Refrigerator Perry in Hospital with Guillain-Barre Syndrome

by Jordan Yerman | April 22, 2009 at 07:35 am

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William "Refrigerator" Perry, star of the 1985 Super-Bowl-Winning Chicago Bears, is in serious condition. Perry suffers from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, also known as GBS, in which the body's immune system attacks the nervous system.

The 46-year-old former Bear is currently at Aiken Regional Medical Center in South Carolina. His nephew, speaking to the press, said that he is expected to recover.

Perry's nephew, Purnell Perry, told the newspaper his uncle entered the hospital more than a week ago and was expected to make a full recovery.

"They were making sure he was in pretty good health before they started treating him," he said.

A spokeswoman for Aiken Regional Medical Center in Perry's native Aiken, S.C., told the Sun-Times that Perry is in serious condition but wouldn't give any more information.

Also, May is Guillain-Barre Awareness Month.

You can find out more about the condition at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Guillain-Barré is called a syndrome rather than a disease because it is not clear that a specific disease-causing agent is involved. Reflexes such as knee jerks are usually lost. Because the signals traveling along the nerve are slower, a nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test can give a doctor clues to aid the diagnosis. The cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the spinal cord and brain contains more protein than usual, so a physician may decide to perform a spinal tap.