Emily is trying to finish up her schoolwork, including a research paper for her health class. She decided to write one on West Nile Fever, but she is discovering the same thing I found while researching WNF when she was first diagnosed: The medical literature is very different from people's experiences.
There's not much out there about WNF, but what's there will say, essentially, "WNF is primarily a mild illness and most people recover in a few weeks with no long-term effects."
Then there are people's stories.
Brenda M. from Arkansas told me her mom was sick for about a year and still has occasional "spells" of illness and weakness.
Yesterday Mrs. Fischer, who teaches the 3rd graders I spoke to, told me her uncle in South Dakota was sick in bed for a year with WNF and has been several years slowly recovering and is now ok, sort of.
"Jay" emailed us about his experiences. He has continued to have devastating daily side effects for years, (8, as I recall)--headaches and "crackling" in his neck and other symptoms.
So what's with that few weeks and a mild illness??
Quote of the Day:
"May your seed be as the sand of the sea."
--Bible verse Jenny chose to put on a bookmark for a woman in church, complementing a lovely beach scene illustration. The woman said, laughing,
"I'm 50 years old; it's a bit late."
Jenny partly answered my prayer this morning. I was asking for laughter and ooh honey. That was great.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing "crackling in the neck" must also be a symptom of something else, because I have it and don't think I have WNF! Kinda relieved to hear someone else describe it that way and know it's not happening to only me.
ReplyDeletePS: My word verification is "premping." Sounds like what young girls do when they get ready for prom, preem & prep!
I think any illness affects people very differently. The "average" is mild, of 2 weeks' duration. There will be extremes on both ends, people who were sick a day and people who were sick a long time.
ReplyDeleteMy son-in-law has the crackling in the neck thing....I think his dad's rheumatoid arthritis started that way. Perhaps the person who has been suffering for 8 years needs to get another opinion..or a new pillow.
PS...Abraham only had two sons, and it was to him the promise was made. I only have two children, and I would count my offspring's offspring's offspring as my "seed" still.
ReplyDelete