Aug. 03--One year after she contracted West Nile virus, Jacquelyn Dudek of Lockport is lucky to be alive to talk about it.
"It's the most frightening time of my life," she said.
Dudek, who lives off of Sunset Drive, said it was Labor Day weekend at her son's wedding when she realized something was wrong.
"I was there physically, but not mentally," Dudek said. "I was just out of it and couldn't even remember part of the wedding. My focus was just gone."
Dudek said her first symptoms were leg pains and severe headaches.
"I was a feeling like something was crawling up my legs. A tingling feeling. With my head, the pain was so extreme, I was just popping pills to relieve the pain, but it wasn't working," Dudek said. "At one point, I couldn't even walk. My husband had to carry me around."
That is when she went into the emergency room at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital.
"They did a spinal tap and other tests, and found I had West Nile poliomyelitis," Dudek said. "For months, I was walking with a cane and going to physical therapy."
Dudek said doctors told her a lumbar puncture was the only way of identifying the virus and that she had been living with West Nile for more than a month before the symptoms started. The virus was caused directly by a mosquito bite, she said.
And still after a year, the virus is with her and will continue to be.
"I still walk with a limp and it's affecting my other leg and back, because I can't walk properly," Dudek said. "You can suffer symptoms even after they go away in a few years, because the virus is always with you. There is no cure."
Jim Devald, director of the Niagara County Environmental Health Division, said July and August are prime months for the virus.
Although, there have been no confirmed cases this year in Niagara County, Devald still urges people to protect themselves.
"The best way is to simply wear repellent with at least 25 percent DEET in it," Devald said.
Dudek said she uses a variety of repellents to keep mosquitos away and installed home screens to prevent mosquitos from entering.
"We keep up a screen over our garage and gazebo," Dudek said. "It may be too late for me, but I have family, and don't want them to go through what I went through."
Several area residents we spoke with said they are not concerned about the virus, because it is so rare -- that is, until they get it.
"It's rare, but very real," Dudek said. "People need to know that it is out there."
Contact reporter Britney Milazzo at 439-9222, ext. 6251.
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