A bodybuilder who lost 20 pounds in five weeks and lost the ability to speak has shared what saved him from a terrible illness.
Jared Maynard, a father of three, was diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a serious inflammatory syndrome, in early 2023 after a short period of illness.
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He quickly refused, suffering from delirium and organ failure, and doctors began to believe they had no choice but to administer palliative or end-of-life care.
But after five weeks of life support and a miraculous recovery, Maynard recovered.
“During those weeks on life support, I became too sick to receive much nutrition through the feeding tube that was inserted,” he said.
“This meant my body had to rely on the muscles I already had to support me.
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“I was admitted to the hospital weighing 193 kilos and woke up in the ICU weighing about 150 kilos.
“My doctors told me that if I hadn’t been as fit and strong as I was, I probably wouldn’t have survived.”
Maynard, his wife Ashley, 32, and their three daughters Elizabeth, 6, Mary-Claire, 6, and Cecilia, 3, caught a cold last January.
After a week, Maynard’s family began to recover. But he was only getting worse.
After his lymph nodes swelled to the point where they looked like “mountains” under his skin, Maynard went to see his doctor, who initially thought he had mononucleosis, a viral infection.
Then his skin turned yellow and his liver began to fail. fail.
Within six days, Maynard was on life support.
He had been diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a severe inflammatory syndrome that occurs after strong activation of the immune system.
What is hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)?
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare disease that usually occurs in infants and young children but can occur in adults, according to John Hopkins Medicine.
- In some cases, children often inherit the disease, while adults can contract the disease through infections and cancers.
- HLH leads to irregularities in the immune system, causing white blood cells to attack their own blood cells.
- There are two types of HLH: familiar It is acquired.
- family LHF it is responsible for around 25% of cases, and families transmit the disease.
- acquired HLH consists of viral infections, especially the Epstein-Barr virus, or a weak or diseased immune system, according to John Hopkins Medicine.
What are the symptoms of HLH?
- Fever and enlarged spleen are the most common symptoms of HLH.
- Other symptoms may include an enlarged liver, swollen lymph nodes, rashes, jaundice (yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes), lung problems (including coughing and difficulty breathing), digestive problems (including stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea), and nervousness. . system problems (including headache, difficulty walking, visual disturbances and weakness).
- Young children and infants may experience additional symptoms, such as irritability and problems with growth and development.
In Maynard’s case, it was a response to mononucleosis infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus.
“My liver and kidneys were failing, as were other organs. I had to be sedated, ventilated and put on dialysis,” said Maynard, a physiotherapist, strength coach and entrepreneur from Ontario. Canadahe said.
“I don’t have much memory of when I was diagnosed because of the delirium I was feeling and the sedative drugs in which I was placed.”
Maynard’s health deteriorated rapidly.
“Treatment for HLH is a protocol that involves chemotherapy, among other things, but I was too sick to receive the full dose,” he said.
“I started to recover after that last treatment, to the surprise of the doctors and nurses in the ICU. It was enough to earn me the nickname ‘Miracle Man,’ actually.”
Maynard was on life support for a total of five weeks.
His doctors attribute his survival to the physical conditioning and muscle mass he developed through years of weight training.
Maynard’s recovery was long and difficult. He had to learn to breathe, speak and swallow on his own again.
He also had to learn to sit, walk and stand.
‘I FEEL LIKE ME AGAIN’
After nearly four months in the hospital, he was finally able to return home in May 2023.
“I was in constant pain for months during and after my hospital stay,” Maynard said.
“I have nerve damage in my feet, probably from chemotherapy. I also lost my sense of smell for the same reason.
“I was in bed for a month after leaving the hospital and was no longer the strong, capable man I knew myself to be before that.”
Despite everything, Maynard was determined to regain strength for his wife and daughters.
“I will never forget how happy I was to discover that I had enough strength to catch the lightest of my three daughters,” he said.
“I took the next lighter a few days later. Finally, I could get all my daughters. It felt like a piece of my heart was restored.
“I feel strong again now. I suffered my losses with the help of a mental health professional, which allowed me to dedicate my energy to walk this new path of recovery.
“I am currently HLH-free and monitored by my doctors. I will also return to weightlifting competitions in a few weeks.
“I feel like myself again, even though I have some scars and new memories to remind me of where I’ve been.
“I am still experiencing some consequences of HLH, such as respiratory problems and lasting kidney damage.
“I also have to be careful about exposure to germs and overworking because I can get sick more easily and to a greater extent than before. But I am reclaiming my identity of being strong and resilient.”
Maynard shares his journey in his Instagram page hoping to inspire others.
“I faced death and lived to tell the tale. It’s certainly given me more perspective on what’s important and what’s not in life,” she added.
“I would like people to know that building muscle, strength and physical resilience is the best life insurance policy you can take out.
“It’s very easy to put yourself last on your list of priorities between work, school, children and other obligations.
“We all think we have time to get ourselves together, until we don’t. I found this out the hard way.
“This means we need to take care of our bodies and live intentionally.”
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