Ebola nurse on her experience with the virus: ‘I almost went insane’
More than 8,500 people have died since the Ebola outbreak began last year. While the pandemic has slowed, it has left lasting scars on many countries, especially in West Africa, and those affected by the disease.
Rebecca Johnson worked as a nurse treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone before contracting the virus herself. She teamed up with the World Health Organization (WHO) to hold a Q&A session about her experience on Twitter.
Johnson went into heart-wrenching detail about the toll the disease took on her body and mind. She also offered insight into underreported aspects of Ebola, such as its effects on mental health, recounting how close friends and even some family members turned their backs on her after her diagnosis.
Nurse Rebecca Johnson from #SierraLeone survived #Ebola. For the next hour #AskRebecca your Questions on @Twitter! pic.twitter.com/7cAM9km9B7
— WHO (@WHO) January 28, 2015
.@Aj_haseen I almost went insane. I thought that I am going to die, I will not make it. #Ebola is a very dangerous disease. #AskRebecca
— WHO (@WHO) January 28, 2015
.@miorazmeer I felt sad. I cried every day. Every single day. #Ebola #AskRebecca
— WHO (@WHO) January 28, 2015
Contracting Ebola also gave Johnson a first-hand look at what her own patients had experienced when dealing with the virus.
.@jason_jrb I was treating #Ebola patients but I never really knew what they were going through until I became infected. #AskRebecca
— WHO (@WHO) January 28, 2015
Earlier this week, Johnson delivered moving testimony at a special session on Ebola at WHO headquarters in Geneva. She said she wanted people to know “Ebola is not the end of the world, and it can be beaten.”
Rebecca Johnson of Sierra Leone, health worker and survivor of Ebola, cries after delivering her testimony at the special session on Ebola of the executive board at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015.
“I was unable to do basic things at a point in time, like, for example, walking, eating and talking, but I had to relearn doing them all through the help of my colleagues at the treatment center before I was discharged. I became blind during this phase of the Ebola disease, but I recovered my sight before discharge,” Johnson said. “There was a point in time I almost lost my life.”
“Even though there is no certain cure for Ebola, early treatment is your best chance at survival.”
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.