Sarah Fields, a 36-year-old mother of two, was almost always on her feet.
"Just had a really nice balance.... full life," said Fields.
That life turned upside down in June when she was bitten by a mosquito carrying the West Nile virus.
"Electrical jolts were kind of bursting me out of sleep in the middle of the night, and dizzy spells out of my sleep. The next morning I woke up and really didn't have any use of my left leg at all and was having an electrical seizure every 10 minutes or so," said Fields.
She was bedridden for a week at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto.
"The first month to six weeks time period you're flat on your back in bed, sleeping. All you can do is get up for an hour to visit with your family a day," said Fields.
When she returned home, she struggled to walk. She found herself partially paralyzed.
"I didn't have a left leg," said Fields.
Fields' doctor said only 1% of people diagnosed with the West Nile virus show the symptoms Sarah had.
"Most of the people who have a mosquito bite, who get West Nile, they do not progress like she did," said Doctor Paula Tremayne.
Dr. Tremayne has come up with a treatment plan for Sarah that includes regular visits, chiropractic visits in which her nerves are stimulated to reconnect her muscle to brain, medically guided yoga, specialty physical therapy, myofascial therapy, even support for her family.
Fields has seen remarkable improvement in the last few weeks. During a chiropractic session, she pointed out that her foot can move in ways it couldn't a few weeks ago.
"Initially my foot would only move this way," said Fields.
Tremayne is also collecting blood work to see if Sarah has an underlying condition that made her more vulnerable to the virus.
"It begs the question....why Mrs. Fields?" said Tremayne.
Fields is more focused on what she can do to help others. Her message for others who get West Nile virus is to not give up.
"The fact that you're sleeping all day, you're not getting any nutrition in your body. I really feel bad for people that get that advice and take it and don't have the chance to get a second opinion from a doctor that can actually give you a comprehensive plan for a full recovery," said Fields.