The Rescued

We discharged a patient from the confirmed ward Tuesday--he is cured! He never even got terribly sick. Ebola--some people get extremely ill and some people get slightly sick then within 3-4 days all their symptoms are gone. There is still so much we don't know about this disease.

We admitted 6 patients :-( Our enthusiasm of feeling like Ebola was on the decline was short-lived. We currently have 10 in the confirmed ward; that is the most since I have been here. The twins are doing semi-okay. They seem to be alternating which one is sicker each day. And we admitted a husband and his one month-old-daughter. It quickly became evident that he didn't have any knowledge of how to care for her besides holding her closely. He told us his wife was sick and coming in another ambulance soon. Once we got he and his daughter settled and doffed, we learned that his wife wasn't coming. When they picked the gentleman and his daughter up--she was dead. We didn't have the heart to tell him she won't be coming, too afraid it would take the fight out of him completely. Is that the right decision to make? I don't know. It's the decision we made all the same. I believe firmly in telling the truth, I do. But as he is already so sick...to tell him might be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.  We placed a survivor caregiver in his ward to help take care of the baby.

Since confirmed has so many young children, the ward had 3 survivor caregivers there. A co-worker and I talked to them while we waited for our iv fluids to run (Sierra Leone is currently out of oral potassium chloride, so we now must administer it mixed in iv fluids but they must run over an hour, no less, and it has extended the amount of time we are inside high risk doing meds).

The one lady got Ebola in September. She lost everyone in her family. And in September we didn't have many ETCs in the country (ours opened December 1st) and the few that existed were overcrowded and understaffed, and IVs weren't started; we couldn't give meds because they just weren't there to be given. The other two women got sick and got better in October. One lost her husband and three of her four children. Her daughter lived--but only because she was not living at home at the time. The other caregiver lost her mother, her aunt, her uncle, her sister. So much loss. So brave, that they have been willing to take care of our patients. As my friend Cait said, "The rescued are now doing the rescuing."

And isn't that what Jesus has called us to do? Rescue, because we have been rescued.

Today, hold your loved ones close. We aren't promised tomorrow.