Dr. Kent Brantly and five other Ebola survivors discuss what they are thankful for since beating the virus
Dr. Kent Brantly and five other Ebola survivors appeared on The Today Show this morning to talk about their lives since recovering from the virus. One of the survivors, Nancy Writebol, was in Liberia with Brantly and contracted the virus shortly after he did. The other four survivors, Rick Sacra, Ashoka Mukpo, Amber Vinson, and Nina Pham, all received plasma from Brantly.
“I think God saved my life, and I have a responsibility to use my life in a way that’s glorifying to Him and a way that is helpful to other people,” Brantly said. “It was an honor and a privilege but also a natural thing to help others with what I’ve been given.”
The survivors enjoyed meeting other people who had been through the same struggles. Several of them thanked Brantly for donating his plasma to them while they were sick.
“He’s a selfless man,” Pham said. “He’s our angel. He gave us a second chance at life.”
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Brantly was treating victims of the disease at the Samaritan’s Purse case management center at ELWA Hospital near Monrovia when he contracted Ebola in late July. He received a dose of an experimental serum while in critical condition in Liberia and was then transported to Emory Hospital in Atlanta.
“I’m thankful to be here, thankful to be with my family, and thankful for the opportunity to speak out for people who are still suffering in West Africa,” he said.
Nearly 5,500 people have died from Ebola since the outbreak began in March. Samaritan’s Purse is deploying small teams of courageous staff to train locals and provide them with the materials they need to stop the spread of the deadly disease in their villages. Although the virus is slowing in Liberia’s capital, smaller outbreaks are increasing in rural areas. The need is still great.
