GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Before West Nile left him paralyzed in 2017, Al Walczak was active, enjoyed spending time with his wife and being outdoors.
"I liked working in the yard, doing various projects around the house and stuff like that, I liked biking quite a bit to spend time outdoors and just enjoying retirement," he said.
But now, six years later, he's still recovering from the virus.
"Whatever I can do right now, six years later, took me six years to get to and I'm still getting stronger," said Walczak. "There are still some things that I can do now that I couldn't do a year ago."
He spent over five and a half months in the hospital.
"About one and 150 people get, get severe symptoms," said Walczak. "And that's what the case was with me."
With three new cases identified in West Michigan, Walczak hopes for the best for those affected.
"I think about what they might be encountering, at the, at this time, right after they got infected," said Walczak. "And I think, you know, they got a long road ahead of them if it's going to be that severe."
One confirmed case is in Kent County, that person is currently in the hospital. Steve Kelso, Communications Manager for the Kent County Health Department, says they may have contracted it near southeast Grand Rapids, but adds, it's most likely in other places in the county.
"When I tell you that it's in the form 9507 zip code," said Kelso. "And when you see a release come from Ottawa County, it is now logical to assume that the conditions are ripe for West Nile virus to be present in all areas of our community."
It's that reason the health department is no longer using mosquito traps to test for the virus for the rest of the year.
"Once we have found that something exists in those tests, the messaging is largely the same," said Kelso. "After that date, once we know that West Nile Virus or any of those other viruses is present in our community. What we can tell you now is it's here, and it's time to really start taking precautions."
It's a message that Walczak can't stress enough.
"If you do something upfront and prevent it from happening, and you don't have to deal with what happens afterwards," said Walczak.
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