Alva Review-Courier -

Just as the hardest steel is forged in the hottest fire, so, too, we humans are forged and strengthened through our own struggles and triumph; from great adversity comes great strength.

Several variations of this quote exist, but countless are the variations of adversity. Misfortune comes in many forms, and for 19-year-old Lauren Burk it showed up unexpectedly two months ago in what would become the fight of her life.

On a Friday in mid-January, the Oklahoma Christian University student left Edmond for a weekend at her grandparents' house in Waynoka. Upon arrival, Lauren told her grandmother, Judy Ferguson, that she wasn't feeling quite right. She was completely drained and felt an incredible heaviness in her arms and legs. Her neck hurt and her head felt it could roll off her shoulders. Just the weekend before, Lauren had felt ill and because of a fever, began a course of antibiotics. Throughout the early part of that week, the young woman experienced spells of profuse perspiration, but made the trip to Waynoka that Friday.

Judy attributed Lauren's symptoms to being tired and sent her to bed to rest. On Saturday morning, Lauren was alarmed; she couldn't keep her balance, and her hands, feet and even the inside of her mouth were numb. She immediately called her parents, Scott and Chris Burk. The former Alva-residents, both doctors, suspected that Lauren was suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) – a rare disorder in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system.

The concerned mom and dad advised Judy and her husband Don to get the girl to a hospital as fast as they could. Lauren was taken to Alva's Urgent Care where medical staff agreed that a much larger hospital was needed to diagnose and treat her. Protocol called for Lauren to go through the hospital emergency room where she would be prepared for transport to St. Anthony's in Oklahoma City. Don and Judy left Share Medical Center and prepared for the almost-three hour drive to meet their granddaughter in the city.

The couple arrived at St. Anthony's and learned upsetting news – Lauren wasn't there, and worse – she was still in Alva. The Fergusons were dismayed and in shock that Alva had no transport ambulance. They anxiously waited as an ambulance from St. Anthony's made the trip north to pick up Lauren and back down south to Oklahoma City.

In the meantime, Lauren's mom Chris was contacted with the latest news and, not hesitating, caught the next flight out of Great Falls, Montana, where she and husband Scott live. She arrived in Oklahoma City only about thirty minutes behind Lauren. Scott would arrive later.

A medical team at St. Anthony's was on standby for Lauren's arrival and immediately began working on her to make an official diagnosis. The girl was experiencing extreme nerve pain and paralysis was quickly creeping up her extremities. She had a blinding headache and after enduring over 80 unsuccessful needle sticks in efforts to draw blood (and also start an IV), her veins were rendered useless and a port was inserted into her jugular vein. Lauren's doctor-parents' suspicions proved correct: it was Guillain-Barré syndrome, and it was brutal.

The exact cause of Guillain-Barre syndrome is unknown, but is often preceded by an infectious illness such as a respiratory infection or the stomach flu, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusion treatments were started in order to provide immune-strengthening antibodies, but the GBS was unforgiving. Numbness and paralysis were still taking hold and had made it to Lauren's face. She was unable to swallow or move her eyes from a fixed position, and her parents stood by in sheer panic – they knew the syndrome could paralyze their daughter's heart and lungs. All they could do was wait to see if the IVIG infusions would help. Over the next ten days as Lauren received the treatments, the GBS didn't relent. The disease was still ravaging her body and the days seemed to hold little hope of a recovery.

Miracle in the Making

Family and friends were praying constantly and little by little, "miracles," as Judy calls them, started happening. Lauren was starting to move her lips, sip through a straw, and her eyes could finally move from that fixed position. Feeling was coming back to her body and she even was able to smile. Recovery was on the horizon, and it wasn't long until Judy, Don, Chris and Scott realized just how big the prayer list for Lauren had become. During her hospitalization, both her university and former high school held daily prayer services for her, and churches in Waynoka and Alva had Lauren on their prayer list.

Visitors from Oklahoma Christian University – even its president and directors from the admissions, foreign exchange students, symphony and jazz band departments – stopped by to offer support. Lauren was told her dorm room on campus would not be touched (she would have to withdraw from school for a while), and her scholarships would still be in place. Her chair in the trumpet section would be waiting for her too.

Lauren is currently in Great Falls with her parents and is expected to make a full recovery. Physical therapy is helping her to gain back strength and balance – she knows she'll need it when she goes to Japan and China to participate in the foreign-exchange program this May, Judy says.

Through it all, Lauren said she's learned that it's important to experience things and not waste days sitting around; that you don't think about what you have until you almost lose it. She believes that going through tough times gives her a greater understanding of what other people go through, and when it comes to prayer her belief in its power is unwavering.

"I am recovering so quickly," Lauren said. "It's nuts – this huge community of people praying for me. It's something I didn't know I had before. It makes me feel differently. The power of prayer – how can you not believe it?"