Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly shares his story. -Time

Dr. Brantly hugs his wife after being released.

The American doctor who survived Ebola, Dr. Kent Brantly, has penned an article about his experience in Time magazine. Before contracting the disease, out of all the Ebola patients he had treated only one had survived. Imagine then what it must of felt when he found out he had the disease. When Brantly learned of the experimental drug ZMapp, he insisted that his fellow Ebola survivor, Nancy Writebol, receive the first dose instead of him. Brantly also claims that bringing him to America most likely saved his life since doctors here were able to tell that his potassium level was almost lethally low, which would not have been able to be detected in Africa. 

My Comment:

Good article by Brantly, read it all. He puts a human face on this epidemic. You can tell that he's one of the good guys and that he cares deeply about what happens in Africa. And it seems clear right now that the only reason he is alive is because they brought him back to America. He also gives a fairly clear description of what Ebola does to a persons body. Most of the descriptions I have read are cold clinical descriptions. Brantly's account sounds like what a real person would say and it is the best description of what contracting the disease actually feels like. It's a terrifying and humiliating disease, even if you are lucky enough to survive.    

Of course Brantly was incredibly lucky to be an American citizen. He was able to get top rate treatment and access to experimental drugs. It's not clear what if any effect ZMapp had on his case, though Brantly claims it helped, but the fact remains that very few people got a chance to receive the drug. The vast majority of victims of this disease had no access to such drugs and had to suffer through a overwhelmed and primitive African health system. Volunteers like Brantly were completely overwhelmed and the situation has only gotten worse since he left Africa for treatment.