RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Women Ebola babes: Nina Pham

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital released a video on Thursday which shows the bittersweet moment Ebola-patient Nina Pham said goodbye to her doctor before leaving the Dallas for further treatment in Maryland.


Laughing, joking and crying for joy: Ebola nurse Nina Pham brings her hazmat-suited doctor to tears as she speaks from hospital

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital released a video on Thursday which shows the bittersweet moment Ebola-patient Nina Pham said goodbye to her doctor before leaving Dallas for further treatment in Maryland.

The 26-year-old nurse contracted Ebola after volunteering to care for U.S 'patient zero' Thomas Eric Duncan, who tragically died last week from the deadly disease.

In the video released Thursday evening, at Ms Pham's request, her treating physician gets emotional as he sees her off on her trip to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.

'Thanks for getting well. Thanks for being part of the volunteer team to take care of our first patient,' Dr Weinstein is heard saying, as he focuses the camera on Ms Pham, reclining in her hospital bed.

'It means a lot. This has been a huge effort by all of you,' he adds, before tearing up.

Ms Pham then smiles before telling her doctor not to cry.

'We're really proud of you,' Dr Weinstein says.

That causes Ms Pham to start crying herself, and another physician standing by in full hazmat suiting hands her a tissue to wipe away her tears.

The camera does not linger on Ms Pham long enough to see where she disposes of the wet tissue after drying her eyes.

'I love you guys,' she says.

'We love you, Nina,' Dr Weinstein responds, at the end of the video.

Ms Pham was discharged from the Dallas hospital Thursday evening to fanfare as her coworkers gathered outside the building to see her off, holding up signs like 'Get well' and 'You're a rock star'.

She landed in Bethesda just before 10:40pm Eastern Time.

She will next be treated at NIH Hospital, Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the hospital's Allergy and Infectious Diseases unit told a Congressional committee this afternoon.

This afternoon Ms Pham asked the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital to release a statement on her behalf thanking her family, friends and co-workers for the outpouring of support.

‘I feel very blessed, and have gained strength from their support. I appreciate everything that my coworkers [sic] have done to care for me at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas,’ the nurse stated.

‘I’m doing really well thanks to this team, which is the best in the world. I believe in my talented coworkers. I am #presbyproud!’

The press release from the beleaguered hospital also included a statement from Dr. Gary Weinstein, chief of pulmonology and critical care medicine, who described the decision to transfer Ms Pham to Maryland as a difficult one.

‘We’re so glad she has improved so much in such a short amount of time,’ he said. ‘Our prayers are with her, and she’ll be in wonderful hands at NIH.’

Hospital spokeswoman Candace White concluded the statement by saying that it is in the best interest of everyone involved to ‘give the hospital an opportunity to prepare for whatever comes next.’

Meanwhile, the City of Dallas released new photos of Ms Pham's beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Bentley, looking cheerful during quarantine at the Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center.

The pooch is currently being cared for by professionals in protective Hazmat suits. City spokeswoman Sana Syed tweeted that Bentley was doing well considering the sudden separation from his owner.

‘Bentley is settling in, getting used to new routines. The cutie played w/ new toy and snuggled w/ vet,’ she wrote Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Presbyterian Hospital was treating two Ebola patients - Ms Pham and nurse Amber Vinson, both employees of the hospital who contracted the disease while treating 'patient zero' Thomas Eric Duncan.

By tonight, the hospital will have zero Ebola patients in its care after federal officials ordered both of them moved to specialized facilities. Ms Vinson was flown out of Dallas to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta Wednesday night.

Nurses have come forward to allege that training and procedures at the hospital were not adequate to protect them. Medical records obtained by the Associated Press revealed that during Duncan's first two days in the hospital, nurses did not wear protective hazmat gear when treating him.

Nurses also complained that their necks and wrists were exposed in the suits that they were given, that some supervisors said face masks weren't necessary and that Duncan was not isolated for hours before he was admitted to the hospital.

A Dallas nurse diagnosed with the Ebola virus has received a blood transfusion from Samaritan's Purse aid worker and Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly.
Brantly traveled to Dallas on Sunday to make the donation for 26 year old Nina Pham, a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who helped to treat a Liberian man who died there last week.
Father Jim Khoi, who is Pham's pastor, called Brantly a "good" and "devoted" man. He added that Pham is in good spirits, using Skype to communicate with her mom, and asking for prayers.


Health officials are currently trying to determine how Pham was infected as her role in treating the man who died in Dallas, Thomas Eric Duncan, has not been released. Experts hope the antibodies in Brantly's blood will kick-start Pham's immune response to Ebola, reports NBC News.

On Monday, Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said that his agency was improving the protocols used by health care workers.
"Stopping Ebola is hard," Frieden said Monday. "We're working together to make it safer and easier."

Frieden said that since the CDC doesn't know how Pham contracted Ebola in the isolation unit, it's possible others were infected, too.
"We have to rethink the way we address Ebola infection control, because even a single infection is unacceptable," Frieden said, adding that Pham was "clinically stable."


Both Pham and Brantly have sacrificed tremendously and risked their lives to help others.
On Sunday, Pham's Bible-study teacher told Dallas Morning News that she is a loving, highly motivated nurse who lives to care for others. "The family is very dedicated and go out of their way to help people," Tom Ha, who taught Pham in a bible class, said. "I expect, with the big heart she has, she went beyond what she was supposed to do to help anyone in need."

Brantly, who got the disease in July while treating patients in Liberia for Samaritan's Purse, also has given blood to treat at least two other people: Dr. Rick Sacra, an American who also got the virus in Liberia, and NBC News freelance camera operator Ashoka Mukpo, who was infected while covering the outbreak in West Africa. Sacra was treated at The Nebraska Medical Center, where Mukpo is currently hospitalized.

on U.S. soil, at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas last fall. Duncan died on Oct. 8, and Pham tested positive for the virus a few days later. She is now suing the hospital, alleging that she wasn't given the proper training or equipment to handle an Ebola case.

"The fact is, I'm facing a number of issues with regard to my health and my career and the lawsuit provides a way to address them," Pham said in a statement today. "But more importantly, it will help uncover the truth of what happened, and educate all health care providers and administrators about ways to be better prepared for the next public health emergency."

Pham's lawyer filed a petition on her behalf against the hospital today in Dallas, seeking an unspecified amount of damages for past and future pain, impairment, mental anguish and medical expenses, to name a few.


"She has not gone back to work yet, and she is working on recovering," Pham's lawyer Charla Aldous told ABC News, adding that she's also having problems with her liver enzymes. "I don't know if she'll ever be a nurse again."