• Ex-Ebola Patient Nina Pham to File Lawsuit Against Texas Health Resources

    Nina Pham became the first person on U.S. soil to contract the Ebola virus last fall, and while she has technically recovered from the disease itself, it is still affecting her life on a daily basis. Now, four months after being released from the hospital, Pham alleges that she still has body aches, nightmares and insomnia because of her frightening ordeal and it is time to hold someone accountable. It has been confirmed that the young nurse will file a lawsuit against Texas Health Resources tomorrow, March 2.

  • Amber Vinson, Nurse Who Survived Ebola, Gets New Engagement Ring to Replace Contaminated One

    Amber Vinson has endured a tough few months. Back in late September, she was one of a team of nurses in Texas who took care of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first confirmed Ebola patient in the U.S. Vinson quickly became known as the second nurse from the hospital to become infected with the virus, in part because the staff had not been properly trained to care for Ebola patients. She also was hit with tons of backlash after she had been cleared to fly home to Cleveland to plan her wedding, but then the CDC tried to say she should never have been on a plane. It was not until recently that Vinson was able to give a real interview, telling her side after weeks of negativity being thrown at her from complete strangers. Basically, what was supposed to be a happy time in her life has been turned upside down. As it turns out, after her apartment was turned upside down by the CDC during decontamination, even her engagement ring from fiance Derrek Markray had been destroyed. "I took off all my jewelry, thinking that my jewelry would be safer at home than in the hospital, and when the decontamination team came in, everything that was on the surface was swiped into a bin for incineration. My jewelry box being on my nightstand was one of those things that got destroyed," explained Vinson in a recent interview. What came next for the nurse was pretty amazing, as Zales reached out to her after hearing that her ring had been destroyed and offered her a replacement for free.

  • Amber Vinson, 2nd Dallas Nurse Stricken with Ebola, Slams CDC's Criticism

    Amber Vinson was the second nurse who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital to become infected with the Ebola virus. She raised eyebrows for taking a flight from Dallas to Ohio, and then back again a few days later while supposedly having a low-grade fever. Vinson was finally declared Ebola-free and released from the hospital last week, and while she asked for her privacy, I think many expected to hear from her because the CDC momentarily let her be its fall girl. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had said Vinson should never have flown and that it would have been against its guidelines. But it neglected to mention how nervous the whole situation had actually made her because the nurses who cared for Duncan were never trained until the moment they had to suit up to actively care for him. Vinson told Matt Lauer in an interview this morning on "Today": "The first time that I put on the protective equipment, I was heading in to take care of the patient. We didn't have excessive training where we could don and doff, put on and take off the protective equipment, till we got a level of being comfortable with it. I didn't have that, and I think that's very important for hospitals across the nation, big and small. Once Nina came down with it, my contact at the health department called me and gave me a list of things to look out for, symptoms to look out for and numbers to call if I showed any symptoms. I never had a number to call the CDC directly. I would always call my contact at the health department. And then when I was in Ohio, and I was scheduled to leave, because I was so afraid of what could potentially happen, I did ask them, 'Is there anything that you guys can do to send for me? Do I need to leave earlier?' Because you know, I was worried." Lauer quickly reminded her of how the CDC allowed her to be painted as careless and foolish ,and it was obviously still a sore spot for Vinson, as she explained: "It made me feel terrible, because that's not me. I'm not careless. I'm not reckless. I'm an ICU nurse. I embrace protocol, guidelines and structure. Because in my day-to-day nursing, it is a matter of life and death. And I respect that fact. I would never go outside of guidelines or boundaries or something directly from the CDC telling me that I can't go, I can't fly."

  • Dallas Nurse Nina Pham Reunited with Dog Bentley after His Ebola Virus Quarantine Finally Ends

    Nina Pham's story came full circle yesterday when she was reunited with her King Charles spaniel named Bentley. Pham is the first nurse that contracted the Ebola virus after taking care of Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. On October 12 Pham tested positive for the virus and was transferred to National Institutes of Health in Maryland for treatment. There was a lot of initial concern for Bentley because the dog of a nurse who tested positive for Ebola in Spain was euthanized. Officials insisted that Bentley would be well cared for and that obviously was the case.

  • Amber Vinson Released from Hospital after Being Declared Ebola-Free, Retains Attorney

    Today is no doubt one of the happiest of Amber Vinson's life, as she was discharged from Emory Hospital in Atlanta earlier today after being declared healthy. Vinson was the second Texas nurse infected with the Ebola virus after caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, who died from the illness Oct. 9. She eventually was transferred out of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in favor of Atlanta's Emory facility, one that had previously treated Ebola patients, and it is the excellent care she received there that eventually nursed her back to health.

  • Dallas Hospital Made Mistakes in Treating Ebola Patients for Days Before CDC Changed Guidelines

    Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas may be one of the best facilities in the country, but when it comes to treating Ebola patients, it now admits it dropped the ball, with deadly consequences. The facility's chief clinical officer Daniel Varga admitted in a Capitol Hill hearing that some of the precautions taken by hospital staff, such as wearing more layers of gear than the CDC, directed actually put the staff at risk.

  • Experts Say a Travel Ban Won't Stop Ebola from Spreading

    It seems like the CDC is rewriting its protocol and rules regarding the Ebola virus on a daily basis. In the last week, we have learned that a hospital praised for its skilled care was not given the proper tools to treat those infected with Ebola and travel restrictions seem to change constantly. Even nurses such as Amber Vinson, who was confirmed to have touched base with the CDC before hopping a plane from Dallas to Ohio and back again, was misdirected in proper procedures. All of the conflicting ideas and confusion has caused many to think a travel ban might be the obvious way to go, but expert sources disagree, saying a ban will not stop Ebola from spreading.
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