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ATLANTA, GA – The Charlotte missionary suffering from the deadly Ebola virus is now continuing her fight on U.S. soil.
WCCB was in Atlanta as an ambulance brought Nancy Writebol to Emory University Hospital Tuesday.
A small jet equipped to contain infectious diseases transported Writebol from Liberia to Maine on Tuesday morning. After refueling, the jet headed to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia. From there, the same ambulance that transported Dr. Kent Brantly Saturday took Writebol to Emory University Hospital.
There were no sirens and no flashing lights. There was almost a stillness Tuesday afternoon as the ambulance, with police escorts, carried 59-year-old Nancy Writebol into the hospital. She was wheeled into the hospital on a stretcher.
An hour later, SIM President Bruce Johnson delivered a message from Writebol’s husband.
“A week ago we were thinking about making funeral arrangements for Nancy. But we kept our faith. Now we have a real reason to be hopeful,” said Johnson.
Writebol is now the second American ever known to be treated for Ebola in the U.S. She and her husband served as missionaries in Liberia for a year before Nancy contracted the disease.
Writebol and Brantly are being treated in an isolated unit at Emory. It’s one of only four in the country equipped to treat people exposed to deadly and infectious diseases.
Johnson says Writebol’s sons are in Atlanta and will be allowed to see her through a window in her unit. Her husband, David, is still in Libera and plans to return as soon as possible.
Johnson says Nancy is still very weak, but showing signs of progress, like eating.
“Potato soup, yogurt before she got on the plane. Doctors say that’s a positive sign to see appetite return,” said Johnson.
The improvement could be in part to an experimental drug. Brantly and Writebol are the first humans to be given the serum Z-Mapp. Johnson says the experimental drug could become a cure for Ebola.
“They would be willing to go through what they’ve gone through if tens of thousands could be saved. That’s the spirit of Kent and Nancy,” said Johnson.
Its a glimmer of hope in the Ebola outbreak that’s killed almost a thousand people this year in West Africa.
