Faces of West Nile: Even the 'strongest man in the world' wasn't safe from virus
James William Cook Sr.By Ron Jackson, Staff Writer--CUSHING
James William Cook Sr. was the undisputed "strongest man in the world” to his children. A man who once fought his way out of a coma following a major car wreck.
So when Cook died from a mosquito bite Sept. 28 — becoming one of seven Oklahomans to die from the West Nile virus this year — his loved ones were shocked.
"A mosquito,” said Jim Cook Jr., 49, of Agra in disbelief. "It's still hard to believe that's what killed my dad. To me, he was the strongest man in the world.
"If he could die like that, any of us could.”
Cook Sr., 81, of Cushing and his family discovered the randomness of the deadly West Nile virus, which experts say is most harmful when it preys on youngest and oldest among us. For the Cook family, the West Nile virus is no longer just a disease heard on the news.
It's personal. "My father's doctor told us he used to go home each evening and sit out on his porch,” said Betty Cook, 50, of Coyle and the eldest of six Cook children. "After watching what this disease did to my father, he said he wouldn't do that anymore.”
The end was slow and agonizing for the elder Cook.
Dizziness suddenly plagued him. He felt like he was in a fog. He became nauseous and weak.
"We first took him to the hospital here in Cushing, but they failed to diagnose what was wrong,” said daughter Terrie Ostmeyer, 45, of Cushing. "For a while, we thought maybe he needed new glasses. I took him to the eye doctor twice.”
But the dizziness continued.
Putting family first
Only a year earlier James Cook was doing what he loved to do — work.
Over the years he was a truck driver, a traveling evangelist and a butcher. He was never idle. Even in his final years, he sought employment, working at Wal-Mart for a time and even a local car wash.
Before his death, he even boldly applied for work at the Cimarron Correctional Facility — a prison in Cushing. He wanted to be a correctional officer.
"They told him he was too old,” Betty Cook said with a laugh. "He was upset. He said, ‘Can they do that?' ”
James Cook prided himself on being a strong man.
Grandchildren often hung on his outstretched arms for fun. Years earlier, Jim Cook witnessed his father balance two 75-pound boxes of beef in the palms of his outstretched hands to the amusement and wonderment of his younger co-workers.
Family meant everything to him. He treated his wife, children and grandchildren to wiener roasts, picnics, camping trips, and vacations to places such as Colorado and California.
And he sacrificed for them.
"I remember one time when I was in fifth-grade,” Betty Cook recalled. "I walked through the front door, and I saw Dad sitting in his chair with his legs extended. The soles of his shoes had been worn through, and he must have cut some cardboard from a meat box to use as a cushion on the cement floor.
"I thought, ‘Gee, Dad needs new shoes.”
Betty choked back the tears.
"Then I looked down at my shoes,” she continued. "I was wearing new black and white oxfords.”
‘Tell everyone we know'
Four years ago at the age of 77, Cook suffered severe head trauma in a car accident. He spent 49 days in the hospital, 10 of which were spent in a coma.
He made a full recovery, and took advantage of his second chance.
Morning coffee was almost always followed by a trip to the front porch, where he'd ease into the worn pads of his metal swing and listen to the wind chimes.
Summer nights also beckoned him to his front porch swing — the spot where his family thinks he was ultimately infected by a mosquito bite.
"He loved to sit outside,” said Wilma Cook, his wife of 50 years. "A lot of times I'd find him on the swing asleep.”
Then one August day Cook became overwhelmed by a dizziness he called, "the blind staggers.” The ailment made no sense to those most intimate with his life.
Finally, on Sept. 8, his family admitted him into the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Doctors diagnosed him with the West Nile virus eight days later. Within two weeks, Cook was dead.
"The doctor told us to tell everyone we know about the West Nile virus,” Terrie Ostmeyer said. "Tell our family, our friends, people at our church ... everyone.”
No one needs to tell her 9-year-old daughter, though.
Alexa Ostmeyer visited her grandfather's bedside before his death. As usual, he mustered enough strength to playfully stick his tongue out at his granddaughter.
She smiled despite the sorrow.
"He struggled really hard, but he said, ‘I love you,' ” Alexa recalled. "Then he squeezed my hand real tight.”
