian-Barré Syndrome. Luckily there’s treatment for this — they administer immuno-hemoglobin infusions for five days and pray that the disease doesn’t spread to the lungs, heart and brain. Very scary, but it worked. I spent about two weeks in Med/Surg, stuck in a bed, while my doctors did all the things to keep me alive and stabilize my condition. I owe them my life,” he continued.
“On September 8, I was transferred to acute rehab,