On a family vacation, a tiny mosquito made a giant impact on Brett’s life.

The mosquito bite resulted in Brett being paralyzed from the chest down and then rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital. “As it turns out, I caught West Nile, meningitis, encephalitis, Zika and dengue,” Brett said.

“He had pretty much one of the worst clinical presentations you can have,” said Joanne Delgado-Labron, MD, Associate Program Director, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program.

“It was never an option for me not to walk again or to be able to carry my kids to bed at night,” said Brett. “The PTs and OTs and the doctors and nurses and the PAs never allowed me to believe anything less was going to happen.”

“As he achieved more gains, he was able to do more,” said James Salerno, MD, Chief, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Memorial Rehabilitation Institute. “He’s been a remarkable success story.”

From that fateful little mosquito bite to enjoying life’s little moments again, Brett said he kept his focus on his family and, “it was the best motivation ever, and I had the absolute best care.”