Horror as Texas woman is left comatose and paralyzed after going outside for a smoke - as experts share the simple step that could have saved her

A Texas mother was infected with the West Nile Virus following a cigarette break near some mosquito-infested brush by her house.

Carmen Patin, of Henrietta, recounted the harrowing ordeal in an interview with Wichita Falls' KFDX-TV - describing how she is now learning to walk again because of the dreaded illness.

Speaking from a wheelchair, the 53-year-old recalled going out for the smoke when her legs suddenly gave out from under her - spurring her husband to pick her up and frantically drive her to a nearby hospital.

Being brought there was the last thing she could remember, she said - with her memory left blank for an ensuing eight days.

She spent a total of 12 at the hospital, however - after mistakenly diagnosed her with meningitis before finally discerning it was the fever-causing virus primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, she told the station.

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Carmen Patin, a 53-year-old from Henrietta, Texas, recounted her harrowing ordeal in an interview with KFDX-TV Friday

She became infected with the dreaded virus often transmitted by mosquitoes after a cigarette break outside her house. The illness saw her temporarily lose the ability to use her legs

 'When they started giving me steroids because they thought it was meningitis, it started to attack my nervous system. 

'And that's when they figured out that it wasn't meningitis, that it had to be something else,' Patin said Friday, detailing multiple CT scans and MRIs that ensued. 

'Then they done a spinal tap, and the spinal test is what came back showing it was West Nile, not the meningitis,' she added.  

Once the medical professionals' prognosis was proved, a long road to recovery began.

'I literally was paralyzed,' Patin said, as she slowly regains the use of her legs.   

'I couldn't hardly move; I couldn't think, I couldn't speak. 

'I mean, I was totally out of it,' she continued, as the station filmed some of the strenuous bouts of physical therapy she now has to get through 

'My legs were completely incapacitated,' she remembered.

'My legs were completely incapacitated,' she recalled, remembering how it was a simple smoke break that brought on her ongoing malady

Doctors first diagnosed her with meningitis, before eventually realizing it was the dreaded virus originating from Africa causing her paralysis

Patin - who is also a grandmother - is now in the midst of learning to walk again, undergoing daily bouts of physical therapy to regain the full use of her legs. As of writing, she can stand, but not much else

Evidence has suggested the virus originating out of Africa can cause a polio-like paralysis - with Patin seemingly one of those rare cases.

 'I have to have help to go into the bathroom,' she continued of her plight, which started with a routine, outdoor cigarette.

'I have to have help getting dressed. I have to have help getting in and out of bed,' she recalled, still stuck in a wheelchair.

'I had a big garden in my backyard; we have an above-ground swimming pool and things like that.

'I've got seven grandkids, you know, and I can't do any of that now.' 

Now able to stand, Patin's road to recovery is far from over, staffers at Encompass Health Rehab Hospital said.

There, the once-active mom is doing her best to brave the steady tream of therapy sessions to fully regain her range of movement, with the thought of enjoying the outdoors with her family one day soon her main source of motivation.

She went on to express surprise that she became infected with such an uncommon illness just a few steps from her front door, despite the Lone Star State leading the way in terms of cases that have occurred in the US in 2024.

Patin's road to recovery is far from over, staffers at Encompass Health Rehab Hospital said - as she continues to undergo treatment

'I couldn't hardly move; I couldn't think, I couldn't speak. I mean, I was totally out of it,' she recalled, describing how she lost eight days of memory after becoming infected

The virus is most commonly transmitted from bites from infected mosquitoes - an unfortunate reality of life in the Lone Star State as the summer months wane on

As of writing, her rehab at Encompass continues - leading her to again stress the importance of wearing protection outside. Her smoking habit, however, has continued in full force

Moreover, virus activity typically occurs during the summer months and into the fall, the CDS warns - as Texas has already seen 18 other incidents like Patin's so far this year.   

'I thought it was some, you know, little virus you get,' the Texan recalled, before citing some of the virus's more common symptoms.

'You get a little sick or flu-like symptoms, and, you know, you'll be fine,' she said. 

'But that wasn't the case with me.'

As of writing, her rehab at Encompass continues - leading her to again stress the importance of wearing protection outside. She has not given up smoking, however, with footage from the local news report enjoying a perhaps well-earned stogie.

According to the CDC, there have be 103 West Nile virus cases so far this year.

After Texas, Nebraska has the most cases with 13, followed by Nevada with 11.

A total of 23 other cases account for the rest of the cases, statistics show. 

Like Patin mentioned, experts warn against braving outdoor area mosquitoes may frequent without keeping your arms and legs covered.