Take Your Mat and Go Home

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare autoimmune disease that affects only 1 out of 100,000 people. Maggie Allen never dreamt her husband Josh would be one of them.

Before July 2013 life was normal for Josh Maggie and their daughter Jesi with backyard barbecues family camping trips and stable jobs. Then one horrific morning after days of experiencing unbearable headaches Josh is rushed to the hospital. Suddenly thrown into an uncertain world Maggie watches helplessly as Josh battles against pain slips into unconsciousness then waist-down paralysis. When Josh awakens it is to a new reality and an unknown future. During Josh's seventy-two-day hospital stay and the anxious months that follow Maggie discovers a source of strength beyond anything she'd imagined. Take Your Mat and Go Home is a testament to the power of God's faithfulness in life's most hopeless circumstances. It is also a celebration of family patience and the small victories that lead to life's biggest gains.

Maggie Allen was born in Joplin MO and grew up in the Lamar MO area. She attended college at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield MO and decided to remain there after college. She has been married to her best friend Josh since 2003 and they have one amazing daughter Jesi Ray Allen.