Gloria Tumwijuke is among a handful of survivors of a 2012 Ebola
outbreak [23 cases with 17 dead] in the Kibaale district of western
Uganda. She has spoken out about what Ebola did to her body, how she
beat it, and what it was like return to a community where everyone was
afraid of her.
How did you come into contact with the Ebola virus? I was seeing a mother who had had a pregnancy for five months, and she came into the hospital bleeding. The mother was bleeding in the mouth, nose, and ears. They carried her into the hospital on a mattress, and the mattress was covered with blood. She couldn't talk. I was getting her history and found out her relatives had passed away, her husband died. All of her children died.
I started cleaning her, putting all the fluids in her, giving her antibiotics. After removing the fetus, she kept severely bleeding. The baby was already dead. I cared for her for six hours but eventually she died. She had Ebola. I ended up getting Ebola.
How did you come into contact with the Ebola virus? I was seeing a mother who had had a pregnancy for five months, and she came into the hospital bleeding. The mother was bleeding in the mouth, nose, and ears. They carried her into the hospital on a mattress, and the mattress was covered with blood. She couldn't talk. I was getting her history and found out her relatives had passed away, her husband died. All of her children died.
I started cleaning her, putting all the fluids in her, giving her antibiotics. After removing the fetus, she kept severely bleeding. The baby was already dead. I cared for her for six hours but eventually she died. She had Ebola. I ended up getting Ebola.
Were you wearing protective gear — gloves, a gown, a mask — when you cared for this patient?
When she came in, I was putting on gloves. I didn't put on boots. I
didn't have a gown. I was trying to remove the placenta from her, and
blood gushed on me, on my arms and body. I cleaned myself quickly
because I was worried. Then I continued to help her.
I realized I didn't protect myself very well. But the mother entered
into the hospital very quickly, and I had to rush quickly to help her.
She was going to fall off the bed, and I was trying to support her. I
didn't have time to put on my gown. This taught me to protect myself
before I do any procedure.
At that time, did you suspect this woman might have Ebola? I didn't even know Ebola was in Uganda. At that time, Ebola had not yet been known in my region.
When did you realize you had the virus? A
week after my patient died, I started vomiting. I started having
diarrhea and sweating. I started hearing people talk about the virus in
the same hospital in which I was working. I read in the newspapers that
they were talking about suspecting the virus was here. But after I saw I
had all the signs and symptoms of Ebola, I remembered the pregnant
lady, and she had all the signs. That's when I suspected I had the
virus.
What happened next? I was taken to the
hospital by ambulance. They took a sample of my blood, and told me I had
Ebola. They transferred me to an isolation room, and started to care
for me. They put fluids in me through an IV, and gave me antibiotics.
They were monitoring me frequently. I couldn't move from the bed. I
couldn't talk. I couldn't do anything. I lost 25 pounds. I was in the
hospital for one month when they discharged me.
What were you thinking when you got the Ebola diagnosis?
In my head I was like, 'I'm going to die.' I just thought I would die.
My sister said, "You're not going to die." I couldn't talk. I was
worried about the people who touched me before they knew I had the
virus. When they told me they were going to keep on treating me, I was
worried about my friends dying. I can't believe I am alive.
Did you give anyone the virus? No, no one I know got the virus. The laborers who were caring for (the pregnant woman), all of them died.
When did your condition start to improve?
I was discharged from the hospital after one month. After two months, I
started to improve. But I still had problems. I was forgetting a lot.
My hair was falling out. The hair from my head was all over. My skin was
peeling off. I weighed 25 pounds less. I had heart palpitations. The
hair took months to grow back. My memory was bad for one year.
How did people receive you when you returned to your community?
They ignored me, thinking I still had a sickness because they think
Ebola can't (be survived). They hide from me. People would run away from
me. They were not willing to be near me. But the hospital discharged me
because they were sure I was free from Ebola. I showed people (my
discharge) certificate. They started to believe I was okay. When I
showed them the certificate, they started to welcome me.
When your friends were avoiding you, how did you feel?
I didn't feel bad because it is their right: Ebola spreads when you
contact other people who have the virus. But I could feel some stigma
when they ran away from me.
This virus can kill up to 90 percent of those who get it. Why do you think you survived when so many others die?
I had my sister who is a medical person. She could go and buy all the
drugs, fluids, and antibiotics for me. She was by my side. She changed
my dirty sheets. She knew how to prevent herself from getting Ebola by
using protection. My husband is a nurse. He was also helping my sister
to treat me and be careful. He could pray for me. When I survived he was
so happy.
Did you ever feel any guilt being one who lived while so many others don't?
When I hear other people die, in my heart I feel like god really loves
me. Because many people died and he left me in the hospital. When I'm
hearing of other people dying, I feel bad. I feel like maybe I lived
because I had a lot of help. I had IV fluids. My heart tells me maybe if
those people could have good nurses who can offer their services, maybe
those people really can survive.
Have you experienced any long term side-effects from the virus?
Actually I'm good. I don't have any problems. After four months I was
back to normal. The thing that persisted for the whole year, it was
forgetting. My memory was bad. Also I couldn't resume my period for five
months.
In this current outbreak, a lot of health-care
workers have died from Ebola, and now there's fear and people are
walking off the job. What advice would you give to other health workers
in an outbreak? When you put on protective gear and you're not in
direct contact with the person's (bodily fluids) you can treat them and
they get better. People need to understand that because, if we didn't
have health-care workers who help us, who didn't run away, what would we
do?
How are you feeling when you read the news about this outbreak in West Africa?
I'm praying for those people who are very sick. I'm praying for the
health workers too. I am just praying so they can also survive like me.
I'm just imagining they should get enough care, which I needed. Enough
care, enough treatment so they can also come up and be a survivor like
me.
