Studentsuk studentsebolaLiberia

Trainee Student Nurse Saved Three Family Members From Ebola - Using Just Bin Bags As Protection

Trainee Student Nurse Saved Three Family Members From Ebola
Lucy Sherriff
|
Open Image Modal
iamprojects.org

A trainee student nurse who saved three of her family members from Ebola using just bin bags as protection has won a place to finish her studies in America.

Fatu Kekula, from Liberia, nursed her father, mother and sister back to health when they contracted the disease and were refused entry to an overcrowded hospital.

See Also:

Sadly, her cousin did not survive the disease, but the 22-year-old's efforts meant the patients had a 75% chance of survive, rather than the 30% chance for those who contract ebola in Liberia.

"I cried many times," Kekula told CNN. "I said 'God, you want to tell me I'm going to lose my entire family?' "

International aid workers caught wind of Kekula's bin bag methods, and are now using them to teach other West Africans who don't have protective gear of their own.

Kekula's nursing experience was gained from a three years training course at Liberia's Cuttington University. However the brave student was unable to return to finish nursing school as Liberia has shut down its colleges and universities until the outbreak is contained.

Now, thanks to a fundraising project which raised $40,000, Kekula is off to America to continue her dreams of becoming a nurse.

UNICEF Spokeswoman Sarah Crowe said: "Essentially this is a tale of how communities are doing things for themselves. Our approach is to listen and work with communities and help them do the best they can with what they have."

U.S. Opens Ebola Units In Liberia
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU)(01 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: U.S. military and the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) staff unload cargo at the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. The MMU will be staffed by U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS); it has a capacity of 25 beds and is expected to open this week to treat any medical workers in Liberia that become Ebola patients themselves while assisting in the response to the virus. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
U.S. Marines Arrive In Liberia(02 of14)
Open Image Modal
U.S marines arrival at the Roberts International airport in Monrovia, Liberia, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. Six U.S. military planes arrived Thursday at the epicenter of the Ebola crisis, carrying more aid and American Marines into Liberia, the country hardest hit by the deadly disease that has devastated West Africa and stirred anxiety across a fearful world. At a World Bank meeting in Washington, the presidents of several West African countries struggling with Ebola pleaded for help, with one calling the epidemic "a tragedy unforeseen in modern times." (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
U.S. Soldiers Train Medical Workers(03 of14)
Open Image Modal
US soldiers teach medical workers how to effectively wear protective gear during a training session on fighting Ebola on November 7, 2014 at the police academy in Monrovia, where a US military base is located. West Africa's regional bloc on November 7 called for international help to go beyond immediate medical care for Ebola-hit nations, warning that lives had been blighted by the epidemic. The raging Ebola outbreak has likely killed far more people than the 4,818 deaths reported by the World Health Organization, an expert at the UN health agency said on November 6, warning that thousands of fatalities were likely not accounted for. (credit:ZOOM DOSSO/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Soldiers Train Medical Workers(04 of14)
Open Image Modal
(credit: ZOOM DOSSO/AFP/Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) (05 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: U.S. military and the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) members unload cargo at the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. (Photo by Michel du Cille/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) (06 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA - NOVEMBER 4: Medical staff prepare to simulate treating Ebola patients as Commander Calvin Edwards talks with LT. Junior Grade Lauren Ryszka, a nurse acting as a patient in the bed, while Captain Russ Bowman, a doctor, arranges items at right, Inside the new Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. The MMU will be staffed by U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS); it has a capacity of 25 beds and is expected to open this week to treat any medical workers in Liberia that become Ebola patients themselves while assisting in the response to the virus . The unit was constructed by the U.S. military and the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). (Photo by Michel du Cille/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) (07 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) medical staff, (left to right) Commander Paul Garney, LT. Junior Grade Victoria D'Addeo, and Lt. Junior Grade Jennifer Danieley, dressed in protective suits, prepare to simulate treating an Ebola patient inside the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU)(08 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: Medical staff simulate treating an Ebola patient inside the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU)(09 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) medical staff, (left to right) LT. Junior Grade Victoria D'Addeo, Lt. Junior Grade Jennifer Danieley, and Commander Paul Garney dressed in protective suits, prepare to simulate treating an Ebola patient inside the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) (10 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: Staff members with the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) meet inside the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. The MMU will be staffed by U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS); it has a capacity of 25 beds and is expected to open this week to treat any medical workers in Liberia that become Ebola patients themselves while assisting in the response to the virus . (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) (11 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) medical staff (left to right) Lt. Junior Grade Jennifer Danieley with Commander Alexis Mosquera (no suit) helping her to get dressed up in a protective suit as LT. Junior Grade Victoria D'Addeo, and Commander Paul Garney, prepare in the background to simulate treating an Ebola patient inside the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU)(12 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commander Thomas Janisko simulates straying solution on Lt. Commander Jennifer Danieley (cq), with LT. Victoria D'Addeo and Commander Paul Garney (at right) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU)(13 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: Medical staff members LT. Junior Grade Lauren Ryszka acts as a patient in bed while LT. Junior Grade Victoria D'Addeo simulate treating her as an Ebola patient inside the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) (14 of14)
Open Image Modal
MONROVIA, LIBERIA-NOVEMBER 4: A view of the ward for suspected ebola cases inside the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) on Tuesday November 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)


Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip