Meet Amulya, who got her smile back

When a rare nerve disorder caused paralysis in her body and face, Amulya and her family turned to Children’s Health to get her back on her feet and regain her smile.

Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, Amulya didn’t recognize the face that looked back at her. Overnight, her entire face had become paralyzed, and her smile had disappeared.  

Amulya’s smile is important to her, and she loves sharing it with others. Not knowing when or if it would ever come back, her confidence took a hit. While quarantined at the hospital, she worried about missing out on prom, ending high school on a bad note and having a rocky start in college. 

“I felt like I'd lost hope,” Amulya, 19, said. “It was definitely tough not being able to smile through all of it.” 

A nerve condition that began with a tingle 

The journey started about two years ago, at the tips of her fingers and toes. First, there was a tingling, numb feeling — the kind that spreads through your leg when it goes numb. Then, a shooting pain up her back. 

Amulya shrugged it off, but it all persisted for about three days. The next morning, she woke up and her body felt incredibly weak. She was unable to keep any food down, and she could barely stand in the shower. 

A day later, after a trip to the emergency room and an antibiotics prescription, Amulya woke up to half of her face paralyzed. Her pediatrician rushed her family to Children’s Health℠ in Plano, worried it could be a neurological issue.  

She stayed overnight at the hospital and, by now, her entire face was paralyzed. 

Her care team was concerned that the infection would spread to her lungs and throat, affecting her ability to eat and breathe, so they transferred her to the intensive care unit at Children’s Medical Center Plano to monitor her condition.  

Physicians informed Amulya she was grappling with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), which causes temporary muscle weakness and paralysis.  

“Your body tries to fight off an infection, but your immune system kind of gets out of hand and starts to attack your nerves,” Amulya said. 

The usual recovery period for GBS is roughly four months, physicians told her.  

Amulya panicked. She was wrapping up her last year of high school. Her college applications had been sent out, and she had been looking forward to spending time with her friends. She worried about missing out on prom and graduation.  

After transferring to Children’s Medical Center Dallas, physicians gave Amulya donated plasma to slow the disorder’s progression, they allowed her to return home and recommended she start physical therapy. 

But three weeks later, Amulya didn’t feel any stronger. The treatment had worn off, and the disorder flared up again. She could hardly stand or raise her arms above her shoulders, so her family brought her back to the team at Children’s Health, hopeful they had an answer.  

Because of the length of her hospitalization, Amulya’s diagnosis evolved to pediatric chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), which is closely related to GBS and is often considered to be its chronic counterpart.  

Children’s Health is home to one of only two Centers of Excellence for GBS and CIDP in Texas. The GBS/CIDP Foundation International awards the designation to health care providers that boast the skills and experience to provide advanced care for children with these rare nerve disorders. 

Families across North Texas depend on Children’s Health for advanced and specialized care, and we rely on generous donors’ support to meet the growing community’s needs. Whether it’s a one-time gift or a regular commitment, donations make incredible moments, milestones and outcomes possible for kids and advance research breakthroughs to solve some of the most complex cases for teens like Amulya. 

Getting back on her feet and regaining her smile 

Amulya’s care team was determined to find an answer, opting to try a more invasive series of plasma exchange treatments. Although it was hard on her body, being surrounded by smiles from team members and fellow patients at Children’s Health fueled Amulya through her journey to recovery. 

“That made it a lot better,” she said. “I would see a bunch of kids smiling, walking around. No matter their diagnosis, they were having fun, because that’s what the care team was there to help them with.” 

Her physical, occupational and speech therapists kept her on track in between treatments, eager to get her back in shape to participate in everything she feared she’d miss out on. Constant visits from the hospital’s furry pet therapy dogs kept her spirits high. 

She quickly experienced drastic improvements. The treatment and therapy support had helped immensely. 

“I was able to stand. I slowly started getting back on my feet, being able to shuffle my feet and walk,” she said. “I felt like a new me.” 

With the help of her Children’s Health care team, Amulya recovered one month earlier than originally expected. She went on to attend prom, go to her high school’s last soccer game of the year and graduate on time. 

Today, she is a sophomore at the University of Texas at Dallas, where she studies information technology systems and dances for one of its teams.  

Her smile? It’s changed, but she’s embracing it.  

She fondly recalls the first hint of movement coming back to her face. Amulya and her mom noticed her lip move — just a little at first — and their eyes instantly welled up. 

“We were so happy. I remember thinking, ‘The moment I get my smile back, I'm just going to not stop smiling,’” she said.  “‘I'll smile at everyone.’” 

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