Sufjan Stevens Recovering From Medical Condition That Left Him Unable to Walk

Indie rocker Sufjan Stevens is recovering and learning to walk again after being diagnosed with the rare neurological condition Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

“Last month I woke up one morning and couldn’t walk,” said Stevens in a statement on his website and social media on Wednesday (September 20). “My hands, arms, and legs were numb and tingling and I had no strength, no feeling, no mobility.”

Stevens added that his brother drove him to an emergency room where doctors diagnosed him with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder that causes the body’s immune system to attack the nerves, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition typically begins with weakness and tingling sensations in the feet and hands that can quickly spread and eventually paralyze the entire body.

“Luckily there’s treatment for this—they administer immuno-hemoglobin infusions for five days and pray that the disease doesn’t spread to the lungs, heart, and brain,” shared Stevens in his post. “Very scary, but it worked. I spent about two weeks in Med/Surg, stuck in a bed, while my doctors did all the things to keep me alive and stabilize my condition. I owe them my life.”

Following the initial treatments, Stevens was transferred to acute rehab on Friday (September 8) to undergo intensive physical therapy to help him walk again. Regaining his mobility can take up to one year.

“I am now undergoing intensive physical therapy-occupational therapy, strength building to get my body back in shape and to learn to walk again,” continued Stevens. “It’s a slow process, but they say I will recover. It just takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work. Most people who have GBS learn to walk again on their own within a year, so I am hopeful.”

[RELATED: Sufjan Stevens Walks Through 49 Tracks of Grief and Gladness on ‘Convocations’]

Stevens recently revealed his tenth album Javelin, out October 6, along with new single “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” but has been unable to promote the release yet.

“I’m only in my second week of rehab but it is going really well and I am working really hard to get back on my feet,” said Stevens. “I’m committed to getting better. I’m in good spirits, and I’m surrounded by a really great team. I want to be well!”

Photo: Dawn Miller / Courtesy of Pitch Perfect PR