Ebola survivors, Aminata and her
7-year-old son Ibrahim.
By Winnie Romeril, Spokesperson,
World Health Organization
Sitting in wintery Geneva, it’s hard
to imagine how to describe to my family and friends back home these past three
months in Sierra Leone working with the World Health Organization (WHO). As I
look through my photos, the most meaningful stories that fill my mind and my
heart, and make my eyes well up invariably involve Ebola survivors. To date in
Sierra Leone, there are over 2,100 survivors
discharged from treatment facilities— each with an “Ebola-free” certificate in
hand. So many and yet too few.
The first Ebola survivor I met was a
soft-spoken British nurse, Will Pooley, returning post-recovery to Freetown
just as I arrived. No fanfare, just a regular guy chatting with friends. He
included me in their conversation, as we huddled out of the rain before
boarding our boat taxi from the airport to the city. “Oh, you’re THAT Will,” I
blurted out, remembering what my WHO colleagues had told me. They were fresh
from meeting a roomful of his former patients at the Kenema survivors
conference. The survivors asked about Will; they sent their thanks to him for
their lives. He was surprised, humbled and visibly touched. “Ebola is
unlike any disease I’ve ever witnessed,” Will recently said about his
experience. “Nothing can prepare you for the effect it has on the infected, on
their families, and on their communities.”
Abdul was another health worker I
had the privilege to meet. He attended a workshop given by the Ministry of
Social Welfare with WHO doctors and nurses. Because of the muscle wasting
caused by Ebola, Abdul was too weak to return to caring for patients. He was
given this opportunity to learn the psychological first aid skills being taught
to HIV/AIDS counselors, mental health workers, and others in helping
professions. Ebola affected every aspect of society, everyone was stressed, and
simple listening techniques could provide support.
Ebola survivors, Mohamed with his
three brothers and uncle at the mock” Ebola treatment unit (ETU).
In November, a WHO team arrived from
Liberia to replicate their acclaimed “mock” Ebola treatment unit (ETU), where
health workers learned from survivors about the challenges they would face in
caring for Ebola patients through real world scenarios. In Freetown, I
witnessed one group of survivors support and encourage each other, forming a
new family out of remnants in the wake of Ebola. They conquered each tragic
story of loss with their combined incredible strength.
Despite losing his wife, youngest
brother, and father, Mohamed auditioned for parts at the mock ETU with his
three surviving brothers and uncle. Hawa, accompanied by her surviving sister
and father, raised everyone’s spirits with her youthful laugh and quick smile.
They were later joined by Geraldine, an orphan at 16 and the only survivor in
her family. Her mother was a nurse and insisted she only had malaria. Geraldine
later went on the radio to urge other girls her age to call the emergency
hotline: “Don’t make the same mistake I did. Your call for help can save the
lives of people you love.” And the unforgettable Fonti, whose wife and both
children had died, said to me out of the blue one day while we walked away from
the mock ETU: “I’m so grateful for WHO.” “Why?” I asked. “Because this keeps my
mind active,” he replied. “To be idle would be too much to bear.”
I spent Christmas Day at an MSF
clinic where a mother named Aminata refused to leave the ETU until her
7-year-old son Ibrahim was well enough to be released as well. She spent the
days at the ETU caring for all the sick children, not just her own, persuading
them to drink lifesaving fluids, take nourishment, bathing them, and calling
their families with updates. After Ibrahim’s blood test came back clear of
Ebola, Aminata took Ibrahim in for a shower with weak chlorine and then soap
and water. They walked out the other side clean, wearing bright new clothes and
huge smiles, to applause from all the staff and our WHO team. Best. Christmas.
Ever.
Like all things in Sierra Leone
those months, the brightest moments were juxtaposed with a blast of
reality. In this case, sirens from one ambulance after another brought
new patients to the ETU as Aminata and Ibrahim left the facility.
Ebola survivor, Aminata and
Spokesperson for the World Health Organization, Winnie Romeril in Sierra Leone.
Just before leaving Sierra Leone, I
met Dr. Felix Sarria Baez, a Cuban doctor, who returned from Sierra Leone after
contracting and surviving Ebola. We weaved in and out of Spanish as he
described what it took. Quite simply, Dr. Felix willed himself to survive. “I
will save my life, I said to myself. If you doubt and feel depressed, the
disease will invade your body. It’s important to stay optimistic.” Dr. Felix
interspersed details from his life and death ordeal with humorous advice, like,
“chocolate is good for Ebola”.
The WHO Executive Board convened
this week for a special meeting on Ebola to decide on future response
needs. Ebola survivor and nurse, Rebecca Johnson, spoke before the Executive Board
to make sure politicians, administrators, scientists, and doctors stay focused
on the human reality of the Ebola epidemic. Rebecca said, “Ebola is not the end
of the world. I understand the effects of Ebola from the point of view of a
health care provider to Ebola patients and most importantly, from the point of
view of a survivor. Ebola can be beaten.”
Through so much loss, Ebola
survivors have much to teach us, and it’s our job to listen and learn from
their experiences. As WHO Deputy Director General Dr. Anarfi “AB” Asamoa-Bah
said to us one night, “It’s not just about numbers, cash, and resources.
People’s lives are still at stake, and we must make this meeting count for
them.
Source:
http://unfoundationblog.org/ebola/so-many-and-yet-too-few/#sthash.fuUXL1mD.dpuf
