Crystal Brown was a healthy mother-of-two when she was suddenly struck down by a life-threatening illness that left her paralysed and unable to breathe.
This was the beginning of the 33-year-old Queensland woman’s incredible journey of recovery, which has been documented in a heartwarming video by her boyfriend and viewed more than 100,000 times.
In July last year, Crystal had been feeling unwell, but doctors had first dismissed her complaints as “all in her head”, her boyfriend, Joseph Papa, told Nine News.
Joseph said it was on the couple's third emergency room visit that a doctor thought it could be more serious.
"Within an hour or so she was put into an induced coma because she lost her ability to breathe," he told Nine News.
It was Guillain-Barre Syndrome - a rare disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. It meant that instead of protecting her body from outside threats, her immune system was damaging her nerves.
Crystal stayed in the coma for seven days. Once she awoke she faced the confronting task of learning to talk, walk and use all her muscles again.
Joseph, who had only been dating Crystal for two months before her diagnosis, chose to stick by her and support her during the arduous recovery - as well as capture it on film.
"I ended up staying at the hospital every night, I slept on a chair next to her bed," he said.
Last week, Joseph shared the results of her recovery in a video posted to Facebook along with a plea for donations to a GoFundMe page to assist with medical bills as well as the family's expenses.
In it, Crystal can be seen in a coma, undergoing physiotherapy and painful treatment, then later performing tasks like opening bottles and finally, walking again.
The video concludes with the mum's hospital tag being cut-off as a symbol of her being released on May 10. The couple said her recovery will continue, and she is expected to fully recover in two years.
"I made it to send appreciation to the people who were a massive support system throughout Crystal’s journey," Joseph told Nine News.
"I just wanted to let them know that although they didn’t see everything, this is what it was like behind closed doors."
You can watch the video of Crystal's recovery here: