,. Pahrump Valley Gazette, Thursday, January 23, 1997 13
Hantavirus survivor describes ordeal
Continued from page 2
I could only bring in short gasps of air."
Arriving at Nye Regional Medical Center in Tonopah,
Moss was examined by Dr. Christopher Ward. After the
examination Ward had several tests performed and called
Dr. Brian Callister for consultation. They didn't tell Moss
what they thought. Hopefully, tests would show they were
wrong. The samples would also be sent to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.
Moss was placed in intensive care. He would remain
there for the next 1 l-days. Tubes were connected to his arms
to feed IV fluids and antibiotics. More tubes were inserted
to try and drain his lungs. Unknown to Moss at the time, his
lungs were filling up and he was literally drowning in his
own fluids:
Three times he reached "super-critical." He was delirious
and couldn't remember most of the busy activity that was
constantly occurring around him. All he could do was lay in
bed, hurt, throw-up, shake and, in brief moments of clarity,
wish he could die and be done with it.
Within a matter of a few days the Tonopah doctors
received a phone call from Atlanta. Their worst fears were
confirmed. Ron Moss had contracted hantavirus, known
then as 'Navajo, or Four Corners, disease.' A team of doctors
was being assembled in Atlanta for the trip to Tonopah. A
complete medical investigation was in progress.
Not all the news was bad. The CDC informed the Tonopah
doctors that a new vaccine that was somewhat successful in
treating the Asian version of hantavirus was being shipped
to Nevada. Although the drug was experimental it showed
optimistic promise.
The vaccine was sent to Las Vegas and the plane was met
by the Nevada Highway Patrol. The highway patrol, with
lights flashing, transported it to Nye Regional Medical
Center where, on the same day it left Atlanta, it was inserted
in an IV and given to Moss.
Moss, by this time, had been told he had come down with
the rare disease. The doctors were honest with him. There
was a 65 percent mortality rate but the new drug gave
inspiration. Many hantavirus victims died within four hours
of the onset of symptoms. Moss had been holding on for
seven days at this point.
Within a day of being
treated with the new vaccine
Moss began showing signs
of improvement. "It was like
being at the bottom of a
swimming pool having es-
sentially drowned, yet
slowly moving up towards
the light," said Moss. He had
lost 40 pounds and was terri-
bly weak from the disease.
But slowly the symptoms
began to fade.
After another four days
in intensive care, he was
moved to a regular hospital
room. The CDC doctors
showed up to interview him.
"They must have asked me
50,000 questions," Moss
commented. "They went to
my house and did a com-
plete search. They sampled
everything they could possi-
bly sample and took it all
back to Atlanta." The CDC
team told Moss that he was
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now immune to hantavirus. He's not quite sure how he takes
that revelation.
As he was recovering Moss had an almost uncontrollable
urge for fruits. "Apples, pears, any fruit. The craving was
incredible," he relates. "The nurses were concerned about it
but my doctors said, 'If it's fruit he craves, it's fruit he gets!'"
Moss was released from Nye Regional Medical Center
20 days after his admission. He was ultimately declared
indigent and Nye County paid the $70,000-plus medical
bill. Moss said nearly half that bill was for the new vaccine.
Recovery continued for over a year. He started out taking
short walks every day. He couldn't handle much more than
that. His body remained weak. He had memory and eyesight
problems. "I had to re-educate myself on almost everything.
I knew I was a heavy equipment mechanic but I couldn't
remember how to do it." Eventually he began jogging and
after more than a year he returned to normal.
Donation containers had been located throughout Tonopah
and Moss collected nearly $800 from townsfolk. "They'll
never know how much that meant to me," said Moss. "I was
broke, jobless and, for all I lnew, looking at a $70,000
hospital bill. The love of friends and neighbors meant a lot
td my recovery."
Today, Ron Moss and his family live in LaVerne, Cali-
fornia. He is employed and about to be married.
EDITORS NOTE: The mortality rate for hantavirus
is currently around 30 percent thanks to new vaccines
that have been developed since 1993 when Ron Moss was
one of the first victims of this deadly virus.
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