(This is an excerpt of a news article in the New York Times newspaper, August 24, 2014, by Adam Nossiter and Ben C. Solomon)
Kenema, Sierera Leone---
The best defense against despair was to keep working. Many times that choice was far from obvious: Josephine FindaSellu lost 15 of her nurses to Ebola in rapid succession and thought about quitting herself.
She did not.
Ms. Sellu, the deputy nurse matron, is a rare survivor who never stopped toiling at the Government Hospital here, Sierra Leones biggest death trap for the virus during the dark months of June and July. Hers is a select club, consisting of perhaps three women on the original nursing staff who did not become infected, who watched their colleagues die, and who are still carrying on.
“There is a need for me to be around,” said Ms. Sellu, 42, who oversees the Ebola nurses. “I am a senior. All the junior nurses look up to me.”
The other nurses call her mummy (a term of endearment for mommy/mother), and she resembles a field marshall in light brown medical scrubs.
In the campaign against the Ebola virus which is sweeping across parts of West Africa in an epidemic worse than all previous outbreaks of the disease combined, the front line is stitched together by people like Ms. Sellu: doctors and nurses who give their lives to treat patientswho will probably die; janitors who clean up lethal pools of vomit and waste so beleaguered health centers can stay open; drivers who venture into villages overcome by illness to retrieve patients; body handlers charged with the dangerous task of keeping highly infectious corpses from sickening others.
At least 129 health workers have died (22 at this hospital), while many workers have fled, new recruits have signed willingly---often for little or no pay, and sometimes giving up their homes, communities and even families in the process.
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PS: Some update little sharing from Uncle Mel:
PS: Some update little sharing from Uncle Mel:
The death count is up to 3,000 now; it is a terrible way to die.
Some of the nurses have had spouses abandon them for fear of catching the disease; another went home to find her belongings in suitcases on the sidewalk and a message from her family saying that they had disowned her.
On the TV news the other day there was a story of one young woman who made a hospital gown for herself out of plastic trash bags so she could care for her own family members who could not be cared for at the hospital. With her makeshift gown (to protect herself) she cared for family members and helped them survive, losing only one nephew, but saving her father and a daughter and other distant relatives.
This post is a small tribute to the lady and recognition for her bravery and selflessness from half a world away.
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Editorial comment: People like Ms. Sellu, and others like her are real life heroes and heroines; we should be grateful there are people like them---don’t you agree? Would you be able to do what they are doing?
| New words | Meaning |
| defense (n) | The action of defending from or resisting attack |
| despair(n,v) | (n) The complete loss or absence of hope(v) Lose or be without hope |
| obvious(adj) | Easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or apparent, predictable |
| succession(n) | A number of people or things of a similar kind following one after the other |
| quit(v) | Leave (a place), usually permanently |
| deputy(n) | A person who is appointed to undertake the duties of a superior in the superior’s absence |
| matron(n) | A woman in charge of domestic and medical arrangements at a boarding school or other institution |
| field(n) | An area of open land, especially one planted with crops or pasture, typically bounded by hedges or fences |
| rare (adj) | (Of an event, situation, or condition) not occurring very often |
| survivor (n) | A person who survives, especially a person remaining alive after an event in which others have died |
| toil (v) | Work extremely hard or incessantly |
| trap (N) | A device or enclosure designed to catch and retain animals, typically by allowing entry but not exit or by catching hold of a part of the body |
| virus (n) | An infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen by light microscopy, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host |
| original (adj) | Present or existing from the beginning; first or earliest |
| infected (adj) | Affect (a person, organism, etc.) with a disease-causing organism |
| colleagues (n) | A person with whom one works in a profession or business. |
| oversees (v) | Supervise (a person or their work), especially in an official capacity |
| denior | t can mean anything. it can be used as a noun, adjective, or verbyour lookin pretty deniored out today thanks for the denior do you have a denior? |
| senior (adj) | Of a more advanced age |
| janitor (n) | A caretaker or doorkeeper of a building. |
| endearment (n) | A word or phrase expressing love or affection: |
| resemble (v) | Have a similar appearance to or qualities in common with (someone or something); look or seem like |
| marshall | ( 1880–1959), American general and statesman; full name George Catlett Marshall. As US Secretary of State (1947-9) he initiated the programme of economic aid to European countries known as the Marshall Plan. Nobel Peace Prize (1953). |
| scrub (v) | Rub (someone or something) hard so as to clean them, typically with a brush and water |
| campain (n) | A series of military operations intended to achieve a goal, confined to a particular area, or involving a specified type of fighting |
| epidemic (n) | A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time |
| previous (adj) | Existing or occurring before in time or order |
| outbreak (n) | A sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease |
| stitch (n) | A loop of thread or yarn resulting from a single pass or movement of the needle in sewing, knitting, or crocheting. |
| lethal (adj) | Sufficient to cause death |
| vomit (v) | Eject matter from the stomach through the mouth |
| beleaguered (adj) | Lay siege to |
| venture (n) | A risky or daring journey or undertaking |
| retrieve (v) | Get or bring (something) back from somewhere |
| handler (n) | A person who handles or deals with certain articles or commodities |
| infectious (adj) | (Of a disease or disease-causing organism) liable to be transmitted to people, organisms, etc. through the environment |
| corpses (n) | A dead body, especially of a human being rather than an animal |
| sicken (v) | Make (someone) feel disgusted or appalled |
| recruit (v) | Enlist (someone) in the armed forces |
| willing (adj) | Ready, eager, or prepared to do something |
| editorial (adj) | Relating to the commissioning or preparing of material for publication |
| grateful (adj) | Feeling or showing an appreciation for something done or received |
| heroes/heroines | People who are admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities |
| Phrases of words | Meaning |
| Ebola virus | A notoriously deadly virus that causes fearsome symptoms, the most prominent being high fever and massive internal bleeding. Ebola virus kills as many as 90% of the people it infects. It is one of the viruses that is capable of causing hemorrhagic (bloody) fever |
| nurse matron (n) | The woman in charge of the nursing in a hospital |
| term of endearment | A term of Endearment is generally a means ofexpressing affection. The usage of thisexpression, however, changes significantly from person to person dependent on who the recipient of the endearing is. |
| front line (adj) | Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield |
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