Peter Goldstein, IL

Elk Grove Village family issues West Nile warning

By Sue Ter Maat Daily Herald Staff WriterWed Aug 10, 9:09 AM ET

Peter Goldstein complained of chronic fatigue just before a raging fever overtook him about three weeks ago.

Tremors and fever plagued the 64-year-old Elk Grove Village man as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with him.

Two weeks ago, his wife, JoAnn, found him collapsed in a hallway. She called for an ambulance that whisked him away to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village.

Over the next week, he suffered two heart attacks and finally slipped into a coma.

This week, doctors told the family why Goldstein had fallen so gravely ill. He was suffering from West Nile virus, which was exacerbated by terminal lung cancer.

The Goldstein family is now warning others about the dangers of West Nile virus, a seasonal epidemic that first appears in the summer months.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about one in 150 people infected with the virus will develop a severe illness.

Symptoms include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis.

Goldstein spent a lot of time outside gardening, but never complained of a mosquito bite, which is how the disease is transmitted, said JoAnn Goldstein, who has been married to her husband for more than 40 years.

However, about three weeks ago, she found a dead blackbird in the front yard. Dead birds can be a sign of virus-laden mosquitoes, since birds are carriers of the disease.

The disease attacked Goldstein's already weakened immune system, which was fighting undiagnosed lung cancer. The cancer was only discovered through testing for the virus, said Goldstein's 28-year-old son, Scott.

Scott Goldstein said doctors have now given his father a few months to live due to the cancer.

Goldstein added that he wished there had been more spraying for mosquitoes in the area. He blamed the village for not paying enough attention to the issue.

"I blame (the village) for not spraying," Goldstein said. "They are too busy with other priorities."

Elk Grove Village's Director of Health and Community Service Mike Cavallini said the village doesn't spray for mosquitoes as that responsibility falls to the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District, which has sprayed the village three times this year, he said.

The district is a separate entity, which collects taxes from residents on their property tax bill, apart from the village's portion of the tax bill, he said.

Ed Evertsen, who lives across the street from the Goldstein home, said he was satisfied with the amount of spraying that had been done in the area. He also didn't recall seeing many mosquitoes recently.

"In a population of 34,000 (in Elk Grove Village), there's one isolated case of West Nile," Evertsen said. "Does that mean they should've sprayed more?"

Another neighbor, Kathy Lee, said she'd like to see more spraying in light of the new case.

"With all the talk of West Nile, there should be extra spraying," she said.

Warning: Spraying practices debated by family neighbors

More Chicagoland News Chicagoland Autos, Jobs, and More

Copyright © 2005 Daily Herald.