First Escapes Ebola, Then Fights It
People like to believe that good and evil are energy and, when you offer one type of energy, it always comes back to you. The same thing can be said about the Royal Free Hospital located in north London. The hospital’s staff helped cure the first worker who caught Ebola. After having survived the disease, the British healthcare worker came back to the hospital and is now working to cure the same disease.
He is none other than Will Pooley, a healthcare worker who wants to give something back to the world after the world helped him. Pooley thinks that every human being should “honor and remember” the staff that helped fight the disease. It is a question of duty, a duty that Pooley will gladly fulfill in the hope of helping others, like him, survive Ebola and live to fight another day.
But how did Mr. Pooley survive Ebola? He was contained for a week within the Royal Free Hospital and he was treated with an experimental drug now commonly known as ZMapp. Nobody knew at the time whether the drug would be effective or not. Pooley didn’t know either, but it seems like hopes, prayers and the competence of the specialists who designed the cure was just enough for him to live on.
After he recovered, he returned to Sierra Leone to perform his duty. He helped contain the virus which has mercilessly killed 11,000 lives all around West Africa. But it paid off, in the end. The latest statistics provided by the World Health Organization have indicated that there have only been three new Ebola cases in the world since last week: they were all located in Guinea.
Mr. Pooley is very grateful for his life and he felt as if an entire lifetime had passed since he was laying down on his bed, waiting for the inevitable. While he is still alive, he regrets that the time that has passed was “colored by death”. He also pointed out that he was lucky because he came from a country that allowed him to get better, but it is not as easy for people with harsher circumstances.
Mr. Pooley will continue his work at the Royal Free Hospital, pursuing his dream of ridding the world of this cruel disease. He is also happy that, occasionally, he runs into friend and colleagues who were struggling to keep him alive just one year before. It is a story of loss, sadness and recognition, something that we should all remember and pass on.
Photo Credits flickr.com
