Mary Tosta, CA

West Nile: 49-year-old shares story
By Laura Florez
Staff writer

Mary Tosta came down with the West Nile virus.

It's a phone call no one wants, but this year in Tulare County, 11 such calls have been placed.

Mary Tosta, 49, of Visalia got one of them.

After doctors visits, a three-day hospital stay and weeks of suffering head-aches, dizziness, fever, fatigue, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea, Tosta's phone rang July 12.

The sound broke the silence that filled the living room where she had been resting.

On the line was Dr. Daniel Boken, the infection control director for hospitals in Tulare County. Tosta was the latest person to test positive for West Nile virus in Tulare County.

"God, I couldn't believe I had it," she said later. "You hear about it, you see mosquitoes, but you don't think you are going to get it."

Tosta, who nearly four weeks later is still struggling through bouts of weakness, is one of 11 people recovering from the virus in Tulare County.

The virus is transmitted to humans and animals through a mosquito bite. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds.

Most people who have it don't want to talk about it. But Tosta says it's important for people to know that West Nile virus is in Tulare County. She wants people to be able to get help right away.

"I want people to know about it," she said. "People need to know."

Although most people infected with the mosquito-borne virus won't experience any illness, between 10 percent and 15 percent will have mild to moderate symptoms, such as fevers, head-aches and body aches. An even smaller number —less than 1 percent —will develop serious neurological illnesses, such as encephalitis and meningitis.

Tosta was among those who suffered symptoms of meningitis. For weeks, she wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She was too tired and too sick to continue working eight-hour shifts as a medical coder at Visalia Medical Clinic.

"It's like someone's talking to you, but you just sort of feel dizzy and you can't understand," she said. "I wanted to read my work, but nothing made sense."

Tosta left work for 21 days and divided her time among medical appointments, hospital visits and resting on the living room couch — the same couch where Tosta was resting that July day when she got the call.

"I was kind of relieved to know it was [West Nile virus] and not anything worse," she said.

Although there is no treatment for West Nile virus, Tosta has been told by doctors that she will most likely recover.

Still, her life hasn't returned to normal. She rests and drinks plenty of fluids.

"Some people say it's going to take a while," she said. "I can't do what I normally would do. I can't come home and do things like make dinner and vacuum. I can't cook, take the dog for a walk and visit the grandkids."

Since late June, when she experienced her first symptoms of the virus — headaches and dizziness — bursts of energy have come and gone.

The problem started, Tosta believes, one morning when she woke up with a mosquito bite on her neck.

Mosquitoes weren't uncommon around the southwest Visalia homes of Tosta and her fiancé, Glenn Pennington.

They live in an area that was slowly but steadily becoming an active West Nile virus area. Dead birds and several pools of West Nile-infected mosquitoes had been found there.

The couple would spray the mosquitoes, but they never realized West Nile virus could be present inside their home.

Once Tosta's symptoms began to progress —she began to feel extremely sensitive to touch, was dehydrated, vomiting, getting chills, had muscle aches that made it hard for her to walk and a fever of 102 degrees — the couple began to get worried.

"I had read in the newspaper about West Nile virus in the area. I was thinking that's what it was," she said.

Pennington said Tosta's sickness changed her.

"She was so sick I couldn't believe it," he said. "It was kind of scary not knowing what she had. Usually she's not a sitting around type person, but she was kind of like a zombie-type person."

Tosta saw a doctor and was then sent to Kaweah Delta Hospital. During a three-day stay, she received fluids and underwent testing — a spinal tap and scans of her brain and body.

A day later, while resting at home, she got the call that she had West Nile virus.

County health officials announced her case last month to the public along with three others, bringing the county's total to five —the number has since jumped to 11, surpassing last year's four human cases.

Doctors told Tosta to rest, drink fluids and take it week by week. Tosta has.

After taking three weeks off work, she last week returned to work, doing a four-hour shift.

This week, she has graduated to a six-hour shift, but at the end of it, she's exhausted and heads to the couch for a nap.

"I'm still not 100 percent, but I'm getting there," she said. "I'm still tired and fatigued. If we go do something like go to the grocery store, a half hour later I'm thinking, 'Come on, hurry up. I'm getting tired. We've got to go.' "

Summer trips to the beach and to the mountains are out.

She's just not up to them, she says, not yet.

Her 49th birthday, too, has come and gone.

She didn't have the energy for a party, but some family and friends stopped by. One friend left her a gift of insect repellent and wipes with DEET.

Anytime Tosta ventures outside these days, she puts them to use.

But Tosta's biggest gift, she says, is one she often took for granted.

"I'm able to get up without a headache — that's awesome," she said. "It really takes a toll on your body."

# The reporter can be reached at lflorez@visalia.gannett.com.

Originally published August 6, 2005