Ebola in Texas

Thomas Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, died this morning at Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. I couldn’t help but wonder, had the hospital not sent him home, would he have lived?  My heart goes out to his family and friends during this time as it does to all of those people in West Africa who are suffering from this disease and fighting so hard to treat it.

I know I’ve mentioned this before in an earlier post, that I believe there will be a cure or treatment for this disease within the year. There’s already several experimental treatments on the market today, which we’ve seen when the two US aid workers were brought to the US earlier this summer for treatment. Once these types of calamities show up on our shores we suddenly start to care and the resources are put behind them to stop them in their tracks. I hope that Duncan’s death isn’t in vain and that it helps push the drug companies even further to find a treatment or cure for this deadly disease.

What Ebola in Texas has done, is further reinforced the fact that we are no longer sequestered in our countries as in decades or centuries before. People travel and they travel widely. When an outbreak occurs in one place it will ultimately end up in others.

One thing I am proud of in this whole situation is the treatment that Duncan and his family received from our local officials. Especially Judge Clay Jenkins, who worked tirelessly to secure Duncan’s family a new place to stay and even entered the home without a hazmat suit. He was the epitome of a strong leader and showed true compassion in his goal to show kindness to this family during such a scary and difficult time.

I’ve seen so much fear-mongering on social media, as to be expected, but what’s important to remember is that this was a person, who lost his life to a horrific disease and now his family is left to mourn that loss.