On the Brink of Death
Editor's Note: This compelling story was originally published on WebMD with the title "The Race to Save Dr. Brantly: The Inside Story." We are publishing it here so that our medical professional readers will learn what happened behind the scenes when the first Americans contracted Ebola.
Peering into the small house in Liberia where Kent Brantly, MD, was bedridden and quarantined with Ebola, there was no doubt in Dr Lance Plyler's mind that his friend and colleague was going to die. Brantly, a 33-year-old physician just months out of his residency, had come to Liberia in October to serve on a two-year medical mission. He had two young children.
"When I looked in the window, it just hit me like a ton of bricks," says Plyler, an internal medicine specialist. He is the director of disaster response for Samaritan's Purse, the missionary organization both men were working for in Africa.
Brantly was burning with a nearly 105° fever, his breathing was fast and shallow, and his blood oxygenation was very low, says Plyler, who is also trained in palliative care.
"I've been doing internal medicine for 25 years, so I'm not an alarmist. But I was certain he had a couple of hours to live, at best." Plyler knew he had something that might save the young doctor's life, or hasten his demise. It was up to him to make the decision. And he prayed.
Just one week earlier, Plyler, who was Brantly's boss, had received the bad news. A scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reference lab that was testing Brantly's blood samples for Ebola texted Plyler a coded message.
"We had a pseudonym for Kent so it wouldn't raise alarm—his name was Tamba Snell (Tamba is a common Liberian name). The text read, 'I am very sad to inform you that Tamba Snell is positive.' I'll never forget it as long as I live, because it was my worst moment in Liberia," Plyler says.