Battling Ebola
The heart of Kent Brantly’s goal was to be involved in medical missions. His first stint in a “third world” country was Liberia in 2003. After marriage in 2008 his wife, Amber, joined him in such ventures. When the Ebola crisis broke out in Africa it spread to become one of the most devastating medical crises known. Instead of running away, Dr. Brantly stayed to help the suffering people. The risk was high. In the summer of 2014, 3 days after sending his wife and family to the U.S.A., he was diagnosed as having contracted the virus himself. The World Medical Mission and Samaritan’s Purse, with whom he was serving, sprang into action to somehow get him back to the U.S.A. in an effort to save his life. The only plane they could enlist flew him part way across the Atlantic but had to turn back because they were losing air pressure in the cabin. Upon landing back in Liberia the mission staff were desperate for answers. They were in a position where they could do nothing but watch him die. At this point someone arrived from Sierra Leone with a box containing an untried and unauthorized serum. It had only been tried on animals (including monkeys) but not humans, and the medical people in Sierra Leone were not willing to use it on people. In the Liberia mission the staff decided to trust the Lord and use it since the alternate was to just let Dr. Brantly die. Prayer had been frequent and fervent. Upon injection his body went into convulsions. Panic stricken they were relieved to find out that this had happened to the monkeys too. The convulsions soon ended. In about 30 minutes the whole scene changed. Dr. Brantly was able to get up and use the washroom. He was now well enough to be flown to Emory Hospital in Atlanta where he, and a nurse who had also contracted Ebola, did recover.
If the plane had not been turned back he would likely have died before arriving in the U.S.A. Even if he would have arrived alive, they would not have had the serum needed. Turning back had been seen as a terrible defeat but God knew better. It was the solution. Dr. Brantly is alive now, still serving needy people and giving all the credit to the Lord. Website search under his name, or Samaritan’s Purse, will give you more details and also how you might be able to watch the movie made of the story. It is called “Facing Darkness”. Some websites omit the part about the use of the unauthorized serum.
God cares very much about you too.
Henry Wiebe