ITV Tonight- Pauline's Story Living with Ebola (2016)

Pauline's Story Living with Ebola

The Scottish nurse who nearly died from Ebola after travelling to Sierra Leone has exclusively told ITV News how she feared she might “die a horrible death” after contracting the virus. Pauline Cafferkey has spoken exclusively to Julie Etchingham discussing the horror of being diagnosed with Ebola, not once but twice, her fight for survival and her hopes for the future. “I was obviously very shocked, I just knew that I had to stay strong and I just had to try and keep it together,” she said in an interview for ITV News and the Tonight programme. “I was just thinking I could die a horrible death within the next few days”. She also revealed that she didn’t want her family to see her while she was ravaged by the virus.

The 40-year-old Scottish nurse volunteered to help tackle the Ebola crisis at its height, travelling to Sierra Leone in 2014 to help the afflicted and dying. After five weeks in West Africa, Pauline came back to the UK in late December. She was screened seven times in total for the symptoms of Ebola and allowed to return home, but after developing a high temperature she contacted the Infectious Diseases Unit at Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital. Once in hospital, blood samples soon confirmed her doctor's worst fears.

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