Michael Dean Perry knows that the day is coming when his good-natured, gap-toothed older brother will be back to his old, affable self. William, a former NFL defensive lineman famous for his smile and 360-pound size, spent more than a month at Aiken Regional Medical Center this spring, suffering from Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disease in which the body's immune system attacks its peripheral nerves. Now each day, Michael Dean Perry visits his brother at a North Carolina rehab center -- sometimes to encourage him and sometimes to participate in his long recovery. "Baby steps I call them," Michael Dean said Wednesday, adding that William still is not up to being interviewed. "But we can see improvement." Source: Winston Salem Journal
