Denton Co. man talks about life after West Nile Virus

A Denton County man is sharing his slow recovery after being diagnose with West Nile virus.

68-year-old Mike Matheny’s wife drives him from Denton County to Richardson every morning for 90 minute sessions in a hyperbaric chamber.

They’re trying to deliver oxygen to his brain tissue in hopes it'll continue to heal after a mosquito bite earlier this summer.

"The first thing I noticed was muscle aches and joints like I’d go up the stairs and I’d feel like that didn't feel right. I'll go change my boots that sort of thing," said Matheny.

The infection started to threaten Matheny's vision and brain function.

Matheny is a helicopter maintenance consultant who’s accustomed to technical*language.

He started struggling with it.

“He couldn't carry on a conversation with you anymore. He didn't talk in complete thoughts and

sentences,” said Matheny’s wife Dianne.

She took him to an urgent care and the emergency room.

Doctors sent them home with antibiotics or constipation treatment, but Matheny kept getting worse.

A doctor did eventually test mike's blood for the West Nile Virus and confirmed the more serious neuroinvasive form.

Today, Matheny is on the mend after six weeks with the illness.

His vision is still impacted, but his brain function is returning.

His doctor says the prognosis is good.

Matheny's case is just one of 96 statewide so far this year.

There are 33 cases in Dallas County, 17 in Tarrant County, eight in Collin County and seven in Denton County.