New Book Gives Hope to Victims of Guillain-Barré Syndrome

(2005-09-15) Xulon Press/Regina Roth

The story of how Roth and his wife, Regina, came to grips with this life-altering illness. Through increased awareness of GBS, future victims might be more quickly diagnosed, enhancing their chances for a better recovery.

Longwood, FL - September 4, 2005 -- What could cripple the peripheral nervous system of a healthy man in just two short days? One day Professor Roland Roth was lecturing to mammalogy lab students at the University of Delaware and the next he couldn’t even tie his own shoelaces—the victim of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare disorder that strikes suddenly, without respect to age or race. The story of how Roth and his wife, Regina, came to grips with this life-altering illness fills the pages of Regina Roth’s diary, now available in book format.

Regina Roth believes that through increased awareness of GBS, future victims might be more quickly diagnosed, enhancing their chances for a better recovery. That inspired mission is at the root of The Darkness Is Not Dark: Overcoming Guillain-Barré Syndrome (August, $9.99, 1-59467-109-5). Meticulously journaling her husband’s ups and downs from onset to recovery, Regina opens her private reflections in a story that will build your faith and make you alternate between tears and laughter.

Few people have heard of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) or known anyone who has been stricken by it. Affecting 8 out of every 100,000 persons—including Andy Griffith and Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22—the disorder can easily be misdiagnosed as various other auto-immune maladies with symptoms of numbness and tingling. GBS, which usually follows an infection, occurs after the antibodies mistake nerve tissue for invading proteins. In essence, the body destroys its own control network. The illness debilitates from mild to severe degrees. For Roland this meant being unable to feed himself, having his eyes taped shut when resting, and hallucinating. After nearly six years he now only suffers mild limitations with his fingers and lower legs.

Regina Roth, an Arkansas native, is a reserved, private, ordinary person who believes strongly that her story might help at least one person. The Darkness Is Not Dark documents the day-to-day events in living through her husband's terrible illness and developing a faith in God that she previously only talked about, but never deeply lived. Through their trials, she and Roland learned how vitally important the community of family and friends is. She recognized the need to live every day with an attitude of gratitude. Sharing her raw feelings of fear, anger, and despair, as well as joy and thanksgiving, the author hopes this book will inspire others stricken with neuromuscular disorders. Regina also hopes they will accept, beyond a doubt, that God loves them completely and will never desert them. Regina and Roland Roth live in Newark, Delaware.

Xulon Press is the world’s largest Christian publisher, with more than 2,500 titles published to date. Retailers may order the book through Ingram Book Company and/or Spring Arbor Book Distributors.

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