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An Ebola patient treated in the U.S. chose to remain anonymous. Now he’s telling his story.
Boston.com ^ | 28 Dec 2019 | Lenny Bernstein

Posted on 12/29/2019 4:08:37 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT

“It forced me to dig deep, find out who I really was, and rely on God’s direction in the healing process that is still ongoing to this day,” Gorman said in one of many emails and conversations over the past few months. “There were many mistakes and dark moments. But a journey that, I hope, in the end will be worth it.”

He trained as a firefighter and paramedic, then went back to school to become a physician assistant.

When Ebola broke out in West Africa, he felt a calling to help. He quit his job and volunteered with the Boston nonprofit Partners in Health, which had opened a treatment center, its first, in the Sierra Leone community of Maforki.

With the infection progressing rapidly, Gorman’s chances of survival in Sierra Leone were zero. In the NIH’s Special Clinical Studies Unit, one of the most advanced medical facilities in the world, his odds were only slightly better.

One by one, Gorman’s organs began to fail. His kidneys, his liver, his heart and his lungs were overwhelmed, his immune system unable to stop the virus, said Richard Davey, chief of NIAID’s clinical research section and Gorman’s lead physician. Gorman also developed brain inflammation.

But a computer randomized him to the control group. There would be no ZMapp for him.

Gorman’s mother sat vigil outside his room. She wasn’t allowed in, but she could see him on a video screen and talk to him through a cellphone propped next to his ear. “She would pray and read the Bible to me,” he said, though he has no recollection of it. “And just, like, talk to me and sing to me.” His father flew back and forth from Dallas. His girlfriend was there for days...

(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: ebola
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To: Abby4116

That is an issue, as well as the family’s sense that since you are out of the hospital, one is all better, so what is the problem with you now? Having and surviving a major, life-threatening illness tends to prompt changes in one’s thinking that can be hard to cope with.


21 posted on 12/29/2019 11:44:58 PM PST by Rockingham
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Ebola has a 90% mortality rate. He is one of the 10% who made it.


22 posted on 12/30/2019 2:40:41 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop

“Ebola has a 90% mortality rate”

It depends on your point of view.

For those poorly treated or not treaded, yes 90%

As the care level increases so do survival rates.

EVD has a risk of death in those infected, between 25% and 90%. As of September 2014, the average risk of death among those infected is 50%. The highest risk of death was 90% in the 2002–2003 Republic of the Congo outbreak.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease#Management


23 posted on 12/30/2019 8:05:46 AM PST by DUMBGRUNT
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To: DUMBGRUNT

This one made it thru the Tx border but died while in Detention.

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/statement-death-congolese-national-laredo


24 posted on 01/09/2020 3:07:48 AM PST by HollyB
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Bookmark


25 posted on 01/09/2020 3:10:50 AM PST by JerseyDvl ("If you're going through hell, keep going.")
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