Jerri Goodlin spent five days in the hospital, suffered severe bleeding and lost 17 pounds after contracting dengue fever in September.
The 63-year-old North Port resident believes she contracted the potentially deadly mosquito-borne illness while mowing a neighbor’s lawn, where she recalls being attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes. Her symptoms started four days later and became so severe that doctors asked her wife whether she wanted Goodlin resuscitated if her condition deteriorated.
“It’s a scary time when they look at your wife and ask, ‘Do you want her to be resuscitated if it were to come to that?’” Goodlin said. “It was a scary time for me, and a scary time for my family and friends.”…