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Last June, Amanda Lytle began her journey as the creator and host of a podcast called The Safe Haven. It focuses on sharing of her guests’ life stories and personal experiences, many of which are from local residents of Haliburton County. As the podcast grows, the variety of stories expands.

This week, Lytle’s guest is Mallory Bishop, a local woman who attended Haliburton Highlands Secondary School at the same time Lytle did years ago. They reconnected in the spring through a mutual friend, Kathryn Darling (Berube), who was telling Bishop about the podcast and how it would be a great platform for her to share one of the most impactful experiences of her life.

Imagine going from near perfect health, talking, walking, working, and living your best life, to completely paralyzed and fighting for your life within days. In this episode, Mallory Bishop shares her experience with an upper respiratory infection gone wrong, with symptoms that progressed so quickly she found herself completely paralyzed from the neck down only days later.

The diagnosis was Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder where your immune system attacks your nervous system. In Bishop’s case, it stripped her peripheral nervous system and left her almost completely paralysed for months.

“This story blew my mind. This conversation is a perfect example of why I never want to know too much about my guest’s story before hearing it in full. You’ll hear my surprise and disbelief while experiencing your own as Mal shares her experience,” Lytle said.

You can listen to The Safe Haven Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and by following the links from the Instagram account @thesafehavenpodcast.