"The Tragic Story Behind The Dallas Ebola Patient Who Just Died"

[applegrove]

The Tragic Story Behind The Dallas Ebola Patient Who Just Died

by Pamela Engel and Lauren Friedman at Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/dallas-ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan-dies-2014-10

"SNIP..........................


Duncan met Troh in the early 1990s at a refugee camp in the Ivory Coast, where both had fled during Liberia's brutal civil war. While neither spoke publicly about the reasons for their eventual separation, Sack wrote in The Times, they didn't see each other after Troh's 1998 move to the US, and Duncan "missed the entire childhood of their son, Karsiah, who adapted well enough to his new home to become the starting quarterback for the Conrad High Chargers."

But after rekindling their relationship long-distance, Duncan finally planned a visit, making the long journey from Monrovia to Dallas via Brussels and Washington, D.C. Before getting on a plane in Liberia, Duncan was screened for Ebola, but he had no symptoms at that time, CNN reported. On Sept. 20, he arrived in Dallas in what seemed to be good health.

But things quickly took a turn for the worst.

Less than a week after his arrival in the US, he began complaining of chills and went to the emergency room at Texas Presbyterian. He told a nurse that he had recently been in West Africa — a region that has been ravaged by an unprecedented Ebola epidemic — but that information was not "fully communicated" to the rest of his medical team. Duncan was diagnosed with a minor infection and sent home.


.............................SNIP"

[seveneyes]

1. information was not "fully communicated"

Yeah, things like his failure to mention he had handled Ebola victims shortly before coming here.

I didn't see that detail "fully communicated" in the story.

[daleanime]

4. Well, I'm unsure where your going with that, so I'll ask.....

where are you going with that?

[GeorgeGist]

8. I like your avatar.

[MohRokTah]

14. Most likely because he thought he had been exposed to a pregnant woman with MALARIA.

All the way up until she died, the family of the woman believed she was suffering from malaria.

[FourScore]

16. I read the family thought she died from the pregnancy. Not uncommon in West Africa.

In any case, they didn't learn it was ebola until after Duncan arrived in the US.

[seabeyond]

18. then why did they take her to an ebola ward, and were turned away, bringing her back home to die? nt

[MohRokTah]

20. This is how it is in Liberia.

Nobody speaks the word "Ebola" in those Monrovia neighborhoods where it is currently being active. They all say what somebody is suffering from is malaria, and there's a lot of malaria in Monrovia any way.

[seabeyond]

23. the man was educated. he was caring and doing what he could. not bashing the man. but i disagree.

he knew the horrid of the disease. he knew that is what he was dealing. and he did not want it to be him. i am sure he held onto a mild infection with antibiotics, as a life line.

that would be human. but i think, it is clear, he knew.




http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/08/health/thomas-eric-duncan-ebola/index.html

[MohRokTah]

24. You're entitled to your own opinion.

The fact is, the only person who would know for sure if he knew or didn't know he had been exposed to Ebola before he left Liberia is now dead.

[arthritisR_US]

43. I agree whole heartedly with you, TY!

[seabeyond]

46. Liberian community leader Tugbeh Chieh Tugbeh said Duncan was caring for an Ebola-infected patient

The fact is, the only person who would know for sure if he knew or didn't know he had been exposed to Ebola before he left Liberia is now dead.

that really is not.... "the fact" now, is it?

[MohRokTah]

56. Yes, that is the fact

Not a single person has stated he KNEW she was infected with Ebola.

[seabeyond]

58. Witnesses say Duncan had been helping Ebola patients in Liberia.

if you say ya. that too is true. but still. he didnt know they were ebola. then fug it. literally. an educated man, in an environment of crisis, helping the ebola victims... totally clueless.

what ever.

why you and others feel the need to protect him in this manner leaves me aghast. i do not respect that. duncan. i can respect. this? no.

[MohRokTah]

60. I can't respect your refusal to give the benefit of the doubt.

You are judging this man by cultural standards that are in no way related to the reality of his situation in Liberia, especially when the woman was not displaying most Ebola symptoms at the time and those symptoms she was displaying more closely resembled malaria.

Again, the only human being who knew for certain whether or not he knew he had been exposed to Ebola was Duncan, and he is no longer around to defend himself against allegations.

And at this point, that's all they will EVER be, allegations.

[Warren DeMontague]

65. Yeah, well, if it's so difficult to screen for ebola with a form and a temperature check

and no one could possibly ever know for sure that they've been exposed despite taking someone in an ambulance to an ebola ward, certainly not know to the extent that they might be considered legally culpable when they say "no" under oath on a screening form, then we BETTER stop letting visa holders in from those countries for the time being, because apparently an honest answer on that joke of a screening form is IMPOSSIBLE to obtain.

[MohRokTah]

68. It was a cab.

So right off you are throwing out nonfactual information.

Allegations. Nothing more.

[Warren DeMontague]

73. Well guess what? I'm in the majority.

So people with ebola will likely face additional inconveniences before getting on airplanes, no matter what transpires at DU.

I hate to break it to you.

[MohRokTah]

74. There is no majority vote on whether somebodyu is guilty of something. There are trials.

The dead cannot be put on trial.

Everything remains allegations.

Forever.

[Warren DeMontague]

79. You seem tense.

[ecstatic]

69. actually, you are too

You're assumption is that he was clueless because he was from Africa. Knowing many Africans myself, I know that's a bs assumption to make. Look at his Facebook page (if it's still available) and friends list, most of his friends appear to be well informed and college educated.

[MohRokTah]

76. No, my assumption is he has the benefit of the doubt. eom

[Warren DeMontague]

77. Yep. The Gov't of Liberia apparently took it seriously enough to consider criminal culpability for

the guy.

But apparently there's some narrative here that must be defended, for some odd reason



and it involves accusing everyone who thinks we should have any sort of restrictions on travel at all of being a big ol meanie who is mean because they're mean.

[Warren DeMontague]

64. Apparently the Liberian Government was displeased with the answers he gave on his screening form

but I guess they're just old meanies who are mean and unfair because they do all this mean shit to people who just want nothing more than to board international flights carrying a deadly disease. Mean!

[MohRokTah]

67. So did they convict him?

OOPS, allegations.

[Warren DeMontague]

72. Why is that oops?

Are you going to slam the president of Liberia the way you're slamming DU members for suggesting he may have lied on the form? She was livid with the guy.

[MohRokTah]

75. You are merely putting forward allegations.

Without a trial, they remain allegations forever.

[Warren DeMontague]

78. So?

I give the guy benefit of the doubt that he wasn't an idiot. He's in ebola central, and he was in contact with someone very sick 4 days before he got on an airplane. He may have been in denial.

Do you think it's a problem if someone with ebola gets on an airplane and infects people in other countries, or not? Should there be ANY restrictions or screening at all?

[TBF]

86. I think he knew as well -

any of us would. And we would likely hold on to hope that maybe it was just the common cold. It doesn't help us to deny - or to have hatred for the man.

Bottom line we are going to have to put some $$$ towards stopping this outbreak. The government has the power of taxation & we have been letting the billionaires steal money from us since the Reagan administration. Now it is time to stop, look at our priorities, and tax wealthy individuals/corporations appropriately.

[FourScore]

15. He thought he was just helping a pregnant woman, who was near full term and having abdomen pains,

get to the hospital. She later died. Everyone thought it was pregnancy related, but it wasn't. The positive confirmation that she died of ebola was released to her neighbors and family after Duncan had left for the US.

Otherwise, he did not "handle" any ebola victims.

So, I'm not sure what you meant by your post.

[seabeyond]

21. not true. not from what i have heard from the beginning.

Witnesses say Duncan had been helping Ebola patients in Liberia. Liberian community leader Tugbeh Chieh Tugbeh said Duncan was caring for an Ebola-infected patient at a residence in Paynesville City, just outside Monrovia.
The New York Times reported that Duncan had direct contact with a pregnant woman stricken with Ebola on September 15, days before he left for the United States. Citing the woman's parents and Duncan's neighbors in Monrovia, Liberia, the newspaper said Duncan had helped carry the ailing woman home after a hospital turned her away because there wasn't enough space in its Ebola
treatment ward.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/08/health/thomas-eric-duncan-ebola/index.htmlt

[kestrel91316]

57. Given how his physicians ignored what medical history he DID give them,

I doubt his contact with a sick woman (and he's not a physician and she didn't have a diagnosis so he can't be expected to know for a fact she has ebola) would have made any difference.

His medical team was grossly negligent in ignoring his travel history.

[Louisiana1976]

61. Exactly! His telling them he was from Liberia should have set off alarm bells.

[Wait Wut]

2. Thank you.

I hadn't heard this part of his story, yet. I just kept hearing about what a horrible person he was for getting sick. My faith in humanity has been shaken, badly.

So sad. I can't imagine what his family is going through.

[Dorian Gray]

5. That's exactly

what I'm feeling right now. I see so much anger at him. People claiming he lied. I don't see that. He throught he was healthy when he came here. He got sick and died. And people are angry/hateful. It disturbs me.

[Wait Wut]

7. He died because he tried to help someone else.

I can't imagine how he felt when the hospital turned that young woman away. How he felt as he carried her home. How he felt when she died. Some reports say that they thought she had the flu. I don't know what he knew, didn't know, what that village knew. I know he tried to help someone else. And here we are, making him a criminal. After watching that young woman die, all he probably wanted was to see his family. To hold someone. He saw first hand that life was short. He had no idea how short.

We'll be seeing more of these men and women. We'll be labeling them as "patients" and forget that they're humans. We might as well pick up a gun and bible and start waving the American flag, turn in our Liberal cards and become Republicans. Build fences, not just around our country, but our homes. Greet every visitor, friend and family member with suspicion. Turn our heads when we see an accident, walk the other way if we see someone fall, shun anyone that looks like they might need help. The Walking Dead can be our instructional videos.

I need something good...fast. I'm sick of hatred and accusations.

[freshwest]

10. +1,000.

[City Lights]

11. Great post!

[lapislzi]

13. {{Wait Wut}}

Thanks for your post. So many caught up in a spiral of fear. Mr. Duncan was a human being with family, hopes, fears...it could be any one of us. I am sad for his loved ones and how they must be feeling. Fear, grief, anger, regret. I hope the community takes care of them.

Don't despair, Wait Wut. Believe in the arc of the universe, and how it bends (albeit imperceptibly at times.)

[Politicalboi]

19. "He died because he tried to help someone else"

Or he died because the hospital in Texas failed him. They sent him home. Did we ever get a real reason for them sending him home. Bad communications is NOT good enough. Like one poster said here, he probably had no insurance, and ONLY that got communicated. By letting him go home, the hospital exposed more people.

[stevenleser]

22. The hospital staff poopoohed the idea it could be Ebola. They just couldn't imagine the possibility

so instead of keeping him there and doing the necessary blood tests, they gave him some antibiotics and sent him home.

that decision probably cost him his life.

[Demeter]

42. It will probably cost some hospital employees their lives, too

This disease is like shooting for the moon....no mistakes are tolerated, because there is no recourse.

Ergo---there should be a quarantine. A global quarantine.

Either we do it right the first time, right now, or there WILL be peace on earth, because everyone will be dead. Well, that's one way to stop war.

[SFNMom]

85. The hospital did not just send him home!!

That first visit Duncan had a CT scan of the abdomen and other tests that were negative before he was sent home.

The problem was that no hospital in the US had ever had a case of Ebola walk in so the staff at that hospital and every other in the US had absolutely no experience with EBOLA.

That lack of any experience coupled with the patient denying any exposure to any infectious disease (documented in the record BEFORE it was known he had Ebola) is what contributed to this tragedy.

Further, in medical schools Ebola is taught as a "hemorrhagic fever" the patient had no bleeding,no known exposure to infection and severe abdominal pain. They were looking for the usual causes of abdominal pain- appendicitis, diverticulitis etc. That's what would have been done up until now at every busy ER because before now there had never been a patient in our country in the ER with abdominal pain who had Ebola whether West African or not.

One thing for sure, obviously his lack of insurance did not impact on his care- a CT scan is not cheap yet his doctors ordered that and other x-rays and labs.

[Wait Wut]

27. I agree.

The hospital made some fatal mistakes. The sad part is, they're the only voice we have in this. Whatever he told them, we have to hear their version, not his. I'm not saying that the spokespeople for the hospital aren't being truthful, just that we're only going to hear their side of the conversation. As far as liability, I have no idea where that starts and stops with something like this.

Uninsured people get patched and sent on their way, so I believe that's a real possibility of what happened. It's Texas. They weren't expecting ebola to come walking through the front door. They figured it was just a bug and sent him home. Uninsured people have been dying because of that loophole for years.

[seabeyond]

37. the soon to be wife told us. she said... he said liberia. she said.... she said liberia twice.

that is it. the son says.... he called cdc two days later and said ebola.

we listen to the man who he helped with ebola victims in liberia. this is not just listening to the hospital.

Witnesses say Duncan had been helping Ebola patients in Liberia. Liberian community leader Tugbeh Chieh Tugbeh said Duncan was caring for an Ebola-infected patient at a residence in Paynesville City, just outside Monrovia.
The New York Times reported that Duncan had direct contact with a pregnant woman stricken with Ebola on September 15, days before he left for the United States. Citing the woman's parents and Duncan's neighbors in Monrovia, Liberia, the newspaper said Duncan had helped carry the ailing woman home after a hospital turned her away because there wasn't enough space in its Ebola treatment ward.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/08/health/thomas-eric-duncan-ebola/index.html

[Wait Wut]

50. And that means...

...what?

Did you see all the RWers that thought Liberia was in S. America? Not relevant. Just a sad/funny anecdote. Still not sure what your post has to do with what I said. I'm sure you'll fill me in, though.

I'm leaving for the day, so I'll catch it later.

[seabeyond]

53. what does rw'ers have to do with shit. facts matter. that is all. we do not have to attack the man.

hate on the man. we can be understanding. we can value his need to help others. we can feel his pain and we can sympathize with the survivors sorrow on their loss.

and still state facts.

rw? who the fuck cares.

[Louisiana1976]

63. That's not surprising about the Reich-wingers who thought Liberia was in South America. So many of

them are ignorant and racist.

[YarnAddict]

30. Well--

he told the triage nurse, but if I had been him, I'd have told EVERY person I met in that hospital that I was from Liberia, and that I may have been exposed to Ebola. Because my life, and that of every member of my family, and potentially every person I came into contact with depended on it. And because I didn't want to leave anything to chance, because "miscommunication" happens.

Great to trust doc and other healthcare professionals, but at some point, we have to be responsible for our own health.

[seabeyond]

25. "the village", Monrovia, has close to a million population. nt

[Wait Wut]

28. Chicago has almost 3 million.

I can guarantee that there are pockets of Chicago that have never heard of ebola.

It has nothing to do with the size of the population and a lot to do with the level of communication available.

[seabeyond]

33. they are in the midst of a crisis. the man is educated, geeez, people quit selling him short.

he spent his time helping... HELPING ebola victims. he did not think he had it.

he came to the u.s.

he got sick. and probably wished to god it was the flu like the doctor said.

what is this with white washing the story? can we not be honest, and not condemn the man, and feel bad he died a horrible death, AND be sad for the family?

[Wait Wut]

38. Who the hell is selling him short?

I said exactly what you just said, just without the anger and accusations. If I got sick and everyone around me told me that they had had the flu, I'd think I had the flu. Like I said, I don't know what he knew or didn't know. I apologize if you read some weird message in my post that upset you.

[seabeyond]

40. anger is whitewashing the story, not the mans life/death. you say village. why? close to million.

you say does not know ebola. he is educated and HELPING the victims.

to me, you are selling him short.

he is not some uninformed, uneducated, unaware man living in a little village in denial. no. you and i did not say the same thing.

[Wait Wut]

48. The woman he was helping lived outside of Monrovia.

It was called a "village" in the earliest reports. That must have stuck in my brain. I apologize for getting a gigantic city full of people confused with a small town full of fewer people.

I have not said he was uneducated. He had no symptoms until he came here. He was shoved out of the hospital with some antibiotics. Did he know? I...don't...fucking...know...

Christ, seabeyond, get over it. I've had enough crap with this entire situation without someone trying to accuse me of something I never said or thought. I have in NO fucking way sold this man short. Try rereading what I fucking wrote. I haven't made the man some poor sainted martyr. I said I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE FUCKING KNEW OR DIDN'T KNOW. I voiced my opinion of how horrible it is that everyone has turned this man into a fucking criminal. The vill...er...small city...where that young woman died is doing the same fucking thing to him. Was he in denial? Don't know. Did he believe that that woman had malaria? Don't know. Did he lie? Don't know. Did the hospital lie? Don't know. Are you the smartest person on DU? Don't know.

Go find another post to nitpick to death or have a Snickers.

[seabeyond]

51. ya. right

[Wait Wut]

52. I know, right?

[Barack_America]

45. The point of his infection is clear. It was while HELPING...

...a woman he had no reason to presume had ebola. Yes, I know, they were directed to the Ebola clinics after the only maternity ward in the country had no space. How many non-Ebola hospital beds do you figure Liberia has these days? Is it even conceivable they were directed to an Ebola clinic because that's where all of the docs and resources are at the moment? In an emergency you go to the places that are available.

[seabeyond]

49. The fact is, the only person who would know for sure if he knew or didn't know he had been exposed t

Witnesses say Duncan had been helping Ebola patients in Liberia. Liberian community leader Tugbeh Chieh Tugbeh said Duncan was caring for an Ebola-infected patient at a residence in Paynesville City, just outside Monrovia.

per witnesses she was not the only ebola victim he was helping.

they went to an ebola clinic and were turned away. i a community of a million. educated man.

but wtf, we will have him in a village, unaware, uneducated and totally clueless.

maybe, .... we can honor the man his life, accept his error, feel in his death and dispair for those that feel a loss.

without belittling the mans existence to fit a story.

[Xyzse]

29. I'd have to agree.

I was so confused when I heard about possible charges being brought up against him for getting sick or not saying he contracted Ebola.

It's crazy.

[Barack_America]

32. Thank you so much.

I've been shocked by the animosity on this site towards this man. Presuming a sophisticated knowledge of Western medicine and virology while living in a country that had only 50 physicians for 4 million people before this mess started.

[mainer]

39. My faith in DU has been shaken in the last week. So much hate.

So much blame. Against a human being who had the audacity to try and help a neighbor.

[AverageJoe90]

54. And so much fearmongering too. nt

[arthritisR_US]

44. TY!

[GentryDixon]

62. What a wonderful sentiment.

I agree 100%.

Thank you.

[smirkymonkey]

70. +1000

[LawDeeDah]

71. :( I agree...

Times like these show us for who we are, and why we are where we are, don't it?

[Quayblue]

81. Thank you for this

Smh. The man was trying to help save someone's life and the implication he would intentionally endanger others is simply astounding.

[Dorian Gray]

83. A million times....

agree with you.

[cwydro]

84. Monrovia is not really a "village"

Do you know who it was named for and how the country came about?

These are not ignorant "villagers."

(not that I've ever noticed that people in any village are especially ignorant.)

[sendero]

17. I agree..

.. if this guy thought he had ebola he would have never have let the hospital send him home the first time.

There might be some level of denial involved, but lying intentionally I really doubt.

[rocktivity]

41. Depends on exactly when he bought his plane ticket...

That would determine whether or not there's reason to believe that he had reason to believe he was infected.


rocktivity

[kestrel91316]

59. He had been working on his travel visa for many months, I think per NYT.

[Warren DeMontague]

66. I think it's entirely possible that he hoped he wasn't, and didn't want to fuck up his travel plans.

Which is understandable. And denial can be pretty powerful.

However, after being in close contact with an ebola patient he should not have gotten on that airplane, if he knew that's what she had. He should have been honest on the form.

That doesn't diminish the humanitarian value in his helping her- that is noble- but needlessly endangering others is not.

[yeoman6987]

55. My only worry is that he didn't effect anyone else

If he didn't, were all good.

[Mariana]

35. People are taking the early "news" reports as gospel

when the "news" outlets were reporting far more rumor and speculation than news. Like we haven't learned by now that most of the early reports on any big story eventually turn out to be bullshit.

[get the red out]

3. Very sad

I am so sorry for his loved ones.

[City Lights]

6. Thanks for posting this, applegrove. nt

[freshwest]

9. That poor man. Condolences to his family and friends, especially his son.

[uppityperson]

12. Thank you for this article. Here is another article about him also.

http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-ebola-liberia-20141003-story.html

[In_The_Wind]

26. May he rest in peace.

[AverageJoe90]

31. Now this is outright strange.

I only say this because, wasn't it just a day ago that an experimental treatment he was receiving was supposedly improving his health?

I guess I couldn't help but be skeptical, at first, as an Israeli outfit reported that he'd died two or three days ago, which turned out to be false.......

But it appears this is indeed the case, this time. He has indeed perished. R.I.P. Thomas Eric Duncan.

[Wait Wut]

34. I read that he had been "stable but critical".

Not that he was improving. Not sure what Israel was talking about or where they got their info. I saw the same thing posted on some RW sites yesterday. It was fun to watch them freak out about how they're being lied to.

[Barack_America]

36. You have to think where the information was coming from.

Families often interpret the information they're told as more hopeful than physicians view it to be.

[arthritisR_US]

47. RIP dear heart.

[Warpy]

80. RIP, Mr. Duncan

I've seen first hand how strong denial can be among families. I can see how he'd think his aunt died of malaria even after she had been taken to a center caring for ebola patients. I know when he got here, he wasn't sick.

I know that his intent was to marry the mother of his child at long last. I know his intent wasn't to expose them to any illness, especially ebola. His aunt died of malaria.

I've seen end stage AIDS patients come in with their partners when both said the sick one was down with the flu, nothing more serious.

Denial is strong.

[Warren DeMontague]

82. Condolences to his family, and friends.

Awful disease, I'm sure at least the majority of people here- at least the ones who aren't salivating over the idea of the "Earth cleansing itself of humanity, yippee" - hope that the drug and vaccine trials in the pipeline produce something useful, and fast.