Ebola came to New York City on October 23 with the arrival of Dr. Craig Spencer. Spencer had just returned from Guinea after treating Ebola patients with Doctors Without Borders.
We later learned that Spencer rode the subway, went out to a restaurant, and visited a bowling alley before developing a fever and testing positive for Ebola. Many New Yorkers were distraught that he went around the city before his diagnosis with the fear of getting Ebola.
Dr. Craig Spencer reported that about a week after his diagnosis of Ebola, people were calling his “personal phone to wish me well and ask if there was any way they could contribute to my care.”
Spencer, the first and only person with Ebola in NYC, left Bellevue Hospital Center on Tuesday, November 11: 19 days after he was diagnosed with the virus. Spencer was welcomed home with balloons from his neighbors and was hugged by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio after a few speeches were made.
“Today, I am healthy,” Spencer joyfully reported after being discharged from the hospital after spending practically three weeks in the hospital in quarantine, and he now calls himself a “living example” of an Ebola survivor.
All the work Spencer did with Doctors Without Borders of helping families was really worthwhile given how appreciative the families in Guinea were of all he did while he was there. They even called him on his cell phone to see if they could do anything to help him while he was in the hospital. This just goes to show that by him helping others in Guinea, his happiness and passion really spreads to others as they are willing to reach out to him and offer their support.
During Spencer’s speech reflecting on the impact of Ebola, he noted that the “infection represents but a fraction of the more than 13,000 reported cases to date in West Africa—the center of the outbreak, where families are being torn apart and communities destroyed.”
Spencer is clearly thankful for his wonderful recovery, but realizes that he is only a small success story out of those internationally who do not make it through this deadly virus. Nonetheless, Spencer is a clear example of the impact of the robust medical systems put into place here in New York.