JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio

While Legionnaire's disease is fairly uncommon, a Belmont County man reached out to NEWS9 after watching the story aired about a recent confirmed case in Ohio County, W.Va.

He did not want his identity released but he talked about his struggle.

"I had the flu, well I thought I had the flu. I went to the doctor's and he gave me an antibiotic," said the 52-year-old man.

He said he took a couple doses of penicillin and that's about all he remembers, he said seven weeks of his life are a blur.

He said his family found him locked in his bedroom, sitting on the floor watching television after not hearing from him for three days.

His behavior, from what he was told, was erratic.

"My kids, parents and my brothers and sisters told me they would talk to me and sometimes I would answer and sometimes I wouldn't," he added.

He got infected in October and like most typical cases, doctors said he got it from contaminated water.

"Mine was so bad. There's different stages and I'm still learning about it, but mine was so bad my body pretty much shut down. I had to go on dialysis," he said.

While he started treatment at a local hospital, complications during surgery sent him to a Columbus hospital.

"The doctor's told my mother I probably wasn't going to make it," he added.

He has had to teach himself how to walk again. He is recovering at The Laurels of Steubenville, and hopes to return to work and his normal life in the near future.