BOSTON – A welcome home at Logan Airport Monday night that felt as good as gold, and Leanne Smith would know. The stellar swimmer from Salem toted two gold and two silver medals from the Paris Paralympic Games.

“It’s crazy. It is. It takes a lot deep down inside. There’s just something that is always so determining,” she said.

Leanne was diagnosed with the rare neurological muscle disease dystonia in 2012. But it was her condition just two summers ago that makes her record-breaking feat, feel unbelievable.

“We did not see this coming at all,” said her proud brother Eric.

She’d suffered a partially collapsed lung, and from the ICU went to Spaulding Rehab where Leanne had to relearn how to speak, swallow, and eat.

“To get back out there and swim as amazing as she did. It was just awesome,” he said.

“Nothing’s going to slow her down”   

“To see her keep pushing through. It’s beyond words. I could never do what she’s done. She just has that determination that nothing’s going to slow her down. There’s nobody like her,” said Leanne’s uncle Bob Mailhoit.

And her story’s far from finished.

“I want to prove to everyone I can do hard things. And for people with disabilities to not allow people label you. Set your own goals and set your own path and go chase your dreams,” Smith said.

BOSTON – A fourth human case of the mosquito-borne eastern equine encephalitis has been confirmed in Massachusetts this year.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said a man in his 50s was exposed in an area in Middlesex County at high risk for EEE.

The other confirmed cases are a man in his 70s in Acton in Middlesex County, a man in his 80s in southern Worcester County and a woman in her 30s in Plymouth County.

A 41-year-old man from New Hampshire died from EEE last month.

EEE is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.

“This year’s EEE season has been particularly active and is generating a lot of concern in communities across Massachusetts,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein. “While EEE remains a rare disease, the risk level is elevated in multiple communities.”

The DPH says there have been 91 EEE-positive mosquito samples in Massachusetts this year.  

Protecting yourself from mosquitoes

The DPH urges people to take precautions against mosquitoes. The hours of dusk to dawn are “peak biting times” for many mosquitoes, and people should consider rescheduling outdoor activities in area of high risk.

Some school districts, including Middleboro and Plymouth, have adjusted their outdoor sports schedules to minimize the risk of exposure.  

Wearing long sleeves, long pants, and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.

It is also encouraged to use an insect repellent with DEET while outdoors. To mosquito-proof your home, standing water should be drained.