Shemek battling back from West Nile

LINCOLN Grimacing and taking deep breaths, Dave Shemek struggles just to stand.

His muscles are weak.

Hold it. Hold it. Look. Keep your eyes open, Colleen Sankey says, speaking firmly and deliberately so Shemek can read her lips.

Sankey, an occupational therapist, instead takes hold of her iPhone and speaks into it.

She is going to loosen the sling behind you and you need to work on keeping your trunk tight and your butt in and dont go with the sling, she says.

Her message displays on the screen. Sankey holds the phone in front of Shemek so he can read the instructions. Its the easiest way to communicate with him during therapy sessions because he lost his hearing. She mimics her command to Shemek as physical therapist Shannon Roth adjusts the sling that was holding him up.

The Columbus man fights to hold form. His arms are outstretched on the table in front of him. After just a few moments, his breath comes in gasps and he clenches his eyes closed.

This is really tiring. If he was weaning (off the ventilator), it would be harder. He wouldnt do an activity like this. Just breathing on your own is difficult, Sankey says.

On this day, he was able to stand for about 14 minutes.

Im so thirsty, Shemek said, trying to wet his dry lips.

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Shemek battling back from West Nile