SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The West Nile virus is here, and the Utah Department of Health says no part of the state is immune. That is why one victim is speaking out - to keep others safe.
Ironically, 34-year-old Melissa Dimond of Bountiful is an epidemiologist with the Department of Health. She deals in West Nile statistics, but never thought she'd become one.
“Part of the reason I think it's taken me a while to be ready to talk about this is that it's been [a] very emotionally challenging thing for me,” Melissa said.
It's been two years since Melissa was bitten by a mosquito on her own front porch. “I remember thinking very casually, I hope I don't get West Nile from this, almost a bit flippant,” she said.
Two weeks later strange symptoms started to develop: she felt spacey, had blindness in her left eye, got a rash and severe headaches and could no longer eat. “I felt so sick and I thought this just isn't right, something's just really not right here,” Melissa said.
She was diagnosed with Meningoencephalitis, brought on by West Nile.
“It was devastating. I had no idea that she could ever get that sick and even when the hospital told me she had West Nile, I went into shock,” said Melissa’s husband, Blake Dimond.
Melissa was hospitalized for a month. Today Melissa is suffering long-term effects of the virus. She has a neurological disorder, Dystonyia, in her left foot.
“It has been extremely painful,” Melissa said.
Blake said, “It looks like her foot is curled up and when she walks, it's just in a little bit of a ball.”
It also took a long time for Melissa to gain control over her voice again. She said, “And that's hard for me because I'm actually a musician. I've always sang through my life. It was kind of difficult to get back.”
Each day Melissa and Blake celebrate Melissa's little victories and want to convey an important message about always using repellent from dusk to dawn. “It's really not worth the risk, even if it's small. The type of illness you can develop is really quite devastating,” said Melissa.
In 2006, the year Melissa was bitten, there were 170 cases of West Nile in Utah. Last year, the number of cases dropped to 70. So far this year, there have been two cases.
West Nile can be deadly, so Melissa considers herself extremely lucky. However, she believes the reason her illness was so severe is because she has Type 1 diabetes and had a sinus infection at the time of the bite.
West Nile has killed seven people in Utah.
