Jefferson Co Deputy Back Home After Rare Illness

A Jefferson County deputy who has been hospitalized for the last two months due to a very rare illness is now back home. Deputy Chad Dunlap has spent the last two months learning to walk again after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré (Gee-yan-Buh-rae) syndrome which caused him to be temporarily paralyzed. Deputy Dunlap has spent the last couple months undergoing rehab to learn to walk and move again at Ft. Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville. The deputy was released from the hospital on Friday and received a police escort back to his home in White Pine. Dunlap still has some rehab to do to get full mobility back, but plans on going back to work for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the exact cause of Guillain-Barre syndrome is unknown. But two-thirds of patients report symptoms of an infection in the six weeks prior to diagnosis. Those can include a COVID-19, respiratory or a gastrointestinal infection. While there’s no known cure for Guillain-Barre syndrome, several treatments can ease symptoms and reduce the duration of the illness. The Mayo Clinic says that although most people recover completely from Guillain-Barre syndrome, some severe cases can be fatal.