Oklahoma Man Diagnosed With West Nile 10 Years Ago

One day after the first human case of West Nile in Tulsa County was announced for 2014, a man who's been living with the disease for more than ten years told his story. Robert Johnson was one of the first Oklahomans diagnosed with West Nile in 2003.

8/21/2014 Related Story: First Case Of West Nile Virus Confirmed In Tulsa County This Year

The effects of the disease can range from cold and flu-like symptoms to lasting neurological damage, and even death.

Tulsa County is doing what it can to kill mosquitos by using spray trucks in neighborhoods, but Johnson encourages people to always wear deet when going outside so they don't experience the pain he's gone through.

"I don't play with my nieces and nephews like I used to, I don't go out and play football, you know I still can't go out and run,” Johnson said. “Yeah, you know, it takes away, it takes away a lot."

Johnson was diagnosed with West Nile back in June of 2003; he said he was the 11th patient ever recorded with the disease in Oklahoma.

"I woke up to the nurse saying, ‘you know you'll be able to see the fireworks from here tomorrow.' And I was like, ‘why are they having fireworks tomorrow? It's not even the Fourth of July yet.' And she said I'd been in a coma for 13 days, and I tried to get up and I actually fell out of the bed, because I was now paralyzed from the waist down," Johnson said.

He said he'd been feeling sick for about a week when family members rushed him to the hospital with a high fever and jaundice.

He stayed in the hospital 33 days and was released to home hospice then endured six months of physical therapy where he slowly learned to walk again and eventually regained 85 percent of the function in his lower body.

He said the affects never really go away and he still deals with severe muscle spasms and long term memory loss; all from the bug bite he doesn't remember getting.

“Made you feel how insignificant you are, that something so minute could just totally wipe you out, you know. It's not even the mosquito itself; it's the microorganism that's getting into your blood that's getting you," Johnson said. "If it doesn't take your life, it will definitely change you for the rest of your life."

Johnson said that even though the illness changed his life he still feels like one of the lucky ones.

He said that of the people that were diagnosed that year he is one of the only survivors, thanks in part to his young age.