An inquiry into the meaning of Guillain-Barré syndrome : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
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Date
2001
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Massey University
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Abstract
Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune syndrome characterized by a severe and
rapid onset of paralysis that ascends without warning. It has an unknown aetiology and is generally
unknown by most people, including medical professionals. When a person who has had GBS is
asked to speak about their experience, they are likely to talk about aspects of it that are personally
meaningful. Their account can be likened to a story in that it collates seemingly unconnected facts,
episodes of activity and emotional attributions into a sequence that provides knowledge and
understanding. A story is a powerful form for expressing suffering and experiences and so is
particularly suitable for the study of trauma and illness. The actual process of creating the story, plus
its presentational and organisational forms, provides sources for uncovering the identities authors
choose to create and present of themselves. Six people who have had GBS were interviewed about
their experience, and their stories were analysed using a narrative inquiry to discern the meanings
attributed to GBS from the participants’ own understandings and perspectives. The intended focus of
the research was holistic and content based. The result of the narrative inquiry was a plot common to
all six narratives. Namely, GBS is an inexplicable condition, during which horrendous things happen,
but people do recover with time and it is likely their life view will be changed in the process. Four
fundamental issues, identity, meaning, making sense and meaningfulness were drawn from the
stories and configured into a narrative of the researcher’s making. What the participants chose to
speak about became the meanings, or themes, major and minor, of their stories. No event has
meaning in itself, however traumatic events can precipitate crises of meaning. When these crises are
viewed within the context of other events, and are perceived to add value to life, then they have
meaningfulness. In the telling of meanings and meaningfulness, the purpose for storying and the
audience to whom the story is directed are the criteria for which the storylines are chosen. Both the
story and the storying provide opportunities for the authors to create and offer images of themselves,
that are then open to interpretation by an audience. As a traumatic experience, GBS enabled six
people to tell their stories. In doing so they were able to make sense of important issues for
themselves, and re-examine the way they saw themselves and the world.
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Keywords
Paralysis, Narrative