THE WOODLANDS, Texas – A West Nile Virus survivor who lost sight, motor skills and the ability to breathe hopes his story moves others to better protect themselves from mosquito bites.
Mike Sechelski could not move a muscle. He could not see or breathe on his own for weeks. Eventually, when he managed to gasp for air, the 68-year-old heard an eye-opening diagnosis.
“I was surprised that one mosquito could do so much damage,” he said. “There’s no awareness of it.”
He caught West Nile Virus from a mosquito in his yard in The Woodlands. It felt like food poisoning, Sechelski said. His doctor diagnosed him with it, too.
Then Sechelski felt so sick he went to an emergency room. There, the otherwise healthy, married, father of two learned he had West Nile.
“I’ve been researching West Nile Virus here in Houston for the last 16 years,” said Dr. Kristy Murray, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital researcher. “This by far one of the worst seasons we’ve seen in a long time.”
Thursday, health officials announced Harris County’s first confirmed West Nile Virus-related death of the year. It is the second in Texas.
Eighty percent of West Nile cases happen between August and September, Dr. Murray said.
“A lot of people think maybe I’m not high-risk for severe disease, but you can have young people getting really, really sick, and it can change the course of the rest of their lives,” she said.
Sechelski came home feeling lucky. He needs a walker to get around. His hands are too shaky to use a cell phone, and doctors are not sure when or if a full recovery is possible, because the virus remains in Sechelski’s body.
Still, he is alive, hoping his story helps others.
“Try to protect yourselves the best you can when you go outside,” he said.