Liberian Refugee Befriends Family of Ebola-Infected Doctor
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iStock/Thinkstock(OMAHA, Neb.) — As an American doctor recovers from Ebola at a Nebraska hospital, a Liberian refugee who works at the hospital has tried to provide extra comfort to the doctor’s family.
Dr. Richard Sacra arrived at the bio-containment unit at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha earlier this month after being infected with Ebola in Liberia. When Sacra arrived for treatment, Patricia Taye, a housekeeper at the medical center, immediately asked if she could meet with Sacra’s family.
Taye, who works on the same floor as the bio-containment unit, left Liberia as a refugee in 2001 and has not been back since. Since her mother and sister still live in Liberia, Taye told ABC News she was eager to thank the Sacra family for their work providing help and medical relief in the country.
“I asked the doctor and nurses to show me the family. When they showed me the family, I greeted them and was so happy to see them,” Taye said. “I’m really praying for him right now.”
Taye even cooked them a favorite Liberian dish, cassava leaves, as a way to thank them for their work.
“When I met them and I asked them, ‘When you were in Liberia what kind of food did you eat?'” said Taye. “I cooked them traditional food and brought it to them.”
Sacra was infected in Liberia, where he was treating patients in a maternity ward.
The Ebola outbreak has devastated the county, straining an already weak health system. According to the World Health Organization, 1,137 of the 2,218 known deaths have been in Liberia. The other West African countries affected by the unprecedented outbreak include Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal.
“Every time my mom [in Liberia] calls me, crying. It’s a lot of suffering there,” Taye said. “It’s like World War II back home, because every day people die on the street.”
Taye said she has been praying with Sacra’s family for his recovery and hopes she can one day thank the doctor in person.
“I really want to talk to him about my people. My people really need attention and need medical care,” Taye said.
Sacra’s family told reporters Tuesday that the 51-year-old physician continues to recover. He is one of four American health workers known to have contracted Ebola while treating patients in West Africa.
Debbie Sacra said that her husband’s appetite “has returned in a big way,” noting he was able to eat enchiladas and chicken soup.
Debbie Sacra also cheered President Obama’s announcement this week that 3,000 people, including troops and support, would be deployed to fight the Ebola outbreak, which the president described as “spiraling out of control.”
“I’m encouraged that more help is going to be on the way,” she said. “I hope it gets there as soon as possible.”
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