Maybe it's for the best that Mark Kasprzyk can't remember the lost days, the days when he was too confused to string words together, when strange symptoms made his wife of 30 years suspect he'd had a stroke.
In a way, Karen Kasprzyk said she is glad he can't recall that chunk of time in late July and early August when doctors said his condition was "touch and go" and she worried that he might not survive. No one knew in those early days what triggered the constellation of symptoms that nagged at Mark — the splitting headache, the exhaustion, the inability to speak coherently or even remember his own name.
Imaging tests at McLaren Central Michigan Hospital in Mount Pleasant didn't show any evidence of a stroke, doctors told Karen. Instead, they
suggested Mark's brain was swollen and dangerously inflamed, a condition called encephalitis.
The question was: What had caused the brain swelling?
Encephalitis can be triggered by bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites. For those who survive, it can cause memory, hearing and speech loss; blindness; permanent brain and nerve damage, and seizures, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
"There had to be a primary cause for it," Karen said. Doctors began to run tests to try to answer that question, telling her: "It's a process of elimination."
The mystery would take weeks to solve but has Mark, a 64-year-old electrician from Dearborn Heights, and his wife compelled to speak openly about the ordeal, hoping it will serve as a warning to others — a potentially lifesaving cautionary tale.
'I don't know what Google is'
The Kasprzyks took time off from work in late July to head north to their lake house. It's in central Michigan, southwest of Farwell, and just over the Isabella County line.
A big party was planned for July 25 on property near the lake house that's been in the family for 50 years, Mark said. That would be followed by a golf outing fundraiser set for Aug. 1 at Tamaracks Golf Course in Harrison.
It was a busy time, but by all accounts, the party was a smashing success.
The next morning, the couple began prepping for the golf outing, an annual event that draws friends from metro Detroit to their summer retreat each year. Proceeds from the fundraiser are used to help pay for a community dredging project for a canal fed by Littlefield Lake.
As they crossed things off their to-do lists, Karen said her husband wasn't quite acting like himself.
She recalled that Mark first mentioned a "little headache" on Sunday, July 26. The next night, when he played Euchre with friends, Karen noticed he wasn't strategizing the way he usually does.
"He's a sharp card player, but he made kind of not-so-ordinary-type calls that night. I let it slide, but when we got up on Tuesday [July 28], I remember that he said, 'Boy, I just can't shake this headache.' "
It was odd, but Mark told his wife that he was OK and continued working on tasks to prepare for the golf outing.
"He's usually so on the ball, getting stuff taken care of," Karen said. "But it seemed as if he was moving in slow motion that day.
"We stopped at Meijer to get grocery shopping done ... and I noticed he was becoming more argumentative. That is not his nature. Mark's very easygoing, very kind."
The two of them disagreed about the shopping list, and Mark went off to peruse the aisles on his own for a while. He used his cell phone to call Karen and apologize but said he couldn't find her — even though he was standing 20 feet away, looking right at her.
Alarm bells went off in Karen's mind. "I said, 'Tell me what's happening with you. Tell me what's going on. How are you feeling? Is your head worse?' " Karen said.
"He just said, 'I don't feel right. ... I've got a bad headache. I just want to sleep. ... I'm so tired. If I could just sleep ...'"
She suggested a trip to an urgent care center, but Mark was insistent that he was all right. When they got back to the house, Mark immediately fell asleep.
On the morning of July 29, workers were scheduled to cut down some trees at the lake house. Karen had errands to run. She left their checkbook behind so Mark could pay the workers when they finished the job.
But instead of writing a check, Mark called Karen, confused. His words were garbled, she said, and he asked for a money order to pay an electrician.
"I said, 'Mark, they're not doing electrical work. They're cutting down trees. Write them a check. ... I'm headed back.' "
Mark was asleep in a chair when Karen arrived at the lake house. He'd left out his fishing gear, apparently too tired for one of his favorite hobbies.
When he woke up, she asked him to Google something for her. Instead, he gave his cell phone to her and said, "I don't know what Google is."
To that, Karen responded: "Go, get your shoes."
Symptoms quickly worsen
On the 25-minute drive to the Mount Pleasant hospital, Mark became more and more confused.
His speech, Karen said, devolved into "word salad," an odd and confusing jumble of unrelated words. And by the time they arrived, he could respond to questions with only one-word answers.
She told the emergency department staff: "I think he's having a stroke."
But in the back of Karen's mind, she couldn't square up her husband's symptoms with the telltale signs of stroke. Mark wasn't slurring his words. They were clear, just sparse and nonsensical. There was no lop-sided smile or drooping on one side of his face. He had strength on both sides of his body.
A nurse helped Mark into a wheelchair and asked his name. He couldn't answer. She asked what he does for a living, and Mark said: "Pink."
He was wheeled down the hall quickly, and Karen was left to worry, waiting for news.
'It was just wait and see'
The gap in Mark's memory is four days long.
In that time, Karen said doctors treated her husband with antiviral medications, antibiotics and IV fluids. In the intensive care unit, she said, Mark's condition was touch and go.
"He became delusional," Karen said. "He tore out his IVs multiple times. They had to heavily sedate him."
Doctors performed a spinal tap to withdraw cerebrospinal fluid for testing. With that, they were able to rule out a bacterial infection and stopped treating Mark with antibiotics. But the wait would be much longer to cross out other causes and get a final answer.
"It was just a wait and see," Karen said.
The Aug. 1 golf outing took place without Mark, but Karen said her hopes soared as signs emerged to suggest his condition was improving.
"He started coming back," she said. "I think because the doctors started him on the antivirals, the IV meds when they did — as soon as they did — it saved his life. They kept him calm, kept him quiet because ... with the brain swelling, they said the only thing that's going to help is rest."
When Mark was eased off the sedation, "all he could say to me was, 'golf?' " Karen said. "It was emotional because that is Mark's gig. That is Mark's party with all of his buds. ... They look forward to having fun with him ... and he missed out."
By Aug. 4, doctors at McLaren Central Michigan were confident Mark was well enough to make the trip back home to Dearborn Heights for follow-up care with his own physician, but they still didn't know what triggered the encephalitis.
He saw his primary care physician and was subsequently admitted to Corewell Health Farmington Hills Hospital for a few more days of testing and observation.
Finally, a diagnosis
It wasn't until the week of Aug. 17-21 that the Kasprzyks finally got the answer they'd been waiting for. The call came from Dr. Brian Duffy, an infectious disease specialist who treated Mark at McLaren Central Michigan Hospital.
He confirmed that West Nile virus caused Mark's encephalitis, making him among the 1 in every 150 people who contract the virus to develop what's called"neuroinvasive disease"that affects the brain and spinal cord.
Mark also discovered that he was the first person in Wayne Countythis year to contract West Nile, which spreads from birds to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. A second Wayne County case — in a person from the city of Detroit — was announced Sept. 4.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that most people who are infected with West Nile virus develop no symptoms and may never know they have it.
About 20% will have mild symptoms that can include headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or rash. Fatigue and weakness can last for weeks or months after infection.
Among those with neuroinvasive disease like Mark's 1 in 10 will die, according to the American Medical Association. People who are older and who have conditions that weaken the immune system are more likely to develop severe illness and die.
Symptoms usually begin two to six days after the bite of an infected mosquito, but onset of symptoms can be delayed for up to 14 days, according to the CDC.
That timing, Mark said, is a piece of the puzzle that might never be found in his case.
He doesn't recall being bitten by a mosquito at all. Mark isn't sure whether the bite took place at the Inkster Valley Golf Club, where he played July 21, or in the backyard of the couple's Dearborn Heights home.
He also might have been bitten in their neighborhood, where Mark walks their three dogs — two Great Pyrenees and one Great Pyrenees mixed-breed. It could have happened in Isabella County, too, as he and Karen worked outdoors to get ready for the July 25th party.
Regardless of where, exactly, the infected bloodsucking insect bit him, state health officials warn that Michiganders should do all they can to eliminate the risk of mosquito bites — especially at this time of year.
That's because as summer turns to fall, mosquitoes are more likely to be carriers not only of West Nile virus, but other diseases as well, such aseastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and Jamestown Canyon virus. Those diseases also can lead to serious complications such as encephalitis, meningitis and death.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recommends reducing risk by:
- Emptying sources of standing water outdoors, such as buckets, pots, kiddie pools and tires.
- Avoiding being outdoors at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
- Wearing light-colored, long-sleeved shirts and long pants outdoors.
- Using an insect repellent registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that contains DEET or other active ingredients.
- Patching holes in screen windows and doors.
Five Michiganders have had confirmed cases of West Nile virus in Michigan so far this year, according to the CDC's latest data. Nationally, the agency reports 407 cases nationally. Of them, 285 people reported severe illness like Mark's.
As of Sept. 1, other human cases of West Nile virus in Michigan have been identified in Kent, Macomb, Newaygo and Emmet counties, the CDC reported. At leasttwo people in Michigan diedin 2025 of complications from West Nile virus — one was a resident of Wayne County and another was from Kent County, the state health department reported.
Karen said she hopes that by telling Mark's story, other people might see the urgency in taking steps to protect themselves and their loved ones from mosquitoes and to seek medical treatment promptly if they develop the following symptoms:
- High fever
- Headache
- Neck stiffness
- Stupor or disorientation
- Coma, tremors, or convulsions
- Muscle weakness
- Vision loss
- Numbness
- Paralysis
"If his story can help somebody, and bring awareness of how serious this can be," Karen said, it'll be worthwhile. "You don't know if mosquitoes are carrying West Nile or not.
"You've got to take it seriously."
Mark said he's grateful Karen insisted on bringing him to the hospital when she did.
"She's the one who figured out I needed to go," he said.
She smiled at him, and said: "Life just threw you a curveball."
A new outlook on life
More than a month after his illness, Mark still struggles with certain things.
He sometimes can't find the right words to say in conversation.
"I know what I want to say, but I can't think of it," he said. "I hate it when you want to say something and you can't get the words out, you know?"
He tires easily and said: "I feel a little cloudy in the head. ... I feel a little unstable."
His doctor has restricted how much weight he can safely lift to fewer than 10 pounds. Ladders are off-limits, too, because his balance isn't where it needs to be just yet.
Mark was cleared to drive a little — "just short trips here and there," Karen said — but he won't be able to go back to work until at least mid-October. And that's only if he passes a battery of tests ordered by his cardiologist.
Three years ago, Mark underwent successful triple bypass heart surgery. His cardiologist wants to be sure that the virus didn't also affect his heart.
Mark recalled the open-heart surgery and said that was better than what he's endured these last few weeks.
"I will say this, I would rather do that again than get hit with West Nile. Let me tell you, ... physically, I am more beat up from this," Mark said.
He asked his doctor: " 'How long is it gonna take for me to be normal?' He goes, 'I don't want to say this to you, but we don't know. You may never be 100%. You might be 90%, but you might not be 100%.' ... He told me, 'You don't realize how lucky you are.' "
Mark said he's mostly OK with that but hopes one day soon he can get back to doing the things he loves — playing golf, bowling, fishing and spending time with Karen and their children, Sean and Stephanie, and their grandchildren.
The experience also has changed the way he thinks about things.
Although Mark said he was never a person who used insect repellents in the past, "I will be wearing bug spray from now on."
He and Karen are having more conversations about their future, too.
"We're debating whether I should just retire or not," Mark said. "I wanted to go [on working] until next July, when I turn 65, and then I could just go on Medicare and the whole bit. ... But this made us look at things a little different.
"We kept putting off going to Alaska. We'd say, 'This just ain't the right time and everything.' And now, we're going to finally do an Alaska cruise. We're going next summer."
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Source of a Dearborn Heights man's illness was a mystery for weeks
