Dear survivors and friends and family of survivors,
On Wednesday, November 5, 2008, my father came home from work early because he was not feeling well. It sounded like he had the flu (vomiting, nausea and diarrhea), so he tried to sleep it off. The next day when I got home from work, my father seemed to be a different person. He seemed confused and irritable. He was drenched in sweat and it almost seemed as though he was going through withdrawal from drugs or alcohol. We took him to our community hospital (we live in East Los Angeles) and thought that after receiving fluids and getting some rest, my dad would come home as good as new. The day after that, on Friday, I got out of work early because my mom told me he was not improving and the doctor had yet to see him. My dad looked horrible. He was so dizzy and disoriented, and he was in such a bad mood. He claimed his stomach hurt, but then would say his entire body would hurt. My mother, sister and I were extremely confused and anxious to know what was wrong with him. About an hour later, my father suffered two seizures, was taken to the ICU and was in a coma for about two weeks.
About a week after being admitted to Cedars Sinai, he was diagnosed with West Nile Encephalitis. This was definitely a huge surprise. I had heard stories of West Nile Virus victims (and survivors) but never thought much of it. We don't live near a body of water and did not consider the fact that the lingering heat over fall would cause any dreaded mosquitoes to stay past summer. We still don't know where or when he contracted the virus.
My father has been out of ICU for over a week now and had been off the venitlator for a few days longer. He is in a Long Term Acute Hospital. He seemed to be improving every day since he was admitted a week ago. He started to open his eyes and actually focus his pupils on us and yesterday, for the first time, he started to moan and groan at us. We were all extremely hopeful of the beginning of a recovery ( I miss my father's voice so much), but today he had to be placed back on the ventilator because out of nowhere, it seems his blood pressure dropped and he was not breathing properly.
The nurse he had yesterday was pushing to have him react a lot. He would apply pressure to different parts of his body and speak to him loudly and cheerfully. I thought this would be good, but in small doses, since I had been reading your blogs regarding how exhausted you get after a lot of excercise or commotion. I have found it a bit stressful when people assume my father will just "wake up" one day as if everything is fine, or assume he's in a coma not related to West Nile. I am inclined to think that his need for the ventilator might be a result of the stress his body underwent yesterday in trying to get him to react.
I wanted to know from anyone in this community who was in a coma or knows of anyone who was in a coma due to West Nile/West Nile Encephalitis. I'd like to know what you experienced, whether you were able to hear those around you while you were "out" and how long it has been since you've been out of the coma. What do you predict is in store for my father and for those of us who love and wish him well. This has been one of the most intense things I have ever had to go through, and I'd give anything to trade places with him... I just miss him so much. Advise and support would be much appreciated. I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you all get better every day.
Thanks,
Liz
On Wednesday, November 5, 2008, my father came home from work early because he was not feeling well. It sounded like he had the flu (vomiting, nausea and diarrhea), so he tried to sleep it off. The next day when I got home from work, my father seemed to be a different person. He seemed confused and irritable. He was drenched in sweat and it almost seemed as though he was going through withdrawal from drugs or alcohol. We took him to our community hospital (we live in East Los Angeles) and thought that after receiving fluids and getting some rest, my dad would come home as good as new. The day after that, on Friday, I got out of work early because my mom told me he was not improving and the doctor had yet to see him. My dad looked horrible. He was so dizzy and disoriented, and he was in such a bad mood. He claimed his stomach hurt, but then would say his entire body would hurt. My mother, sister and I were extremely confused and anxious to know what was wrong with him. About an hour later, my father suffered two seizures, was taken to the ICU and was in a coma for about two weeks.
About a week after being admitted to Cedars Sinai, he was diagnosed with West Nile Encephalitis. This was definitely a huge surprise. I had heard stories of West Nile Virus victims (and survivors) but never thought much of it. We don't live near a body of water and did not consider the fact that the lingering heat over fall would cause any dreaded mosquitoes to stay past summer. We still don't know where or when he contracted the virus.
My father has been out of ICU for over a week now and had been off the venitlator for a few days longer. He is in a Long Term Acute Hospital. He seemed to be improving every day since he was admitted a week ago. He started to open his eyes and actually focus his pupils on us and yesterday, for the first time, he started to moan and groan at us. We were all extremely hopeful of the beginning of a recovery ( I miss my father's voice so much), but today he had to be placed back on the ventilator because out of nowhere, it seems his blood pressure dropped and he was not breathing properly.
The nurse he had yesterday was pushing to have him react a lot. He would apply pressure to different parts of his body and speak to him loudly and cheerfully. I thought this would be good, but in small doses, since I had been reading your blogs regarding how exhausted you get after a lot of excercise or commotion. I have found it a bit stressful when people assume my father will just "wake up" one day as if everything is fine, or assume he's in a coma not related to West Nile. I am inclined to think that his need for the ventilator might be a result of the stress his body underwent yesterday in trying to get him to react.
I wanted to know from anyone in this community who was in a coma or knows of anyone who was in a coma due to West Nile/West Nile Encephalitis. I'd like to know what you experienced, whether you were able to hear those around you while you were "out" and how long it has been since you've been out of the coma. What do you predict is in store for my father and for those of us who love and wish him well. This has been one of the most intense things I have ever had to go through, and I'd give anything to trade places with him... I just miss him so much. Advise and support would be much appreciated. I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you all get better every day.
Thanks,
Liz
