Ebola...in my opinion of course.

Ebola. The word alone scares me. When I say it I instantly think of the movie "The lion king", you know the part where the hyenas say "mufasa" and it sounds so evil?  (You're saying Ebola in your head right now to the tone of mufasa aren't you? It's okay, me too. ) The scariest part about Ebola is the unknown. The CDC can sugar coat the word until it tastes like chocolate but I'm not buying it. I have read article after article about this deadly virus and every one seems to have a different opinion. That's okay, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it's just that, an opinion. I don't know about you, but I want to know FACTS. I think there is a whole lot of pointing fingers and sweeping important information under the rug, if you will. While I do believe some things should have been handled differently, such as Thomas Duncan being sent home from the ER the first time after telling the health care personnel he just returned from Liberia and the newest health care worker that tested positive being told it was ok to fly with a low grade fever because it wasn't quite 100.4, I do NOT believe its ok, under any circumstance, to blame either health care worker for contracting this virus. If you do, shame on you! I'm appalled that I even read that, as a matter of fact, I re-read it twice because I thought I was making a mistake.  Quick question. When its your family member that is sick, and you’re hiding out because you are afraid of catching something, who do you think is going to be at their bedside caring for them? That's right. Health care workers.  

The first word that comes to mind when I hear the word Ebola is misinformed. My husband, for example is a very intelligent man. Unfortunately he is misinformed. Yesterday he came home from work and he could tell I looked a bit frazzled. He asked what was wrong with me and I told him about the second health care worker testing positive and how it was spreading like wild fire. I kid you not, he looked at me with the most serious face and said Mandy it's 2 people, the stuff you sit around and worry about amazes me. See? Misinformed. What he doesn't know is that this ebola is "airborne" and I use that term lightly because the CDC has yet to prove that, it's just a speculation. The word "airborne" isn't a term that we nurses take lightly though. This is where that abundance of knowledge comes into play. Jason sees it as 2 people are sick. I see it as a domino affect. These people were around hundreds of people at the time of contracting this virus, unknowingly contaminating others which reproduces the cycle. Does this virus have the potential to be transmitted before symptoms are apparent? The CDC says no, but has that been proven? I'm not writing this to start a debate or scare people into hiding, I'm writing this to ask that we all stay informed. Make smart decisions. I pray for the two health care workers and their families during this difficult time. Just knowing the symptoms they are facing and the incredible pain they must be feeling breaks my heart. I also pray for our country, that we will pull together, one nation under God,  because friends that's the only way the word Ebola will become a little less scary.