Arizona Student On Vacation In Spain Paralyzed With Rare Disease

A University of Arizona student was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder while on vacation in Spain and her family is now raising money to bring her back to the United States. A fundraiser started for the young woman, Kara Dunn, has already raised over $30,000 of the $50,000 goal.

Dunn woke up on June 5 completely paralyzed, according to the GoFundMe page set up by her brother, Ryan Dunn. The night before, Dunn started feeling ill and had a tingling sensation in her hands and face. She decided to sleep it off but she woke up the next morning unable to move, according to the GoFundMe.

Dunn has been diagnosed with Guillian-Barré Syndrome. According to the CDC, GBS is a rare disorder in which a person's immune system damages their nerve cells and causes muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. Most people fully recover from GBS but some people have long-term nerve damage. About two-thirds of people who develop GBS experience symptoms several days or weeks after they are sick with diarrhea or a respiratory illness. according to the CDC.

Anywhere between 3,000 and 6,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with GBS every year, according to the CDC's statistics.

According to AZ Family, Dunn was in Europe on what was meant to be a six-week vacation. She was diagnosed with GBS less than a week into her vacation, according to AZ Family.

"Right now, my sister and I are in Spain. Kara originally came here to explore the country," Ryan Dunn wrote on GoFundMe. "She is a young, motivated and hardworking Flinn Scholar who studies physiology at the University of Arizona Honors College, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity meant the world to her. Unfortunately, GBS cut her trip short just days after her arrival."

The latest updated posted to GoFundMe said Dunn is breathing without a tube.

"Tonight will be a long battle, but if she can make it through without needing the tube put back in, it will be a very good sign," Dunn wrote on GoFundMe Monday. "She is a warrior."

According to the GoFundMe, the cost of getting Dunn flown back to the United States along with other medical expenses is over $100,000.

Photo via GoFundMe

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