{"id":33,"date":"2015-09-04T21:41:54","date_gmt":"2015-09-04T21:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/?p=33"},"modified":"2015-09-30T19:48:04","modified_gmt":"2015-09-30T19:48:04","slug":"voices-of-ebola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/2015\/09\/04\/voices-of-ebola\/","title":{"rendered":"The Voices Of Ebola"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>KERA talked with several people who were affected by Ebola, including patients and their loved ones. Experts, medical officials and elected leaders also offered their perspectives. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Explore the full archive or jump ahead to the following conversations with key voices on Ebola:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#louise-troh\">Louise Troh<\/a><\/strong>, Thomas Eric Duncan&#8217;s\u00a0fianc\u00e9e<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#kent-brantly\">Kent and Amber Brantly<\/a><\/strong>, Doctor who survived Ebola and his wife<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#nancy-writebol\">Nancy Writebol<\/a><\/strong>, health care worker and Ebola survivor<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#cole-edmonson\">Cole Edmonson<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0chief nursing officer at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#david-lakey\">David Lakey<\/a><\/strong>, doctor and\u00a0commissioner of the state\u2019s health department<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>&#8216;Eric Can Live Forever In My Mind&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national, had contracted Ebola in West Africa. Then he traveled to Dallas, where he was misdiagnosed at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital last September. He was re-admitted into the hospital, where he died Oct. 8, 2014. Last December, Duncan&#8217;s family members marked what would have been his 43rd birthday.<\/p>\n<p>KERA\u00a0traveled to North Carolina to visit Duncan&#8217;s family, including his nephew who called Duncan his &#8220;twin brother.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Mother Remembers Her Son: &#8216;He Was So Good&#8217;<\/strong><\/p>\n<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncan-mom-part-1-WEB_0.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncan-mom-part-1-WEB_0.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncan-mom-part-1-WEB_0.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<div id=\"attachment_235\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-235\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncansmom_0-1024x576.jpeg\" alt=\"Nowai Gartay Korkoyah, Thomas Eric Duncan's mother, needles a traditional Liberian cloth called a lapa. Photo: Doualy Xaykaothao, KERA News \" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncansmom_0-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncansmom_0-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncansmom_0-800x450.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncansmom_0-450x253.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncansmom_0.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 900px\" >Nowai Gartay Korkoyah, Thomas Eric Duncan&#8217;s mother, needles a traditional Liberian cloth called a lapa. Photo: Doualy Xaykaothao, KERA News<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, had survived, he\u2019d be celebrating his\u00a043rd\u00a0birthday Tuesday with family in North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was born on Friday, 8 a.m. sharp, right in my living room,\u201d said his mother,\u00a0Nowai\u00a0Gartay\u00a0Korkoyah.<\/p>\n<p>It was 1971, on her 3-acre farm, in northeast Liberia. Twenty years later, she says her baby was all grown-up, and managed to deliver to the family hard-to-get supplies during that country\u2019s civil war.<\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \"> \u201cNo clothes, no bucket, no salt, no soap,\u201d she said. \u201cHe buy bucket, he buy soap, he bought clothes and send it to us. &#8230; He was so good. He was so good.\u201d <div class=\"quote-source\">Nowai Gartay Korkoyah, Thomas Eric Duncan's mother<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>The civil war displaced nearly half a million people, including Korkoyah\u2019s family, first to the Ivory Coast, then to Ghana. In 1990, her daughter was granted political asylum in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Now, they live just outside Charlotte.<\/p>\n<p>Another day she\u2019ll never forget? The moment she was told about her son\u2019s death in Dallas, when Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital officials asked her to sit down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said, &#8216;you want to tell me the truth; I can\u2019t see Eric,&#8217;\u201d\u00a0Korkoyah\u00a0said. \u201cNo Eric. I [am] confused. I don\u2019t know what to do. My son. Let his soul rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mai Wureh, Duncan\u2019s sister, says this has been a nightmare for her and her family.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_236\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-236\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Sister-300x205.jpeg\" alt=\"Mai Wureh, Thomas Eric Duncan's sister, says it's been a nightmare for her and her family. Photo: Doualy Xaykaothao, KERA News \" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Sister-300x205.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Sister-1024x698.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Sister-800x545.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Sister-450x307.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Sister.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >Mai Wureh, Thomas Eric Duncan&#8217;s sister, says it&#8217;s been a nightmare for her and her family. Photo: Doualy Xaykaothao, KERA News<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cDiagnosed in America?\u201d she said. \u201cPeople came here sick, and they survived. I don\u2019t think he should have died. No, not from Ebola.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s a registered nurse in Charlotte. It was her suggestion that Duncan first go to the emergency room, fearing malaria or typhoid fever, known diseases in Liberia. But Texas Health Presbyterian sent her brother home, even when records showed a 103-degree fever and travel from West Africa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a red flag,\u201d Wureh said. \u201cI would have keep him there and do more tests. So I was concerned. I kept calling. I said maybe you need to go back to that hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did, two days later, and was correctly diagnosed with Ebola.<\/p>\n<p>Duncan\u2019s sister says she still has questions about her brother\u2019s care, and why he died when eight other Ebola patients in the U.S. survived. On Oct. 4,\u00a0Duncan received his first dose of an experimental drug.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the 7th, the report we got was great,\u201d she said. \u201cI went home with high hopes. My mom she hadn\u2019t eaten for days; she was able to eat a full meal. She told her son he was going to make it. I thought he was going to make it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But her brother died the next morning, without a single family member by his side.<\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \"> \u201cMy brother was a compassionate person,\u201d Wureh said. \u201cI never saw him mad. Never. He was a family person, loved everyone. That\u2019s why it hurt so bad.\u201d<div class=\"quote-source\">Mai Wureh, Thomas Eric Duncan's sister<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>After the tears, occasionally the anger comes back, especially when she thinks about people who called her brother a liar or a criminal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would he come here with Ebola to infect people?\u201d she said. \u201cTo infect his mom, to infect his children, to infect them? I just want to praise God because I\u2019m telling you, there\u2019s a lot of anger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The family reached a confidential settlement with the hospital a month after Duncan was cremated. Wureh says her mother didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe just wants her son back,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat can we do? We have to forgive and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Josephus Weeks On Thomas Eric Duncan: &#8216;We&#8217;ve Been Together Since Birth&#8217;<\/strong><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncan_Part2_Web.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncan_Part2_Web.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Duncan_Part2_Web.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>Josephus Weeks wore jeans and a blue hoodie, with the words &#8220;Combatives Instructor.&#8221; The U.S. Army veteran stands 5-feet-9-inches, and is somber.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the house, the place Eric and I were supposed to stay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He stands in a two-story townhouse with two bedrooms and a back porch that opens up to a small pond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, we talked about this, and he was excited to come here,\u201d Weeks said. \u201cHe couldn\u2019t wait to make it here, but it didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_233\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 916px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-233\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Josephus3.jpg\" alt=\"Josephus Weeks says Texas Health Resources accepted they made mistakes while caring for his &quot;brother&quot; Thomas Eric Duncan. Photo: Doualy Xaokaothao\/KERA\" width=\"916\" height=\"516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Josephus3.jpg 916w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Josephus3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Josephus3-800x451.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Josephus3-450x253.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 916px) 100vw, 916px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 916px\" >Josephus Weeks says Texas Health Resources accepted they made mistakes while caring for his &#8220;brother&#8221; Thomas Eric Duncan.<br \/>Photo: Doualy Xaokaothao\/KERA<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Weeks is the nephew of Thomas Eric Duncan. His mother was a teenager when she gave birth in Liberia, so Weeks was raised by his grandmother, who was then pregnant with Duncan.<\/p>\n<p>Weeks became the big brother, he says, because Duncan was the sensitive, non-violent one.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was the one who was in fights, always picking up fights for him,\u201d he said. \u201cSomebody mess with him, he would always come running back to get his big brother &#8230; me.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \">\u201cWe\u2019ve been together since birth. Everyone thought we were twin brothers.\u201d <div class=\"quote-source\">Josephus Weeks, nephew of Thomas Eric Duncan<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>They parted 22 years ago, when the civil war in Liberia displaced tens of thousands of families. They stayed in touch over the years, and when Duncan was hospitalized in Dallas, Weeks was the family spokesman. Sitting in a bedroom that he calls &#8220;Eric\u2019s Room,&#8221; he says the two were supposed to grow old together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMan, he was my road dog,\u201d Weeks said. \u201cWe played soccer together. We played basketball together. The girls liked him. He had pretty eyes. He had good hair. I didn\u2019t. &#8230; He\u2019s a very kind person, very clean, very neat. We were going to sit out here, watch the lake, discuss our strategy to make our business, to support our kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_234\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-234\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Eric4-300x254.jpg\" alt=\"Thomas Eric Duncan, in his younger years, in Monrovia, Liberia. Photo: Courtesy Duncan Family \" width=\"300\" height=\"254\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Eric4-300x254.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Eric4-800x677.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Eric4-450x381.jpg 450w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Eric4.jpg 895w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >Thomas Eric Duncan, in his younger years, in Monrovia, Liberia. Photo: Courtesy Duncan Family<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Like Duncan, Weeks is a single dad. Duncan left behind two boys in the United States, and two girls in West Africa; each has a different mom. Weeks says he\u2019s now the father to all of them.<\/p>\n<p>He also says he&#8217;s looking after a memorial fund that Texas Health Resources established as part of a confidential settlement with Duncan\u2019s family. Texas Health Resources is the parent company of the hospital where Duncan died.<\/p>\n<p>Weeks says he wants to help raise money to build a hospital in Liberia for Ebola patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe foundation is him,\u201d Weeks said. \u201cSo just like I took care of him, I want to take care of this foundation. &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have to get this foundation going so at least Eric can live forever in my mind. So even after I\u2019m dead and gone, his kids can still look at a facility or structure with his name on it, that he\u2019s still here, and their father didn\u2019t die in vain.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \">\u201cThe foundation is him.\u00a0So just like I took care of him, I want to take care of this foundation.\u201d <div class=\"quote-source\">Josephus Weeks<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>So why is Weeks now working with the hospital, when he was so critical after Duncan\u2019s death?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe doctors should have done their job, and should have done it the right way,\u201d Weeks said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why I was trying to push them to do it. They accepted the fact that they made mistakes. So they have an opportunity to make it right, and if they want to work with me as the family, to go ahead and do something, make this whole situation better, of course I will work with them, give them a second chance, to prove that they are actually competent people \u2026 good people, and honorable people. How else can you prove that?\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"louise-troh\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>How Louise Troh Survived Ebola<\/h3>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_06-08-15-HR-1.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_06-08-15-HR-1.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_06-08-15-HR-1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Last year, when Thomas Eric Duncan became the first person to die from the virus in the U.S., he left behind his fianc\u00e9e. Louise Troh leaned on her family and faith to make it through.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_258\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-258 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TrohChurch_5_JT_07-300x256.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TrohChurch_5_JT_07-300x256.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TrohChurch_5_JT_07-1024x874.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TrohChurch_5_JT_07-1360x1161.jpg 1360w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TrohChurch_5_JT_07-800x683.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TrohChurch_5_JT_07-450x384.jpg 450w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TrohChurch_5_JT_07.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >Louise Troh (center), the fiancee of Thomas Eric Duncan, sits with her granddaughters Rose Yah (left), 6, and Knowledge Dopoe, 5,<br \/> at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015. (Jim Tuttle\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/ebola\/headlines\/20150424-as-it-embraced-member-in-dallas-ebola-crisis-church-found-its-own-redemption.ece\">The Dallas Morning News<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>When Duncan first developed flulike symptoms after arriving from Liberia, Troh didn\u2019t think much of it. Duncan had suffered from Typhoid fever before &#8212; and other people who had visited her from Africa also felt run down when they arrived.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was thinking it\u2019s his first time coming and it\u2019s just a climate change,&#8221; Troh said. &#8220;I wasn\u2019t even thinking about Ebola.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Soon, Duncan was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>When Troh got the call from a doctor confirming the worst, she was cleaning clothes at her neighborhood laundromat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I heard it, I was already dead. I couldn\u2019t even think,&#8221; Troh said. &#8220;I was not thinking and people were calling me. From everywhere, they were calling me. And I wouldn\u2019t answer the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the many people Troh relied on as Duncan\u2019s conditioned worsened was her teenage son, Timothy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was my encouragement \u2013 he encouraged me. He\u2019s brave, young. \u2026 He\u2019s like, \u2018Nobody going to call me Ebola \u2013 nobody going to talk about Ebola to me because I don\u2019t have it!\u2019&#8221; Troh said. &#8220;He never worried \u2013 if I asked him to take his temperature, he was like, \u2018I\u2019m sick of taking temperature \u2013 I\u2019m not sick!\u2019 And I said, \u2018Well, we have to just listen to them, we have to be obedient, so we can get out of here, OK?\u2019 And he said, \u2018OK.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Troh said the support of the people around her and her faith got her through. She thought a lot about Moses, Job and other figures from the Bible whose faiths were tested. And she\u2019s come to view Duncan\u2019s death as a sacrifice that saved others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe came as, like how Jesus died on the cross for us, because Eric\u2019s death brought a whole lot of attention around the world to Ebola,&#8221; Troh said. &#8220;Everybody is trying to know about Ebola \u2013 study about Ebola \u2013 and get a very good medication for Ebola before it spreads all over the world. So, he came and he died as a sacrifice to save the Africans.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"kent-brantly\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Kent and Amber Brantly, After Ebola<\/h3>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-4\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_08-04-15-HR-1.mp3?_=4\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_08-04-15-HR-1.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_08-04-15-HR-1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As a doctor, Kent Brantly knew the risks of moving his family from Fort Worth to Liberia so that he could treat people infected with the Ebola virus. And when he contracted the virus himself, many Americans began to pay attention to the growing crisis across the Atlantic. Brantly and his wife, Amber, talked with KERA about defeating Ebola and the drive to serve others. They write about their experience in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Called-Life-Loving-Neighbor-Epidemic\/dp\/1601428235\">&#8220;Called for Life: How Loving Our Neighbor Led Us into the Heart of the Ebola Epidemic.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_99\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/08\/brantly.jpg\" alt=\"Kent Brantly. Photo: Samaritan\u2019s Purse\" width=\"615\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/08\/brantly.jpg 615w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/08\/brantly-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/08\/brantly-450x271.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 615px\" >Kent Brantly. Photo: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.samaritanspurse.org\/\">Samaritan\u2019s Purse<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>On treating Ebola patients in Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was hard to want to save a life and be totally powerless to do it,\u201d Kent Brantly said. \u201cOur very first patient, she started improving after a couple of days and we thought: \u2018We did it. Our first patient is going to survive.\u2019 And then the next day she took a nosedive and within 36 hours she passed away. It was really defeating to see that happen over and over. But we also knew there was no alternative. We couldn\u2019t say we\u2019re done with this. &#8230; We had no choice but to continue treating them and to try to do it in the kindest, gentlest, most compassionate way that we could.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>On Ebola\u2019s stigma in Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Part of the problem that led to the spread of the epidemic initially was I think it had to do with the humiliation,&#8221; Brantly said. &#8220;Not only was it humiliating to the individual as they lost control of their bodily functions and had to have someone to do everything for them &#8212; wipe their bottom, literally. But it was also embarrassing to the family members. There was a stigma attached to Ebola. Whether it\u2019s because of the mortality of it or the idea it was from a curse. People did not want to admit that they or one of their family members had Ebola. A family member would get sick and have all the classic symptoms of Ebola and they would keep them at home and the person would die at home and they would try to hide the body in bury it themselves because they didn\u2019t want anybody to know that there was Ebola in their home.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>On being diagnosed with Ebola<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought it was the pizza with tabasco sauce I had the night before,&#8221; Brantly said. &#8220;I thought it was malaria. When I developed a fever, that kind of changed the game. I didn\u2019t think I had Ebola. Maybe mentally I was denying it. \u2026 I was holding onto hope it was something else. But I isolated myself and no one came into my house without putting on personal protective equipment. Maybe it was denial but at least it was functional denial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018How does God work?&#8217;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am so thankful to all of the people who prayed for me,&#8221; Brantly said. &#8220;I don\u2019t think that I\u2019m alive today because prayer works by whoever has the most people praying for them wins. It makes me wrestle with how God works. I still believe with all my heart that he is ultimately behind my survival just like he is behind the survival of everyone else who made it. \u2026 I thank God that I am alive today and I give him the credit for it, but there\u2019s a real tension there that 11,294 other people have died \u2013 11,294. And the outbreak\u2019s not over. And there are people dying every week.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Why do I get to live?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy do I get to live when so many other people have died?&#8221; Brantly said. &#8220;So many of my friends, so many of my coworkers, died. How is it that I\u2019m alive and they\u2019re not? I will always wrestle with those questions but I may never come up with a satisfactory answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"nancy-writebol\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Nancy Writebol Plans To Return To Liberia<\/h3>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-5\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2015\/02\/Ebola_survivor_nancy_mp3.mp3?_=5\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2015\/02\/Ebola_survivor_nancy_mp3.mp3\">http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2015\/02\/Ebola_survivor_nancy_mp3.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In September\u00a02014, two missionaries became the first Americans diagnosed with Ebola in Liberia: Kent Brantly, a doctor who was trained in Fort Worth, and health care worker Nancy Writebol. Last February,\u00a0Writebol and her husband David were in North Texas to talk with students at Dallas Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n<p>Writebol said in the months before she was infected, so many people were dying at the Liberian clinic that only one person made it out.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_229\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-229\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/writebol.jpg\" alt=\"Nancy Writebol and her husband David at the Dallas Theological Seminary. Photo: Lauren Silverman, KERA News \" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/writebol.jpg 640w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/writebol-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/writebol-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/writebol-110x110.jpg 110w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/writebol-450x450.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 640px\" >Nancy Writebol and her husband David at the Dallas Theological Seminary. Photo: Lauren Silverman, KERA News<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Ebola &#8216;is cruel&#8217;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt ravishes the body. And it\u2019s cruel; the disease is cruel,\u201d Writebol says.<\/p>\n<p>In the first few months of treating Ebola patients for Serving In Mission, Writebol remembers the lone survivor, an 11-year-old boy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was very thankful that he survived; we all were,&#8221; she says. &#8220;It was amazing to see the day when he could walk out of there and go home to his family.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>On keeping her faith<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just kept praying for every patient that came,\u201d Writebol says. \u201cWhen the doctors and nurses got ready to go in to isolation we always prayed as a team before they went in, prayed for the patients, prayed that the doctors and nurses would know how to deal with them physically.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>On returning to Liberia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe look forward to going back,\u201d she says. \u201cWe have at our hospital begun an Ebola survivor\u2019s clinic. So I\u2019m looking forward to helping in that clinic and I\u2019m looking forward also to helping get ministries started back up again.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"cole-edmonson\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">EBOLA: LESSONS LEARNED<\/h4>\n<h3>A\u00a0&#8216;Very Challenging Time&#8217; For Presbyterian<\/h3>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-6\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2014\/10\/cole_edmonson_for_web.mp3?_=6\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2014\/10\/cole_edmonson_for_web.mp3\">http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2014\/10\/cole_edmonson_for_web.mp3<\/a><\/audio><br \/>\nCole Edmonson spent the fall of 2014 facing the biggest challenge of his career. He\u2019s chief nursing officer at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, which means he oversees 1,300 nurses. Two of them contracted Ebola after treating Thomas Eric Duncan. One of them, Nina Pham, was declared Ebola-free and released from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. The other, Amber Vinson, was treated in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-194 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/pres_hospital.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"674\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/pres_hospital.png 674w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/pres_hospital-300x142.png 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/pres_hospital-450x214.png 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 674px) 100vw, 674px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8216;A very difficult time&#8217;<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have most certainly been in a very difficult time, a very challenging time for our organization, for all of those that have been involved in the care and also work at Presbyterian,&#8221; Edmonson said. &#8220;We\u2019re really proud, though, of what we\u2019ve been able to accomplish and what we\u2019ve been able to do during this incredibly challenging time.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_212\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-212\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/cole_edmondson-300x218.jpg\" alt=\"Chief nursing officer Cole Edmonson oversees 1,300 nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Photo: Krystina Martinez, KERA News \" width=\"300\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/cole_edmondson-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/cole_edmondson-450x327.jpg 450w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/cole_edmondson.jpg 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >Chief nursing officer Cole Edmonson oversees 1,300 nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Photo: Krystina Martinez, KERA News<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>His reaction to Nina Pham\u2019s diagnosis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the first thing I did was cry,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I was really devastated by her diagnosis, just as my colleagues were and everyone that knows and loves Nina. We were all shocked, and we were definitely taken aback by what was really happening and it was almost surreal. We immediately though went into action to take care of our colleague to make sure that she was comfortable and that she had everything that she needed and to also reassure her that we were going to be there for her as her family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>What he would say to someone scared to visit Presbyterian<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would tell them to look at the history of Presbyterian, that we are a safe hospital, that we\u2019re a secure hospital, that we\u2019re a wonderful hospital that\u2019s been in the community for over 50 years. This is one occurrence in our facility, so we would tell you that it\u2019s safe to be at Presbyterian and you\u2019re secure when you\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"david-lakey\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Texas&#8217; Top Health Official Reflects On Ebola<\/h3>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-7\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2014\/11\/DavidLakeyWebBuild.mp3?_=7\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2014\/11\/DavidLakeyWebBuild.mp3\">http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2014\/11\/DavidLakeyWebBuild.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For weeks, North Texans who might have been exposed to Ebola were monitored for potential symptoms. Last November, Dallas was declared Ebola-free. Dr. David Lakey, who was commissioner of the state\u2019s health department, talked about what happened in Dallas &#8212; and the state&#8217;s response.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_183\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-183 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TXDavidLakey.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. David Lakey at a press conference Oct. 1, 2014. Photo: Krystina Martinez \" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TXDavidLakey.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TXDavidLakey-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TXDavidLakey-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/TXDavidLakey-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 1000px\" >Dr. David Lakey at a press conference Oct. 1, 2014. Photo: Krystina Martinez\/KERA<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>On the decision to create an &#8216;Ebola containment center&#8217; in Richardson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had been caring for individuals at Presbyterian,&#8221; Lakey said. &#8220;In my opinion, and in other people\u2019s opinion, we needed to get Presbyterian back on its feet. They had really gone through the mill with their nurses being infected, with the staffing challenges that they had, it was time to let Presbyterian heal and we needed to identify a place here in North Texas that could care for those individuals. Part of the calculus was that if you did that at Parkland or UT-Southwestern [Medical Center], you\u2019d have the potential of taking down another major hospital in Dallas if one of those individuals became ill.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>On the apparent confusion in the public health system when Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think a lot of folks were afraid,&#8221; Lakey said. &#8220;It hit on many levels \u2013 it hit on the cleaning crews and who would come in and who would not. There were a lot of attempts to move the family [of Thomas Eric Duncan] to another apartment. They couldn\u2019t find anyone that would lease their apartment to the government to move those individuals in and part of that was if [the landlords] knew that they did, there would be a media frenzy right in front of the apartment. I wouldn\u2019t underestimate the media\u2019s impact on the ability to get some things done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>On the biggest lesson learned<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs you approach [disaster] events, there will be surprises,&#8221; Lakey said. &#8220;Your plans are not going to be perfect and you need to accept that and be willing to change your plan in order to meet the challenge that you face on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">EBOLA IN WEST AFRICA<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>In the spring and summer of 2014, the Ebola outbreak affected countries in West Africa. In the summer of 2014, Dr. Kent Brantly was working with Ebola patients in Liberia when he was diagnosed with the virus. A panel of North Texas infectious disease experts talked about whether Ebola could spread in the United States.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Battling Ebola In West Africa Vs. U.S.<\/h3>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-8\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_8-04-14-HR-1.mp3?_=8\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_8-04-14-HR-1.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_8-04-14-HR-1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Seema Yasmin said there\u2019s actually a simple explanation why Africa sees outbreaks like this and the U.S. does not. When Americans get sick, that fear drives them to a doctor. In Africa, it can drive them away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s understandable that people are scared,&#8221; said Yasmin, a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas and a health reporter for <em>The Dallas Morning News<\/em>. &#8220;They\u2019ve seen their loved ones taken away from the village, sick but alive, put into these tents &#8212; sometimes scary-looking facilities. And when they exit, they\u2019re in a body bag. And they don\u2019t know what\u2019s happened in the interim.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_149\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 690px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-149\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Ebola-care-Dr.-Brantly-690x377.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Samaritan's Purse\" width=\"690\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Ebola-care-Dr.-Brantly-690x377.jpg 690w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Ebola-care-Dr.-Brantly-690x377-300x164.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/Ebola-care-Dr.-Brantly-690x377-450x246.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 690px\" >Photo: Samaritan&#8217;s Purse<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But what if one of those sick people managed to make it onto an airplane bound for the United States? Dr. Robert Haley, an infectious disease expert at UT-Southwestern, says if that person began showing symptoms while in the air, the pilot is obligated to alert medical personnel before even opening the doors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo if you had a person who had flown from West Africa right now, who came in with fever, then the plane would be met by one of these emergency medical personnel, who would assess the situation and handle it the appropriate way,\u201d Haley said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \">\u201cOutbreaks are driven by fear.&#8221; <div class=\"quote-source\">Dr. Seema Yasmin, UT-Dallas professor, Dallas Morning News reporter<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Still, Ebola has an incubation period between two and 21 days \u2013 plenty of time for a sick person to walk off a plane feeling fine. But in the U.S., when someone experiences the flu-like symptoms associated with the early stages of Ebola, odds are they\u2019re going to get checked out.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Cristie Columbus, an infectious disease expert with Baylor University Medical Center, said that shouldn\u2019t be a problem \u2013 even in the waiting room of an emergency room that&#8217;s full of other sick people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTypically, if a patient presented to the emergency room in such a dire type of situation, they would be triaged immediately back, most likely to a private room and would not remain in the waiting room,\u201d Columbus said.<\/p>\n<p>Once they\u2019re seen by a doctor, Haley says a thorough patient history is a key to isolating Ebola.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the key is, if somebody has a flu-like illness, but they\u2019ve been in West Africa, or they\u2019ve been caring for somebody who has Ebola &#8230; they would get that history and quickly they would put that person in isolation,\u201d Haley said.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0EBOLA ARRIVES IN DALLAS<\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Just a few weeks later, in September 2014, Thomas Eric Duncan flew from Liberia to Dallas. He got sick. In late September, he went to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. The hospital sent him home. On Sept. 28, he went back to the hospital, this time in an ambulance. On Sept. 30, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Duncan had Ebola.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Trying To Contain Ebola In Dallas<\/h4>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-9\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_10-01-14-HR-2.mp3?_=9\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_10-01-14-HR-2.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_10-01-14-HR-2.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Soon after Duncan&#8217;s diagnosis, Dr. Robert Haley with UT-Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas told KERA that North Texas should expect more than the one case of Ebola.<\/p>\n<p>But Haley said a quarantine should prevent Ebola from becoming widespread.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_153\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-153\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/haley.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Robert Haley is chief of epidemiology and professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern. Photo Courtesy UT Southwestern\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >Dr. Robert Haley is chief of epidemiology and professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern. Photo Courtesy UT Southwestern<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Duncan had reportedly helped a pregnant woman in Liberia who died from Ebola. He had been staying at a northeast Dallas apartment before he sought treatment at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. David Lakey, the Texas health commissioner, signed an order requiring family members who were staying with Duncan to remain in their apartment and not have any visitors. The Texas Department of State Health Services said health officials were contacting about 100 people who may have come in contact with Duncan or people he encountered.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you believe the number of Ebola cases can be limited to the one man already infected?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don\u2019t know if we can limit it to one case because his family, the people who were in the home with him over the last several days before he came in, they are at grave risk,&#8221; Haley said. &#8220;They will be watched carefully and if they develop fever, they will immediately be put in the hospital in isolation probably before they become infectious. Then they\u2019ll be given IV fluids, very aggressive management with supportive measures and we will greatly reduce their risk of dying.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>For those patients who may become infected, including Duncan, what can be done for them?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>&#8220;<\/b>If you\u2019re in West Africa, there\u2019s just no ability to treat people there,&#8221; Haley said. &#8220;There hasn\u2019t been much. Now in this country it\u2019s different. In our modern hospitals we have aggressive, supportive therapies. That\u2019s intravenous fluids, monitoring the blood chemistry with rapid laboratory tests where we can see where we are in terms of maintaining the body\u2019s chemistry just right. And if the person develops where they can\u2019t breathe, you can put them on a ventilator to tide them over until they start recovering.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There could be an ER person or maybe an ambulance driver who would possibly come down with it,&#8221; Haley said. &#8220;I would be very surprised because our hospital workers and paramedics are very well trained to protect themselves. If they develop fever, they will immediately go to the hospital and not be infectious to others.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Ebola And The Psychology Of Fear<\/h4>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-10\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_10-06-14-HR-2.mp3?_=10\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_10-06-14-HR-2.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_10-06-14-HR-2.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Worrying about Ebola &#8212; or any other scary disease &#8212; isn\u2019t a total waste of time, psychologists say. Anxiety activates us.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And that is true when you take measures that really make your life safer \u2013 for example, washing your hands,\u201d said Dr. Alicia Meuret, director of SMU\u2019s Anxiety and Depression Research Center. \u201cBut worrying about the catastrophic outcomes that may occur won\u2019t change the odds.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Our fear of these catastrophic outcomes is linked to the lack of control we feel over them. The classic example is people who fear flying but not driving \u2013 even though, statistically, driving is much more dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Madhukar Trivedi is chair of UT Southwestern\u2019s mental health department.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople who have a fear of flying will describe it very vividly,&#8221; Trivedi said. &#8220;In a car, at least I know where to break, when to stop \u2013 I have control over the steering wheel. Whereas in a plane, I have no control.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fix for this type of fear is experience. Once you\u2019ve flown several times and landed safely, you begin to worry less. But you still have to take that first flight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly by being in the situation, one can realize that the fears that one has about a catastrophic outcome do indeed not occur,\u201d Meuret said.<\/p>\n<p>And when it comes to Ebola, very few of us have been close enough to it to have conquered those fears.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Ebola And The Law<\/h4>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-11\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_10-14-14-HR-1.mp3?_=11\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_10-14-14-HR-1.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_10-14-14-HR-1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As the medical community fought to contain Ebola, the virus was also challenging another field: the law.<\/p>\n<p>Nathan Cortez said there\u2019s a good reason why these questions are tough to answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re kind of flying blind on a lot of these legal issues. &#8230; You often hear, \u2018This is not our first rodeo,\u2019&#8221; Cortez said. &#8220;This actually is our first rodeo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cortez is an associate professor of law at SMU who specializes in health care and biotechnology.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s interesting looking at federal and state law is how frequently the statutes use the words \u2018reasonable\u2019 and \u2018appropriate\u2019 and \u2018necessary,\u2019&#8221; he said. &#8220;And my takeaway from that is that the statutes are really trying to give public health authorities a lot of discretion to do as they see fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what allows public health officials to enforce quarantines and check the temperatures of passengers at airports.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_210\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-210 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/police.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/police.jpg 600w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/police-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/police-450x338.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 600px\" >Dallas police monitored the apartment complex in East Dallas where the healthcare worker who tested positive for Ebola lives. Photo: Lauren Silverman, KERA News<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe more lethal the threat, the higher the level of power the governmental officials have to try to contain it,\u201d said Laura Reilly O&#8217;Hara, a partner at Strasburger and Price LLP who specializes in the healthcare industry.<\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \">\u201cYou balance the liberties of a few over the good of the many.\u00a0And that\u2019s something we\u2019re all going to have to feel our way through as this unfolds.\u201d <div class=\"quote-source\">Laura Reilly O'Hara<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>There are a few precedents, such as patient privacy. Cortez says the law allows for public health officials and law enforcement to know the identity of someone who could spread disease. But then the flow of information tightens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou read these statutes, you don\u2019t see any exceptions for newsworthiness, or for someone whose medical information you want because you live down the street or your child goes to school near that person,\u201d Cortez said.<\/p>\n<p>And when it comes to malpractice, O\u2019Hara says the question a suit would have to answer is whether the care provided is considered reasonable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re looking at a disease that has never been diagnosed on this continent, who\u2019s to say what the reasonable care is in that context?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And in the case of an emergency room, O\u2019Hara said\u00a0prosecutors would have to show that a doctor or nurse intentionally mistreated a patient.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Ebola Hits Presbyterian, North Texas Hospitals Prepare<\/h4>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-12\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2015\/09\/Parkland_Process_Interview_6.mp3?_=12\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2015\/09\/Parkland_Process_Interview_6.mp3\">http:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/kera\/audio\/2015\/09\/Parkland_Process_Interview_6.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Alex Eastman, the medical director of disaster preparedness for Parkland Hospital, said the news that two Texas Health Presbyterian nurses who treated Duncan contracted Ebola only strengthened Parkland&#8217;s resolve to be prepared with a response plan.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_221\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-221\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/parkland_hospital_exterior.jpg\" alt=\"Facebook\" width=\"630\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/parkland_hospital_exterior.jpg 630w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/parkland_hospital_exterior-300x249.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/parkland_hospital_exterior-450x373.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 630px\" >Photo: Facebook<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;We\u2019re screening every patient who seeks care throughout the emergency system,&#8221; Eastman said. &#8220;Just in the emergency department alone, the main campus, since August [2014], we\u2019ve screened more than 42,000 people who\u2019ve sought care at the Parkland emergency department.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Patients have been asked about whether they&#8217;ve traveled to countries where people have been diagnosed with Ebola.<\/p>\n<p>The hospital has prepared for all sorts of scenarios. &#8220;Everything from &#8230; who transports the patient, how we move them through the hospital \u2013 all those things have been pre-identified, pre-planned, and ready to go in the event we have to do this for real,&#8221; Eastman said.<\/p>\n<p>Why come up with an Ebola plan?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We\u2019re a global city with a large international airport and a large international presence, watching this develop on the African continent, it was only a matter of time until we saw some in the United States,&#8221; Eastman said. &#8220;Being vigilant in our disaster management staff and program, making sure that the hospital was prepared, was what prompted that enhanced screening.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0UNDERSTANDING EBOLA<\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Just weeks after officials declared North Texas was Ebola-free, news of the virus started to slip out of the headlines. Slowly, West Africa is prying itself free from the grip of the Ebola virus.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<h3>When Ebola Is Contained, Where Does It Go?<\/h3>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-33-13\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_06-11-15-HR-1.mp3?_=13\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_06-11-15-HR-1.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/KERA_Think_06-11-15-HR-1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When a virus is contained, where does it go? David Quammen talks about why it&#8217;s tough for scientists to track the virus once an outbreak ends. He wrote about the topic in the July issue of <em>National Geographic<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-169\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/ebola-in-america\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/01-freetown-MM8398_141126_01023.adapt_.1190.1-690x377.jpg\" alt=\"01-freetown-MM8398_141126_01023.adapt_.1190.1-690x377\" width=\"690\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/01-freetown-MM8398_141126_01023.adapt_.1190.1-690x377.jpg 690w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/01-freetown-MM8398_141126_01023.adapt_.1190.1-690x377-300x164.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2015\/09\/01-freetown-MM8398_141126_01023.adapt_.1190.1-690x377-450x246.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Quammen says that scientists at least have a general idea of where to look for Ebola \u2013 the same place any other virus hides out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cViruses can only replicate in living cells \u2013 viruses are not cellular creatures themselves,&#8221; Quammen said.\u00a0&#8220;They\u2019re not even quite alive, depending on how you define life. They can only replicate using the cell machinery of a living cell. That means they\u2019ve got to abide in another creature \u2013 a plant, an animal, a fungus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Viruses that affect humans, including Ebola, are usually hosted by animals like bats or rodents. And even though the recent Ebola outbreak was in the news for more than a year, Quammen said it\u2019s actually tough for scientists to track it down while it\u2019s active.<\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \">\u201cIt\u2019s a bad situation for other scientists to come in dressed in their moonsuits and start collecting bats and rodents &#8230; It\u2019s a bad time to do science, because there\u2019s a public health crisis; because medical help is needed.&#8221;<div class=\"quote-source\">David Quammen, writer for National Geographic<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>There is reason to be optimistic about tracking down Ebola, though. Quammen says the African outbreak generated so much media attention that the scientific community will likely be able to raise the necessary funds to continue hunting the virus. Also, three types of fruit bats are now known to contain both antibodies against Ebola and fragments of Ebola RNA, a building block of the virus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo find antibodies against Ebola or fragments of Ebola RNA is like finding the footprints of a yeti in the snow. But to isolate live virus is like finding the foot of a live Yeti in a leghold trap,&#8221; Quammen said. &#8220;And that hasn\u2019t yet been done with Ebola.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once scientists can actually identify the live Ebola virus in those wild reservoir hosts, they\u2019ll have clearer insight into how human outbreaks begin.<\/p>\n<p><em>KERA&#8217;s Krys Boyd, Stephen Becker, Lauren Silverman, Krystina Martinez, Sam Baker, Shelley Kofler and Doualy Xaykaothao conducted the interviews.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Selected photos<a href=\"http:\/\/res.dallasnews.com\/interactives\/ebola\/\"> courtesy of The Dallas Morning News.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KERA talked with several people who were affected by Ebola,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-surviving-ebola","byline-kera-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33"}],"version-history":[{"count":92,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":639,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions\/639"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/surviving-ebola\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}