GILBERT, AZ (CBS5) -
A woman from Gilbert said she contracted West Nile Virus while working in her backyard and getting bit by a mosquito.
Debie Buskohl lives in Gilbert near Recker Road and Elliot Road.
She's not shy about her green thumb saying, "I grew up in the Midwest and I just love digging in the dirt."
"That's just my way to relax when I'm not working," she said.
As a nurse, she never thought she would become the patient, and she also never thought it would start with a mosquito bite.
"They looked really odd. They were redder than just regular mosquito bites," Buskohl said.
Just days after the bites popped up at the end of July she said, "I couldn't stop throwing up, I was so dizzy and I fell on the floor."
After several trips to the emergency room, Buskohl said doctors told her she had West Nile Virus.
"I realize now that I probably came close to dying, I was that ill," she said.
Her life has changed.
"I still have tremors. My hands shake. I'm still pretty unsteady on my feet," Buskohl said.
She told CBS 5 news that she doesn't know if she will ever be able to work again and she said there is no cure or medicine for her to take. She said her immune system will try to fight it and she is in physical therapy.
"Take it serious," she said. "West Nile is out there. The mosquitoes are out there. Do everything you can, especially to protect your children."
The Maricopa County Health Department said the mosquitoes in Buskohl's neighborhood did test positive for the virus.
That area is slated to be fogged starting Wednesday night.
The Maricopa County Health Department also said that there are 13 cases of West Nile Virus in Maricopa County.
The State Health Department said there is only one other registered case in the state.
Officials recommend wearing long sleeves, using repellant that includes DEET and never leaving standing water around.
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Debie Buskohl
