Goshen man shares recovery story

Aug. 8—GOSHEN — Ivan Newswanger could always be found repairing anything in his families' houses.

Until one day when he became ill with his family preparing to say their goodbyes. This time it was their job to help in any way praying for his recovery.

Many long and difficult months later, Newswanger made a miraculous recovery. He and his wife, Susie, and daughter Marilyn Martin recently shared his story and journey to recovery.

It all started the first week of January 2022 when Newswanger became ill. He battled it for two weeks, and then January 17 he went to work and knew there was something going on.

"My legs felt real funny when I got home from work," Newswanger said. "I wasn't feeling too bad at work but then that night I was wobbly."

The next morning, he decided not to go to work, and went to the doctor instead.

"We were thinking of going to the urgent care and he got up and couldn't barely walk so I said we're going to the ER, that was January 18," said Susie.

They spent over two hours in the emergency room, with Newswanger being diagnosed with the disease giambre, or Guillain-Barré syndrome. This disorder occurs when the nerves are attacked by the immune system. He was admitted into a room that night, and received treatment. Newswanger spent 23 days in the Goshen hospital, then South Bend rehab for five weeks.

It got to the point where he couldn't put weight on his legs anymore, which is what started the five-day treatment, resulting in another spinal tap because of the regression. He had a second treatment, was battling infection, and also had fluctuating blood pressure where he ended up in the ICU.

"We just weren't progressing, he had UTIs, and he lost his voice," Susie said. "He had a feeding tube in Goshen also. He had it all, he couldn't hardly move and he lost his voice and swallowing."

Newswanger added to this

"I think at that point I could barely move my hands," he said.

He came home from the five weeks of rehab struggling to do anything for himself.

"He comes home and he was home for a week and he started getting all junky in his airway," said Marilyn. "I came over and tried to deep suction him. I have a special needs child myself so I've don't that before but he didn't think it helped much."

It got to the point where he couldn't get any more oxygen, he ended up back in the hospital on a ventilator for five days.

"Right away in the ER they told us usually if they're fighters they will put a trache in, if not they can take it out and just let nature take over," Marilyn shared. "But with giambre we've always heard that it can get pretty bad but that it'll recover."

It resulted in a family meeting with the doctors sharing what the options would be.

"He actually decided to put the trache in, we know he's a fighter," Marilyn said.

The doctors even sat the family down for a second meeting before making the final decision.

"Before the second meeting my brother in law happened to talk to a nurse and she said he needs IU," said Marilyn. "The doctor called IU and said there was a room available and a doctor on board."

An ambulance was prepared to transport him down to IU.

"He wanted us to pray and we all stood around the bed and prayed and we sang," said Marilyn.

At IU he was re-evaluated and given plasma exchange treatments, and he finally got the ventilator removed after eighteen days.

"He got stronger and we knew he was going to get better," shared Susie. "After those eight plasma exchanges that just turned him around."

Newswanger was at IU for about four weeks.

At Goshen he was asked to move his hands and he could move his right better than his left. He was then moved to Parkview in Fort Wayne for seven weeks. He got rid of the feeding tube and even started eating regular food at IU before being transferred.

He was supposed to have four weeks in rehab but was there three weeks longer because of the progress he was making.

"Now he's home and its four weeks today," Susie said. "We still have a ways to go but we have come a long way. The strength just isn't quite there yet. The doctor said he had a severe case of the disease. It just takes a long time for nerves to heal and get that strength back, we were in the hospital exactly five months. It was a long haul with a lot of emotional up and downs. But we had a great community they helped us out a lot."

Newswanger's daughter Marilyn shared her thoughts as well.

"If there's somebody who has giambre and a doctor tells you you're not going to recover don't let that discourage you because my dad is just living proof that it can get really bad and you're on a ventilator but he recovered," she said. "There were so many people praying for him and I think that's what really helped the most."