Dr. Kent Brantly Leaves Hospital, Praises God in Public Appearance
Dr. Kent Brantly was released from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia earlier today, after battling Ebola for several weeks. Before leaving, Brantly offered thanks and words of inspiration about his faith in God and his healing.
"Today is a miraculous day. I am thrilled to be alive, to be well and to be reunited with my family," Brantly began. "Through the care of the Samaritan's Purse and SIM missionary team in Liberia, the use of an experimental drug, and the expertise and resources of the health care team at Emory University Hospital, God saved my life – a direct answer to thousands and thousands of prayers."
Brantly attended the press conference with his wife Amber and the doctors and nurses that helped take care of him while he received state-of-the-art medical treatment for Ebola. He was monitored constantly and given fluids and medication to battle the virus; throughout the ordeal, he was kept in an isolated unit and only allowed to visit Amber through glass.
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"When my family and I moved to Liberia two years ago, Ebola was not on the radar. We moved to Liberia because God called us to service in Liberia. When we received our first Ebola patient, we were ready … we took every precaution to protect ourselves from this disease, including following MSF (Doctors Without Borders) and WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines. On Wednesday, July 23, I woke up feeling under the weather and then my life took an unexpected turn as I was diagnosed with the Ebola virus disease," Brantly continued.
The doctor was flown back to Emory's Ebola unit for treatment; three days later, missionary Nancy Writebol was also transported to Emory to be treated for the same disease. The two were kept separate and she was discharged on Tuesday, Aug. 19 but wanted to remain out of the public eye.
"As Nancy walked out of her isolation room, all she could say was 'To God be the glory,'" Brantly added.
"I have had the great joy to be able to look through the isolation room glass and see my beautiful wife again. We both placed our hands on opposite sides of the glass, moved with tears to look at each other," David Writebol, Nancy's husband, said in a statement.
Brantly expressed sincere gratitude for those who helped nurse him back to health with "compassionate, world-class care" and said he is "more grateful every day to the Lord for sparing my life."
He will now be able to reunite with his two children and spend time with his family. However, he has not ruled out the possibility of returning to Liberia at some point in the future.
