- Dr. William Dugal, 34, contracted COVID-19 in 2022 and quickly became paralyzed.
- He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Just over two years after contracting COVID-19 and being left paralyzed by a rare syndrome, a North Carolina doctor is working to rebuild his life and help other patients.
Dr. William Dugal, now 34, contracted the virus after attending a wedding with his wife and young daughter over Labor Day weekend in 2022, according to a report from NBC News.
He soon learned he had a rare post-viral condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome, and within days he was no longer able to move, swallow, or breathe on his own.
Dugal said she wasn't sure if she would survive and had “accepted the fact that she was probably going to die.”
But Dugal persevered and was able to start moving again after a few months.
Dugal's problems began in September 2022, when everything was going well for him and his wife, Rebecca.
She had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl named Caroline, and he had just finished his surgical training and started working as a practicing surgeon, according to WFMY.
But after attending a wedding over Labor Day weekend, Dugal began to notice some worrying signs.
“He said his toes felt a bit numb and he was wearing boots so he thought it was from chasing his cousins. [at the wedding]”But it moved quickly,” Rebecca told a local news station.
“I remember going through the airport and he was in real pain. His condition was getting worse and worse and his back pain was terrible.”
A few days later, Dugal said she could no longer walk.
“I knew there was something seriously wrong,” he recalled.
Dugal then went to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, where she was told she had Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disease in which the immune system attacks the layer of skin around nerves called myelin, causing nerve damage.
Most people recover or experience only mild symptoms, but it can be fatal, especially if the paralysis spreads to the muscles used for breathing.
There is no cure or definitive treatment, so doctors usually provide supportive care.
“You don't know how bad it's going to get or how long it's going to last,” Duggal explained. “For me, those were the two fears.”
But as a doctor, Dugal said he is “acutely aware” of the seriousness of his situation.
“It was very humbling to realize that I was at the mercy of the process and had to accept whatever happened.”
Unfortunately, Dugal said, his condition worsened during his month in hospital as “complications arose one after the other.”
He soon became completely paralyzed and was unable to swallow or breathe without assistance.
“I couldn't move my eyes, I couldn't blink. Words can't describe the fear and anxiety I felt at that moment,” he said.
Dugal had to be put on a ventilator and it was unclear whether he would recover.
“I accepted that there was a good chance I was going to die,” he told NBC News.
'I have seen [my wife] And I told her to take care of my daughter.”
He spent the next two weeks on a ventilator before developing pneumonia and causing both his lungs to fail.
As a result, his oxygen levels dropped dangerously low and his brain was not getting enough oxygen, which could have been fatal.
One night, he began to go into cardiac arrest and doctors put him on an ECMO machine, a machine that replaces the functions of the heart and lungs.
Dugal was on the ventilator for about nine days before being placed on the machine, but still couldn't speak, move her toes or blink.
“I was completely trapped in my own body, sitting there staring at the same spot on the wall.”
Things got worse when he lost contact with the surgical clinic after failing to start work on time.
Doctors ultimately recommended sending him to an inpatient rehabilitation facility, but the only one in Houston, Texas, was willing to accept him on a ventilator.
So Dugal boarded an emergency helicopter and was flown to TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.
The first few days were even tougher.
Dugal had lost 60 pounds and was still receiving nutrition through a feeding tube because of her weak swallowing ability.
He still couldn't sit up or get out of bed on his own, but he soon made small progress.
“I remember the first time I was able to move my big toe,” he said, “it was the most boring thing I'd ever seen.”
Dugal spent a further two months in hospital and needed physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy at home to help her relearn everyday tasks.
“I was trying to regain life skills: getting dressed, eating on my own… [my] Put on your shoes and pick up your things.
Finally, a full nine months after her devastating diagnosis, Dugal was able to walk again.
And once his motor skills were restored, Rebecca bought him a virtual reality set to practice his surgical skills.
By July 2023, Dugal had returned to work at the same hospital where she recovered.
He began his career in a lab where surgical research was conducted, then began his ECMO fellowship, and for almost a year now, he said, “I've been in the same hospital providing patients with the same treatment that saved me.”
“It was really nice to be able to work with the same therapists and surgeons that helped me,” he told NBC News.
Ultimately, he said, the experience has made him a more compassionate physician.
“I now have more empathy and a greater understanding of the patient experience,” Dugal said.
“I hope I can offer that same compassion and support to others in similar situations.”