Minnesota Man Tells Of Years-Long Struggle To Recover From Near-Fatal West Nile Virus

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Doctors consider a Minnesota father's recovery from a near-fatal case of West Nile virus a miracle. It was three years ago when the bite from a tiny mosquito put Andy McBride in a coma. Then, confined him to a wheelchair.

Now, he is staring at the future while standing on his own two feet.

"It feels like it's so long ago but yet it was just yesterday," Mindy McBride, Andy's wife remarked.

A camping destination up north in 2018 has been dubbed ground zero by the McBrides, the beginning of a hellacious battle that the then 37-year-old father from Rosemount told us he didn't see coming.

"Overall, it took seven months and four hospitals before he arrived back here at our house," Mindy McBride said.

He came home in the back of a handicapped accessible van and in a motorized wheelchair and to what appeared to be a future of limitations. But, as each day went by persistent hard work with out-patient and in-home therapy alongside a loyal brother slash personal trainer would pay off.

"I was mad at myself if I had energy at the end of the day. I was like, oh, I didn't work hard enough, you know," Andy McBride said.

Work that eventually put Andy McBride on a walker and a year later helped him to find his footing.

"Many times throughout the whole process and praying for a miracle randomly, and it just happened," Andy McBride said.

What happened to him is considered rare. The Centers for Disease Control says one in 150 people infected with West Nile virus will develop a serious case. Still, doctors can't say exactly why his paralysis is still reversing.

Mindy McBride knows a positive attitude can't hurt.

"Really think about day-to-day goals because I didn't want him to get overwhelmed and anxious around like, I'm never going to do this again," she said.

He's been back fishing, hunting and even skiing.

"Those little pieces that you can celebrate every single day that give you a little bit more of normalcy than the day before," Mindy McBride said.

A hashtag that started as #TeamAndy just the beginning.

"What we've really gone into is #McBridesDon'tQuit. Whatever comes up we just keep going and say we've got the next thing," Andy McBride said.

The McBrides also believe the mental health of the caregiver is very important and should not be overlooked in recovery.

"It comes down to it takes a full team to support him so if I'm not at my best I can't help him be at his best," Mindy McBride said.