One minute, Martin Shields thought he was suffering from a bout of the flu. Then suddenly he couldn't walk, struck down by a rare medical condition that reportedly affects one in 1,000 people.

Doctors at Motol Hospital still do not know how or exactly when Shields caught Guillain-Barré Syndrome, his family says. But the 27-year-old expatriate from Scotland is now finally breathing on his own after a month in a coma, and although he is gaunt and bed-bound and still unable to walk, doctors are giving the family hope that he eventually can make a full recovery.

"Martin's a strong one," says his brother, Andrew Shields. "Soon we'll be kicking the football around the pitch again, and having a pivo. We are all just thankful that that the worst is long since past."

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a condition in which the immune system attacks the periphery of the central nervous system. Scientists still do not know exactly what causes it, though it often follows a viral or bacterial infection. There are a host of symptoms: numbness, impaired breathing, fatigue. The symptoms spread to extremities until, at the worst, muscles cease working and the sufferer is paralyzed.

Motol doctors spoke to The Prague Post through the Shields family.

"The doctor who initially treated Martin said that he'd only ever seen one other case of Guillain-Barré in his life," Andrew Shields says. "At first they didn't know what to make of him, because doctors in Prague hadn't seen it before. It was so severe. It was shocking."

Recovery time uncertain

Although he's lived in Prague for only a year, Shields has become a fixture within the city's expat community. At a height of 6 foot 5 inches (1.9 meters), Shields casts an imposing presence, whether standing in front of the English class he teaches or leading his hip-hop band, BTnJ, onstage. His friends call him "Tallest," as in the tallest man in Prague — unofficially, at least.

In the middle of August, Shields returned from a canoeing trip in Český Krumlov with symptoms he chalked up to the flu. It got worse during the two weeks that followed. He complained more often to his band mates that he felt weak and listless.

Then, in late August, the condition took hold: He experienced a sudden pins-and-needles sensation in his arms and legs. Then, he couldn't walk. A friend called an ambulance and rushed him to Motol Hospital.

Within 24 hours, he had been admitted to the hospital's anesthesia and resuscitation wing. His condition had worsened: His heart became dangerously stressed. Doctors induced a coma.

A week later, while he was still comatose, doctors put Shields on a ventilator, an effort to take further pressure off his taxed respiratory system. He remained that way for a month.

Shields is now breathing and eating on his own, though has not graduated to solid foods. He can't walk and still has very limited muscle movements. Doctors do not know how long it will take for things to improve.

The news of Shields' ordeal has spread through the expat community here.

"The big Scottish guy who comes in here for beers? In a coma?" said Noah Lucas, the owner of the Blind Eye, an expat haunt in Žižkov, when he learned about Shields. "But he was just in here the other month, healthy as a racehorse!"

Getting him home

Medical journals say it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years for sufferers of Guillain-Barré Syndrome to recover. About 30 percent of patients have residual muscle weakness after three years, and 10 percent can have a relapse years after the initial onset, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Doctors have not set the course for the intensive physical therapy that Shields will need to undergo in order to regain the use of his basic bodily functions.

While his recovery has just begun, Shields' story already stands out as a testament that runs counter to the prevailing distrust many expats have toward Czech hospitals: They treat you differently if you're not Czech.

Shields' family is praising Motol, saying it has done everything it can for him.

But family members — who have been shuttling back and forth between Prague and Glasgow — would like Shields to continue his recovery closer to home, and are now looking to raise money to pay for a special medical flight to take Shields to Scotland.

Such a flight costs £22,000 ($42,000/930,000 Kč). So far, the Shields family has raised £3,000.

"It's been so devastating to see him so helpless," Shields' mother, Teresa, says.

She is hoping Prague's expat community might reach out and help.