LIVINGSTON PARISH — After going into the ER on Friday, June 13th for symptoms of sudden dizziness and nausea, 84-year-old Fay DuPont finally got a diagnosis of what she was experiencing: neuroinvasive West Nile virus. The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) confirmed on June 25th the state’s first human case of the virus.
Joey DuPont said his mother lives on her own and has no health issues generally, so it was concerning when she complained about having a fever and dizziness. He said they went to an after-hours clinic on Wednesday, June 11th, where Fay was tested for the flu and COVID before she was given antibiotics and sent home.
By Friday, Fay told her son that she was so dizzy she felt like she would fall over, so DuPont made the decision to take her to the ER for further help. However, at first, the doctors there wanted to send her back home, her son told UWK.
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DuPont said he advocated for his mom, though, and pushed the doctors to run tests because “this isn’t normal for her.” He said that Fay knew something was not right because she knows her body so he was determined to find out what was causing her fever, dizziness and disorientation.
Even after she was initially checked into the hospital, DuPont said his mom didn’t see a doctor for over 12 hours, but he kept pushing for more to be done.
“You need to figure out what’s going on,” he said. “This is my mom. She’s a vibrant person. She public speaks. A week before we went into the hospital, she was cooking for 20 people and having an event at her house. She’s not a sickly person.”
By Monday, doctors began running different tests and exams to determine the cause of the issue. However, none of the tests were conclusive for diagnosing her.
Her symptoms were also worsening with her fever getting higher after the first night there. She had swelling near her brain and her kidneys began shutting down, too. The brain swelling caused her to lose the ability to walk or speak for a time, and she needed a feeding tube to eat, her son added.
“I actually started throwing everything into ChatGPT, recording the conversations and putting them into chat just so I could figure out what was going on,” DuPont explained. “And sure enough, I started getting an idea of what was happening.”
That’s when DuPont brought up the West Nile virus, which seemed to align with the neurological issues Fay was having that the doctors at one point thought might be meningitis. He said that when he asked ChatGPT what she could be experiencing, the Open AI brought up the West Nile-positive mosquitoes in Monroe, Louisiana.
The medical staff was able to use spinal fluid to test for the West Nile virus. Results did not come back for days, though, and Fay was discharged from the hospital just a day before they received the news that she was positive for West Nile virus.
DuPont feels fortunate to know what exactly his mother was experiencing.
She is now staying at a local rehabilitation center in the meantime, working three hours every day to be able to regain the ability to stand, walk, eat on her own, and speak more than a couple words at a time. DuPont said she has already been making progress, however, and he is confident that she will be able to walk and do things like she was able to do just days before she was hospitalized.
“This is something that she can come back from, you know. So we’re hoping and believing God for that. She’s got a lot to live for.”
DuPont said the rehab center has been critical for her progress in healing and keeping her spirits up.
“We’re a good place now, and I feel like she’s getting better every day. She’s able to eat now and can communicate, so that’s a positive,” he said.
DuPont wants to stress the importance of advocating for loved ones in the hospital, especially when they are unable to do so themselves. He believes that his insistence on finding answers is what helped his mom get diagnosed and treated for her symptoms.
“You need to advocate for your family if you’ve got someone going into the hospital.”
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