The Ebola Survivors

Meet The People The Killer Virus Could Not Kill! From Liberia to Sierra Leone to Guinea, Nigeria, Spain And the United States, the story of the 2014 Ebola Virus Outbreak that started in West Africa is not just about sorrow, suffering and death. There is some light at the end of the tunnel and it is getting brighter by the day. Although many are still dying from this disease that still has no cure, an increasing number of people have survived against all odds and are alive to tell their stories. In this collection of survivor stories, you will feel their pain and their anguish, but more importantly, you will experience the joy of surviving after battling with death through the darkness of the Ebola scourge. The stories of these survivors show us the indefatigability of the human spirit. The human race has survived many scourges and plagues over thousands of years and we will still continue to survive. Individually and collectively, Ebola survivors' stories stand out as beacons of hope for their communities, countries and other nations that may still have to deal with this medical emergency as long as the present outbreak persists. "But there they were, the survivors. Albeit weak and squinting because of the bright sunlight but they are healthy and coming out of isolation wards in increasing numbers. We were seeing a greater number than the lucky few we expected at the beginning." "Severe pain was shooting throughout my body. I was completely overwhelmed. Ebola is like an alien disease from another planet. The pain was so much that I could feel it deep inside my bones." "Towards the end, the doctors asked me a number of questions and a day came when almost all my answers were "no" and they were pleased. That was when I realized I would survive." "The worst part of my experience was the hiccupping stage. At that time, the soreness of my throat was so much that it was impossible to eat. I have had fever and diarrhea before but not to this extent and I was very weak. But the hiccupping was what really got me scared. I had heard that it is at this stage of the illness that many people die." "I am grateful to be alive, even though seven of my family members could not make it," says a survivor. He proceeds to list them: "This includes my mother, my father, my sister, my big brother, my niece and my niece's daughter," he says. "But I'm alive, and my joy knows no bounds. That is why you see me smiling all the time." "Ebola is a degrading disease that completely strips you of all sense of dignity. You are taken away from your family and kept in an isolated ward. The faces of the medical staff caring for you cannot be seen because of their protective suits - only their eyes are visible to you. You are continuously embarrassed by uncontrollable diarrhea and rely on other people to clean you up." "When I was released, I was told that I had to leave behind everything that I brought into the ward. I took a last look at my CD player, the faith messages, my IPad and phones and said to myself, I have life and all of these can always be replaced." "Miracles are still with us. None of us in that Ebola isolation ward was treated with any experimental drug or immune boosters. I only depended on my faith and determination to keep consuming as much of the ORS fluid as I could. I told myself, even if this disease has a 99% mortality rate, I would be among the 1% that would survive."