'I almost died,' Orillia man's road to recovery 'a nightmare' after contracting Legionella
The Legionnaires' outbreak in Orillia may be over, but one local man says his road to recovery after contracting the disease has been a "nightmare."
"I have a heart condition because of this. I don't know what my long-term health is."
Jo Brabant, 54, says he was the first of about 35 people in Orillia to fall ill with Legionnaires' disease since late September.
"I got really, really sick. I got pneumonia. I got sepsis. I almost died. I lost the ability to walk. I lost the ability to talk. I had to go on oxygen in the hospital. I had to go on dialysis," he says. "It was a really, really tough go."
The outbreak turned deadly, with one person in their 60s losing their life after becoming infected.
Soldiers' Memorial Hospital confirmed it cared for 27 patients with Legionella, with one person in the intensive care unit.
Throughout its investigation, the health unit determined one of the 35 cases of Legionella was linked to the Rotary Place water cooling tower, resulting in the facility's closure.
Brabant, a long-time Orillia resident, lives in the city's west end but says he never went into the Rotary Place building before being hospitalized for three weeks.
In an interview with CTV News on October 12, Dr. Colin Lee, associate medical officer of health, said water aerosols from cooling towers had been known "to infect someone as far as 10 kilometres away, although most are within three kilometres."
According to the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, Legionella bacteria is commonly found in natural freshwater environments but can become a health concern in water systems, such as cooling towers.
"I haven't regained all my strength," Brabant says. "I'm probably am at 60 per cent strength," he says. "I have great fatigue and lots of pain and aches all the time. It doesn't go away."
The health unit notes that most people exposed to the bacteria don't become ill.
Meanwhile, Brabant is left searching for answers, hoping no one else goes through what he did.
"I don't know that I'm ever going to get better after going through this," he says.
While the City wouldn't provide further details on the outbreak, it said staff was preparing a report to present to council next Wednesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.