Student D and Mr K

Up until now Ebola has felt quite remote from me, I've made adjustments in my day to day life such as avoiding body contact, continuously washing and sanitising my hands, not visiting hospitals, taking the temperature of people who I spend time with etc.....but the only people that I knew personally who had contracted it were medical health workers who had treated a patient with Ebola and a local Imam who had performed burial rights........that has changed now, I suppose with the high number of cases being confirmed each day it is inevitable that more people I know will be affected

 

Student D

One of our students 'D' went to visit family upline - his Aunt was due to give birth and he was excited to see his family, who he hadn't seen for some time, and to meet the newest addition to the family.

When he arrived his aunt was in labour, she was also quite poorly. The baby died during childbirth and the mother died the next day. The authorities were called and they suspected Ebola, the bodies were quickly taken away and buried.

The family house was quarantined for 21 days. For 21 days they had to stay in the house and rely on people bringing them food in order to survive. Fortunately no-one else in the family got sick and D is now back in Freetown.

Mr K

One of our sponsored boys came to see me to ask for help - he was tying to raise some money to send for his father in the provinces who is sick.

Another family member had arrived yesterday morning with the news that Mr K was sick, he had been vomiting blood. He's been admitted to hospital and we're waiting for his test results.

 

The visiting family member was going to sleep in his car last night - just in case - and he returned to the provinces this morning with a little money that I was able to give them

 

Please pray for Mr K and student D and their families

 

Numbers 6:24-26

"The Lord bless you and keep you,

  The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you,

 The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26

 

If we are friends on Facebook you will know that I'm having a tough week. Three people that I know have passed away......a child, a man in the prime of his life, and an older person. None of them had Ebola, although if it were not for Ebola they may not have died - many hospitals are closed, those that are open some people are scared to go to in case they are mistaken for an Ebola patient or in case they are exposed to Ebola. People are dying because they are unable to get medical treatment. I don't know if they would have survived if there was no Ebola here - but I do believe they would at least have had a fighting chance.

 

I was pondering all this tonight when this passage came to me - it feels almost as if it were written just for me. When I go to bed tonight I will still be sad, desperately sad.......but I will also be surrounded with Gods love and filled with His peace.

New Ebola Holding/Treatment Centre - Waterloo

 

Back in September the AHS Hospital at Waterloo was closed and quarantined for 21 days after admitting a patient who later tested positive for Ebola. The patient later died. Three of the hospital staff who had close contact with the patient contracted Ebola from her......2 nurses passed away and the other, a lab technician, survived.

 

Since the end of the quarantine the hospital has remained closed. The Government ordered that it should be opened as a holding centre for Ebola patients. There was an unfinished ward in the compound (started by Mission Direct) and the government decided they would complete the building to increase the hospital capacity as a holding centre.

 

As the work to ready the hospital progressed it was decided that it would also serve as a treatment centre for Ebola.

 

I was invited to pay a visit to the centre before it opens - I hardly recognised the place! They now have solar lighting, plenty of water tanks and a new well - so no more water shortages, and two big generators that I'm told were donated by the British.

 

It was quite eerie being inside the hospital with no staff or patients (when I visited during quarantine the staff were all there)

 

Here are some photos:



The main entrance is now in the 'Red Zone'

 



Each of the existing wards will accommodate 6 patients (Red Zone)

 



Outside area for Ebola patients

The new ward (Red Zone)

A single room with toilet in the new building (Red Zone)

This is where patients will await their diagnosis (all air conditioned!!)

Newly built offices

Newly built offices

Remembrance Day Service 2014

I felt honoured to be invited to the Remembrance Day Service held on Sunday 9th November at the Cenotaph in Freetown.

Due to the National State of Emergency that Sierra Leone is currently under public gatherings are banned, but the President gave special permission for the Service to go ahead to show his respect and support of the armed forces. It was a very good service, as well as paying respect to people lost in WW1 and WW2, respects were also paid to people lost during the Rebel War and during this current ebola crisis.

During the 2 minutes silence the only sound was the distant wail of ebola ambulances - a stark reminder of the current problems the country is facing.



His Excellency Dr Ernest Bai Koroma - President of SL

 

My Experience of Ebola

Since the Ebola outbreak I've read quite a few blogs by people here in Sierra Leone - my experience differs quite a lot to what I am reading in other people blogs. I've also seen and read a lot in the media and what I'm seeing here is vastly different to what people are seeing on TV and in newspapers in the UK.

A lot of the blogs I'm reading are by medical people - so that's a major difference for a start, they are here to help people affected with Ebola.....while part of the reason I'm here it to help people not to get it.

I've not really had any first hand experience of Ebola, four people that I know have contracted it - two survived and two passed away, but I had no contact with them while they had the virus.

I've read in some blogs that all bars and restaurants are closed - that's not true, some have closed yes, but by no means all of them. I don't know if organisations are telling their people that the bars and restaurants are closed to prevent them from venturing out....but these places that have remained open could really do with some support and customers!

The news I was seeing while I was in the UK would have people believe that there are dead bodies on every street corner.......well I live on the east side of the capital, Freetown, and I've not seen one dead body abandoned in the street - I pray it stays that way.

Obviously a lot of the media coverage is showing the Ebola centres and I have no experience of them whatsoever - what I see is everyday life, family life, people trying to get by - life for a lot of the families I work with was a struggle before Ebola - now it's almost impossible.

For me the biggest change and challenge is the no touching rule - it's so difficult to get used to the ABC rule.....Avoid Body Contact - it's not natural and it feels very isolating.  I quickly got used to the continuous hand washing....and I always smell of either chlorine or dettol.

For me just feeling slightly off colour is enough to make me go over and over any possible contact I might have had with people which could have unwittingly exposed me to the virus - I'm sure this is the same for a lot of people. I have a headache today - most probably because I'm a little dehydrated, or because I've been working on the computer and I've not fully admitted to myself yet that I need glasses. In normal times I would just take some tablets and brush it of, but now I'm checking my temperature every couple of hours just in case.
I know that I've not been exposed to EVD......I don't touch people, I'm always washing my hands with chlorinated water and using hand sanitiser, I've not been around anyone who is sick, I've defiantly not had contact with a corpse........but all the same I'll be relieved when this headache is gone.

When I ask people what is the worst thing for them personally about the Ebola outbreak the main answers I get is lack of money for food and the schools and colleges being closed. The worst thing for me about it is seeing people I care about struggle and knowing that I can't help them all.