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Steamboat Springs — It took only a matter of days for 17-year-old Raeanna Steele to be transformed from a vibrant high school senior, two weeks away from high school graduation, to being paralyzed from the neck down, unable to speak and fighting for her life.

Now at The Children's Hospital in Denver, Raeanna is likely to make a full recovery from a rare syndrome that strikes just one in 100,000 people. But her journey won't be quick or easy.

Raeanna first noticed numbness and tingling in her hands during the last week of December. Within four days, she couldn't walk. By Jan. 2, she was admitted to the Denver hospital's emergency room. There she was fitted with a respirator and a feeding tube as doctors watched her quick regression into full paralysis.

"For a little while, I thought I was going to lose my baby. She was in bad shape," her mother, Terry Steele, said Wednesday, tears welling in her eyes. "Every day, something else shut down. It was a big roller coaster."

Raeanna was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder with no known cause or cure that turns the body's immune system against the nervous system. If not diagnosed quickly, the paralysis can lead to death. It is not contagious.

In the hospital, Raeanna lost her ability to talk, so she communicated with her family through an alphabet board, nodding to indicate the letter she wanted to pick.

"You try to guess what she needs, and you're saying, 'Is it your hand? Your arm? Your leg?" Terry Steele said. "It's just frustration."

Her father, Bill Steele, said that although the event was traumatic, doctors expect her to make a full recovery.

"We all know there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and she knows that. It's just the fact that she's frustrated, and the little things that go through your mind when you're paralyzed," he said. "She's looking better. She made the turn a couple of days ago."

A nurse reported to the family that she saw Raeanna flex an arm muscle for the first time Monday. Her speech also is improving, though still in whispers.

Monday "was the first time they could understand what she was saying," Terry Steele said.

Even with the improvements, the time frame for her recovery is uncertain.

"It could take two weeks; she could take two years. We don't know," said Rodney Herman, Terry Steele's boyfriend.

Raeanna was moved out of intensive care Tuesday, but she will remain in Denver until she is mobile. As soon as she is ready, Raeanna will be moved to Yampa Valley Medical Center and, eventually, to her home for physical therapy.

Most people stricken with Guillain-Barre make a full recovery, but some report weakness for years after the event.

Recovery

As Raeanna recovers, she also will be reconfiguring her life. Born in Steamboat Springs, Raeanna is a senior at the Yampa Valley High School. She was scheduled to graduate early, on Jan. 17.

Her sister, 19-year-old Tracy Steele, said her younger sister was interested in crystals and alternative medicine. She had planned to attend a massage therapy school following graduation and eventually travel abroad to try her healing practices.

Terry Steele said she had insurance to cover the bulk of the cost, but deductibles and additional fees are adding up after two and a half weeks of hospital care. More costs will continue to accumulate as Raeanna's physical therapy and recovery continues.

"We'll survive. It's just been a little frustrating and scary," Terry Steele said.