Mom remains hospitalized with West Nile - Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

A young North Texas mother nearly lost her life and remains in the hospital barely able to move all because of a mosquito bite.

In July 44-year-old Kimberly Dickson tried to fight off what she thought was the flu. But her mom had to rush her to the emergency room because her symptoms became more than she could bear.

"It got to where I was so dizzy it was like it was scrambling my brains," she said.

Doctors said the neuro-invasive form of the West Nile Virus attacked Dickson's entire nervous system.

The otherwise healthy mother of two is still in the hospital two months later. She has lost 33 pounds and can no longer eat, drink or get up on her own.

"It's been hard. I haven't had the use of my hands. To even call a nurse is a challenge," she said.

Dickson is making some progress. She now has feeling in her toes and can wiggle her fingers, but her nervous system is still very weak.

"It's very hard seeing my daughter who was healthy basically become an invalid with a long struggle ahead of her," Patti Nath said.

But the fact that she is alive is amazing. There was a point in the beginning when she was unresponsive and doctors didn't think she'd make it.

"We had the priest and the ministers here. We were preparing to let her pass on," Nath said.

Dickson's two daughters were out of the state at the time. Nath actually called them to let them say goodbye.

For 15 minutes she didn't breathe and her heart didn't beat. Then suddenly her eyes opened.

"She came back to us. They told us she wouldn't be able to function correctly. She fooled them all," Nash said.

"I think it wasn't my time to go. I had a few things to do," Dickson said.

Dickson will still need months of physical therapy. Her therapist believes she may be able to walk again one day, but her progress has been painstakingly slow.

She doesn't have insurance so she's waiting on what is called a "charity bed" to open at a facility.