Heats up tomorrow

Today we finished our cold training.  Tomorrow we go into the hot zone!  I am not scared of the disease as I am comfortable in and have full faith in the PPE.  I just hope I can contribute medically or socially or janitorialy (I think I just made that up) or somehow.  Tomorrow is just a lengthy tour so no pressure.  We had a psychosocial lecture session today in which it became abundantly clear that we expats are doing a good thing, but it really pales in comparison to what the Nationals are doing.  They have survived an incredible upheaval of their entire society over this and while we get to feel good about ourselves and go home, they will be sticking around for the long term consequences.  These are humans dying and that affects us all, but it is their families who are sick and dying and that easily trumps anything we are putting out in this ordeal.  In our class we have a survivor.  He is a young man from this area who showed some of us pictures of his 6 and 10 yo boys and the beautiful young woman who was their mother.  She died in July of Ebola.  Another young girl lost both her parents and two brothers early in the epidemic.  She briefly became ill while caring for her father, but spontaneously recovered without treatment or testing of any kind so it is likely but uncertain whether or not she is an Ebola survivor as well.  She now lives with her sisters.  Both of these young people will be working as psychosocial officers (lay mental health workers) in an Ebola unit beginning next week.  Amazing.  I am humbled.