HOUSTON, Texas – Texas second Ebola infected nurse, Amber Vinson, has been confirmed to be Ebola free and is returning home to Dallas. Vinson joins Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital’s Nina Pham as the only two people to both contract and recover from Ebola in the United States. All other Ebola patients in the U.S. contracted the virus while working in West Africa.
“I’m so grateful to be well,” Vinson said, reading a brief statement to reporters. “With God, all things are possible.”
Vinson and Pham contracted the virus while attending to patient Thomas Eric Duncan who died from the Ebola virus. Pham was released from a National Institutes of Health hospital in Maryland on October 24th and returned home to Dallas after visiting with President Barrack Obama at the White House. It is not known if Vinson received an invitation from the President.
“As a nurse and now as someone who has experienced what it is like to be cared for through a life-threatening illness, I am so appreciative and grateful for your skill, warmth and care,” she said. She then hugged each nurse and doctor individually according to a report by Doug Stanglan in USA Today.
In a statement received from Texas Health Presbyterian by Breitbart Texas on Tuesday, Candace White wrote, “Today is a joyful day at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Amber Vinson is free of Ebola and coming home. Like many of her colleagues, she made a brave choice to volunteer and provide care for a critically ill Ebola patient. That led to a personal fight against the disease, and she is to be commended for her strength and courage.”
“Amber and her fellow caregiver, Nina Pham, are an inspiration for healthcare workers nationwide, and we at Texas Health Dallas could not be more proud of them,” White concluded in the statement.
The doctors from Emory Hospital said they are not certain why Pham recovered more quickly than Vinson. “They are two of the youngest patients treated in developed countries,” said Dr. Brice Ribner, medical director for Emory’s serious communicable disease unit. “We know from a lot of data that younger patients do much better than patients who are older.”
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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