# Young Mum Paralysed While Brushing Her Teeth

- Link: https://stayathomemum.com.au/family/kids/young-mum-paralysed-while-brushing-her-teeth/
- Published: 2017-01-06T09:00:48+11:00
- Author: Clare Whitfield

## _A young mother was shocked to find out she had a rare disease when she became paralysed as she was brushing her teeth._

Mum Chloe McMahon-Swift, 22, from Mernda Victoria, has said she is now unable to
walk, talk and eat properly.

She said that she first observed the symptoms of her paralysis early in December,
but she and her local GP dismissed it as just a cold.

[⌊Young mum paralysed while brushing her teeth | stay at home mum⌉⌊Young mum paralysed
while brushing her teeth | stay at home mum⌉[

In her [GoFund Me](https://www.gofundme.com/young-mum-with-guillian-barre) page,
Ms McMahon-Swift described how she felt constant pins and needles in her feet, which
soon travelled to her hands. She wrote:

> “I was absolutely exhausted doing the littlest things, like washing dishes, showering.
> I couldn’t even hold my son, or look after him as I just was too weak.”

Ms McMahon-Swift said she became weaker as she tried to care for her son and work
in disability support.

> “I would cry to my partner (Josh) saying I just want to feel normal again.
> “I was also having horrible shooting pain in my neck and it would shoot up to 
> my head. I couldn’t move it much as it was too painful,” she wrote.

[⌊Young mum paralysed while brushing her teeth | stay at home mum⌉⌊Young mum paralysed
while brushing her teeth | stay at home mum⌉[

After a few weeks, Ms McMahon-Swift said she felt the paralysis fully seeping in
when she was left unable to spit out the toothpaste or move her mouth while brushing
her teeth.

She was immediately taken to hospital where tests revealed she had [Guillain-Barre syndrome](https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/guillain-barre-syndrome),
an autoimmune disorder that attacked healthy nerve cells and eventually causes paralysis.
The disease affects just one in 100,000 people worldwide and sadly, it is said to
be incurable.

Now, Ms McMahon-Swift has been in hospital for two weeks and is receiving treatment
daily.

Thankfully, she said her speech is improving and she is now able to walk short distances
and eat again.

However, she wrote that she still needs to go to rehab for treatment and wouldn’t
be able to work until she is back at full health. “I just want to try my best to
get better as soon as I can and look after my family,” she said.

Source: [Au.news.yahoo.com](https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/33717662/chloe-mcmahon-swift-mernda-mum-struck-with-paralysing-disease-while-brushing-teeth/#page1)

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 Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

 Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical
home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney,
she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school 
age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience
in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

 [See Full Bio](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/clare_whitfield/) [  ](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/clare_whitfield/)