Gold Bar man stricken by mysterious illness gets worse

EVERETT— Cory Zoutte, the 38-year-old Gold Bar man who suddenly became ill last month, has taken a turn for the worse.

Doctors told family members that an infection spread into Zoutte’s brain. He is scheduled to be transferred to the UW Medical Center sometime tonight or early tomorrow, said Gary Watne, Cory’s father-in-law.

“The situation has gotten more serious,” Watne said by phone from the hospital.

A month ago, Zoutte caught what seemed to be a chest cold. Two days later, the father of four nearly died. He has spent the last month heavily sedated at the Providence Regional Medical Center Everett campus on Colby Avenue.

Doctors can’t tell the family exactly why Zoutte became ill so quickly, and they don’t know how the infection in his brain developed, Watne said.

Watne said the family appreciates donations made for Zoutte’s care and the family’s living expenses. People in the community have given more than $2,700 to help with his medical expenses. Zoutte’s wife Misty has stopped working so she can sit by her husband’s side.

Well-wishers also sent the family a flood of messages.

“We want to thank people for their prayers,” he said. “People are pouring their hearts out telling their stories that are similar.”

Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com