MONROVIA, liberia — More than 3,100 Liberians have died of Ebola. But against long odds, a fortunate group of people has overcome the virus. They have emerged from their struggle with one precious gift, something even modern medicine cannot convey: immunity to this strain of the disease.
Recovering from one of the most fearsome infections known to humankind should provide a time of unsurpassed joy and relief. But it doesn’t always work out that way.
Decontee Davis works at a child-care center, a two-story concrete building behind a tall iron gate in Monrovia. Children played inside and out on a recent sunny afternoon. The hubbub would sound normal anywhere in the world.
But all 13 children are from homes where parents or guardians are being treated for Ebola or have died of the disease. Now the youngsters must be monitored for 21 days, to determine whether they are infected as well.
The job falls to a staff of 10, all survivors of Ebola like Davis, who watch them 24 hours a day.
Davis was a part-time student and mother of a 5-year-old son when she contracted Ebola in early August, after bathing an aunt who had the disease. Her family took her to the ELWA 2 Ebola Management Center in Monrovia. Her fiancé was also admitted.
Days of hell ensued. Davis lost her eyesight and became too weak to move. She had constant diarrhea. She could not hold down any fluids. A doctor “would hold a bottle to my mouth,” she said. “I would drink it. As soon as it entered my system, I would vomit it out.”
Davis’ fiancé died. A woman died in front of her. Terrified, Davis called her father. To calm her, he read her scripture over the phone.
One day, she felt well enough to ask for a toothbrush. Soon, she could clean herself.
She was discharged Sept. 1. Only then did she learn what had been happening at home in Mount Barclay, a small town northeast of Monrovia.
“My son could not play in the community. Everybody was afraid of him, saying his mother has Ebola. … No one wanted him to infect them with that virus,” she said. Davis’ mother couldn’t buy food in the market. Friends had to bring her rice and cooking oil.
Davis decided she had to take care of children exposed to Ebola. “I make the decision from what happened to my family. I don’t want that to be repeated in other kids’ lives.
“My son had Grandmother to care for him in my absence. They may not have other people to care for them,” she said.
Davis, like other survivors, also donated blood in hopes of helping other Ebola victims — although research on the effectiveness of such transfusions is inconclusive.
Davis’ new job can be draining. Six of the children in her care have developed Ebola symptoms. So far, she knows of one who has survived.
Davis prays for the strength to tend to the children.
“I will ask God to give me passion to love them like my own,” she said.
