Nearly one year ago, Rick Enstrom was bitten by a mosquito.
Mosquitoes didn’t bother him, so the minor itch was hardly worth noticing at the time. It could have happened in his tomato garden or at a friend’s event, he’s not sure.
A few weeks later, Enstrom was concerned, but not about the tiny bite just below his jaw — he was fully paralyzed, running a 105-degree fever and fighting for his life.
“It was like a white, hot hell — the pain was exquisite,” Enstrom said. “For a week, I was in just agony.
“I’ve had broken ribs, tension pneumothorax and a few other things, but none of it touched that pain level.”
Enstrom, who had just retired from managing the Front Range retail operations of his family company, Enstrom Candies, had contracted the West Nile virus.
The virus is transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of those infected never feel sick and about 20% of infections lead to a fever and other mild symptoms.
When West Nile Hit Western Colorado
West Nile virus first appeared in Colorado 22 years ago; since then, more than 6,700 infections, nearly 1,700 hospitalizations and 229 deaths have been reported statewide.
Last summer, Colorado had the highest number of West Nile cases reported (634) since the initial outbreak in 2002. Nearly 400 were hospitalized statewide and more than 300 infections resulted in neurological symptoms such as paralysis.
Mesa County saw a similar trend, rising from zero reported cases in 2021 to 18 cases last year. According to Mesa County Public Health, 13 of the reported cases in 2023 resulted in hospitalization.
Still, Mesa County residents have had much better luck avoiding the virus over the past five years than other parts of the state. More than 15% of statewide cases reported over the past 22 years originate from Larimer County. Delta County was officially considered a national West Nile hot spot for at least two years.
The Sentinel’s Sam Klomhaus reported in 2021 that Delta had the highest incidence rate of West Nile per capita in the U.S. for counties with more than 10 cases that year.
Data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s West Nile Dashboard indicated that about one in four West Nile cases reported statewide in 2019 occurred in Delta County.
According to a 2021 Sentinel article, Delta County struggled with West Nile because there was no countywide mosquito control district, leaving more than a third of the land without any mosquito mitigation.
As of July 31, there has been one confirmed case of the virus in Mesa County and another in Delta County. The counties’ public health departments are currently unable to provide the status or outcome of those cases.
According to the CDC, less than 1% of infections result in serious symptoms like paralysis, but the odds weren’t in Enstrom’s favor.
Enstrom said he recalls feeling queasy for several days, but with an approaching fishing trip to Alaska along with his wife and friends, he figured there was no better cure than the north country.
“I couldn’t have been any more wrong,” he said. “I was just in another part of the world, and they had no idea what I had — no clue. They don’t have West Nile up there.”
Other than Hawaii, Alaska is the only state in the U.S. without any West Nile virus cases. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, mosquitoes require sustained, warm temperatures to thrive; the most common mosquito species for West Nile transmission is not present in the state.
Because of this, Enstrom said providers in the Alaskan medical center he initially visited had never seen West Nile before, nor were they aware of its existence. He added that nobody had considered the virus, or tested him for it until his wife, Linda, brought it up.
Soon after, Enstrom was transported to Providence Alaska Medical Center, a hospital in Anchorage boasting more patient beds and revenue than any other provider in the state. He said much of his time there was spent in and out of consciousness, so he doesn’t remember much beyond the white, hot hell he felt for weeks on end.
“It almost killed me,” he said. “(But) when you have grandkids in the wings, quitting becomes a little harder. My wife was also by my side every day, and my son flew up and spent two weeks up there supporting her.”
One of his few memories is being constantly covered in ice by hospital staff attempting to lower his near-105-degree fever. Enstrom was covered by more than ice, however, as his paralysis resulted in needing a ventilator and feeding tube for several weeks — not to mention five bronchoscopies.
After a few more weeks in Providence, three “last rites” visits from a priest and even more time in St. Anthony’s Hospital and Craig Hospital, Enstrom was no longer teetering between life and death. Still, it was just the start of his recovery, as the 70-year-old’s paralysis even prevented him from swallowing on his own.
Rehabilitation, while difficult, has done little to slow Enstrom down. Within about two months of becoming sick, Enstrom accomplished his first long-term recovery goal: taking a sip of Coca-Cola.
“It was magic,” he said. “When you haven’t had anything by mouth for a month and get a double pull of Coca-Cola, oh, man.”
Almost one year after that life-altering mosquito bite, Enstrom has regained mobility in more than half of his body, which he described as a quantum leap compared to where he started. He said the progress made so far couldn’t have happened without all the help he received from Providence, St. Anthony’s, Craig Hospital and his family.
“I’m trying my best to learn patience,” Enstrom said. “I’m happy. I used to have a list of 20 things to get done by lunch my whole adult life, and now I enjoy sitting out on the deck and watching the hummingbird get into the flower basket and seeing how much redder the tomatoes got the next day — some of life’s smaller pleasures that seem to go flashing by.”
Enstrom added that he has been enjoying the Front Range with his wife (who he met at Fruita Monument High School nearly 50 years ago), whether he is shopping at Costco, attending Rockies and Avalanche games or watching James Taylor perform at Red Rocks.
When asked whether the incident led to regret or impacted his love for the outdoors, Enstrom said, “Not one lick, no way.”
Copyright 2024 The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, Colorado.
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