Real Miracles, Healing Stories
David Cole—Sixteens-Year-Olds Are Not Immortal
When
you’re a sixteen-year-old boy you’re immortal. You
have no fears, no boundaries and no doubts. Nothing can stop you. But something
almost stopped David Cole, and it came from an unlikely source. It wasn’t
a car wreck, a sports injury, or anything remotely associated with teen tragedy.
It was a bug. The bite from an unseen mosquito infected David with West Nile
virus, and he nearly died.
Well mannered and unassuming, this farm-raised boy is instantly likeable. A typical teenage boy from rural Idaho, David’s world has four seasons: football, baseball, basketball and the fair. That active lifestyle kept his 5’-10” frame a fit 170 lbs. And it was at the county fair on one hot, Friday afternoon in July 2006, when his troubles began.
While tending to his lambs the headache and nausea started. As an athlete he knew about dehydration, and thought that might be the problem. But as his vision blurred he became disoriented. His last memory would be leaving the fair with his concerned parents.
Back on the farm, David’s condition worsened. By Sunday Beth and Kenneth, David’s mother and father, knew their son needed help. They took him to Mercy Hospital in Nampa.
In the emergency department at Mercy Hospital, David was diagnosed with meningoencephalitis: a swelling of tissue around his brain. Later they learned David was infected with West Nile virus. Beth recalls thinking, “So what does that really mean?” And then she thought, “Okay, your kids get sick, and then they get better...David will be okay.”
But if David was to be “okay” his best chance would be under the care of Dr. Sky Blue, an authority on West Nile virus treatment. His doctors at Mercy arranged the transfer for David. The next morning David was transported to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, and into the hands of Dr. Blue.
Though under the best possible care, David’s condition worsened and he was placed in the Intensive Care Unit. Still Beth remained hopeful. “Okay, he has to be in intensive care, but that will probably be for a couple days...and then he’ll get better and be okay.” But David slipped into a coma. Now the odds were stacked against him.
As the drama played out, the healthcare team tried to ease the family’s fears. “I came in very scared and very emotional,” Beth remembers. “They took such great care of us,” speaking of the staff. “It seemed like they were there to take care of us too.”
Beth remained by David’s side through the night; waiting and wondering. When the new day broke David was still in his coma. Another day passed, and then a week; but still no change. Her bedside vigil continued. Every few days she would go home for a break, then back to her son’s bedside. Dad tended the family farm during the day and at night drove 45 minutes to see his son. And the days passed.
Statistics tell us West Nile virus is most dangerous to people over 50 and those already ill. David Cole was certainly not in those groups, yet he lay in a coma. No one knows why 80% of those infected with West Nile virus have no symptoms. But one percent of West Nile patients develop the neuroinvasive strain, the kind that had David clinging to life. In 2006, twenty-three Idaho victims lost their lives to this mysterious virus for which there is no cure.
As the days passed, Beth struggled to maintain her optimism. Reluctantly, she considered the unbearable possibility she could loose her youngest child. “I hope he’s here in the morning,” she thought to herself.
But on the tenth day, David woke up. Relief and joy abounded, but there was also cautious optimism. Brain damage from West Nile meningitis was a known possibility. In the days that followed, and to the amazement of everyone, that did not appear to be David’s fate. Though he was now weakened and frail at 122 pounds, there was no apparent neurological damage.
For the next 2 months David remained in the hospital as he gained weight and strength. Friends would visit, though it was hard to see him so incredibly ill.
It was on his high school’s homecoming weekend when David had a home coming of his own. In a show of emotional support, David’s classmates elected him Junior Prince for the event. His coach, Cory Dickard, believed David’s presence would be an inspiration to the team. So from the sidelines, David watched the football game.
When Beth recounts their 9 week hospital drama, she somehow finds a bright spot. “There were good things that came out of this experience,” she proclaims. “The people at Saint Alphonus were wonderful. They were there to celebrate on the good days, and to support me on the bad days.” As her eyes welled with tears, Beth noted, “You expect to find a few people who care for you like that, but I was amazed that the whole staff cared about David that much!”
A year has passed and David is playing football again. Though he still has not regained all his weight or strength, by all medical standards his recovery was remarkable. Using a rare choice of words, the doctor guiding his recovery, Dr. Rodde Cox, put it in perspective. “His recovery is near miraculous.”
But then we all know that sixteen year old boys are immortal.