PROSPECT — Allegheny County recently sprayed to kill mosquitoes suspected of carrying the West Nile virus and the effort had special significance for Adam Isovitsch, 44, of Prospect.

The self-employed graphic designer, knows very well how West Nile can ravage a person's health.

His friend, Kelly Firestone, 36, a firefighter in Pueblo, Colo., has been struggling to come back from the paralysis caused by the virus when she contracted a case in 2012.

Isovitsch said, “When I was working at Highmark, I became good friends with her sister, Beth, and learned the story through her. A year later when I went to Colorado to go elk hunting, I met her.”

“She contracted West Nile in 2012 in the fall. The last serious hike she did was a 9-11 tribute to firefighters. She hiked up Pikes Peak in her gear. She thinks maybe a mosquito bit her then,” he said.

Isovitsch said, “It started with nausea. It started to attack her organs. After they found out she had it, they were able to clear it out of her system.”

According to Isovitsch, the virus that found its way to Kelly's central nervous system, entered her spinal column, passed the blood brain barrier, and caused swelling in her brain and traveled down the nerve pathway of her left leg destroying the nerves as it moved through her body.

“It attacked the nerves in her left leg, it destroyed the nerves all the way down. It's been three years and she's still recuperating,” he said.

“I have nerve damage and significant muscle atrophy in the leg. It's been a very slow process, but it's getting better,” said Firestone, who has returned to work but is still unable to run.

“I can walk. I can bike. I can paddleboard, but 50 percent of my muscle has atrophied, so I've got to do daily therapy,” said Firestone.

“My doctor said I could potentially recover about 85 to 90 percent,” she said.

One method Firestone is using to recuperate is called ARP Wave Therapy, a system that sends electric current through the pathway of the injury while the patient performs a system of range-of-motion exercises.

“It's an actual electrical stimulation that uses direct current to actually open up the nerve pathways,” Firestone said.

“When I first started, I used it four times a day. It hurts and it's not completely comfortable,” she said.

Isovitsch said that the downside of the therapy is the length of the treatment is unknown and that insurance does not currently cover the expense of her ARP machine.

In honor of his friend's struggle to return to the active life she had before becoming infected, Isovitsch has pledged to run a 100-mile race through the hills and woods of northern Minnesota Sept. 11 and 12 to raise money for Firestone.

Isovitsch said all money raised will be used to pay for Firestone's therapy expenses.

“Kelly is trying to do something that was seemingly impossible for the last couple of years. I thought I would try something that I thought I could never do,” he said, noting the longest distance he's run at one time has been 50 miles.

“There is a 38-hour time limit to complete the 100 miles,” said Isovitsch. “You can use that 38 hours any way you want. Run in the daylight, rest at night. I plan to run through the night.”

In preparation for the Superior 100 Trail Run Ultramarathon as the race is known, Isovitsch said he's been running 70 or 80 miles a week in addition to weightlifting three times a week.

His 100-mile effort will not be his first ultra race, but it will be one that he considers the most important run of his life.

With mosquito season upon us, and West Nile detected in Pittsburgh area neighborhoods, Isovitsch wants to raise awareness of this devastating disease.

“Something as simple as a mosquito bite can wreck it for a long time,” he said.

It's not lost on Isovitsch that the Superior 100 is a trail run, covering the same wooded terrain that could harbor mosquitoes.

Still, this summer's weather has decreased the chances of being bitten by a mosquito carrying the West Nile virus, said Dr. Thomas McGill, infection control chief at Butler Memorial Hospital.

“I would not worry about it. Weather pays a big part in the mosquito population,” said McGill. “You need temperatures above 80 and drier-than-usual conditions to create standing water for mosquito larvae to breed.”

“A lot of rain is not favorable for mosquito breeding because it washes away the standing water,” McGill said.

He said people can minimize the risk of mosquito infestation by ridding their property of standing water whether in puddles, roof gutters or discarded tires.

There have been no reports of a human West Nile infection in Pennsylvania this year, said McGill.

Isovitsch knows too well how quickly that statistic could change.

“The ticks and mosquitoes can happen to anyone at any given time. You can have it taken from you by a mosquito. Run when you can, because you just never know when it can be taken away,” said Isovitsch.

“One day I will run again, I hope, I hope, I hope,” said Firestone.

Isovitsch is matching every dollar raised for Firestone on his Crowdrise page:https://www.crowdrise.com/FirefighterTherapy/fundraiser/adamisovitsch