West Nile, Lymes & Shrimp

This woman is too unlucky to stand near during a thunderstorm, I thought.

I first heard about the West Nile virus 10 years ago. I was attending a luncheon that lumped strangers together at tables. As we started our salads, the woman I sat beside told me she was recovering from the West Nile virus. At the time, the mosquito-spread virus was new to St. Louis. Its primary notoriety was as a killer of crows and blue jays. And I knew very little about mosquito-borne illnesses.

Our plated lunch arrived, and the young woman shared that before the West Nile virus hit, she had Lyme's Disease. Ticks spread that illness. And, I vaguely knew that my mother had been ill with it.

We went on to sip our iced tea and chit-chatted over slices of cheesecake. Then, she told me that after recovering from Lyme's Disease and before contracting West Nile virus, she nearly died. While at work, a crystal bowl filled with crushed ice and raw shrimp shattered in her hands. A shard of glass sliced through the skin and blood vessels of her wrist. She nearly bled to death waiting for the ambulance. 

My guess is that I told her about my children and my cats. I had nothing as interesting as this woman's near-death story to share. I remember the encounter because she was so young--in her 20s--and to outward appearances, she seemed unscathed by life. But her words said different. Once, twice, three times she struggled through awful and now as she ate lunch and networked, she could see her world start to turn normal again.

In the time that has passed, I have learned about mosquitoes and how they transmit disease. I really appreciate how the unlucky young woman beat mosquitoes twice and a shrimp bowl once. Recently, during a check-up, my physician and I talked about mosquitoes. She brought up the West Nile virus. Four years ago, she said, one of her patients--a man not yet 50 years old--got the West Nile virus and died. 

There is unlucky three times. And there is unlucky once.