American Missionary Credits God with Surviving Ebola
Nancy Writebol, the second American missionary to contract Ebola while in Liberia, said Wednesday she's thankful to be alive.
After nearly one month of battling the deadly virus, the 59-year-old spoke publicly for the first time about her illness, saying she's getting stronger with each passing day.
Writebol credits God for her recovery. She, along with fellow missionary Dr. Kent Brantly, was treated at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital before being released in August.
"I wondered at times whether I would live or die," Writebol said in a press conference. "His presence really was with me -- and I knew that, I could sense it. ... I am so thankful for His mercy and His grace."
Writebol told CBN News that while she knew the odds were against her survival, she felt the calming presence of God.
"That peace that He gives in times of really difficult situations is a peace that we can't even explain. It's a peace that's overcoming, and it's a peace that says, 'It's gonna be okay,' whether I live or whether I die," Writebol recalled.
Click play for Nancy Writebol's full statement.
Meanwhile, another American doctor from Boston has fallen ill with the virus. The 51-year-old ob-gyn often traveled to Liberia during the past 20 years to treat patients there.
He said he suspects he contracted the virus from a patient with masked symptoms.
He went to Liberia after two other doctors got sick. There are no plans currently for him to come back to the United States for now, and there no more ZMapp serum doses, used to treat Brantly and Writebol, anywhere in the world.
Still, the doctor is said to be in good condition.
So far, the West African Ebola outbreak has killed more than 1,500 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
