Kent Brantly, doctor being treated for Ebola, says he’s ‘growing stronger’

Dr. Kent Brantly, one of two Ebola patients being treated in the United States, says he is “growing stronger every day.”

In a statement written from his isolation unit at Emory University Hospital, Brantly thanked supporters and said “doctors and nurses are providing the very best care possible.”

Brantly contracted the disease while treating Ebola patients at a clinic in Liberia, jointly run by Christian aid organizations Samaritan’s Purse and SIM.

Brantly and fellow missionary Nancy Writebol became the first patients to be treated for the disease in the United States, after the organizations evacuated them last week.

Brantly reflected on the devastation he witnessed working with Ebola patients before becoming ill on July 23.

“My wife Amber and I, along with our two children, did not move to Liberia for the specific purpose of fighting Ebola,” Brantly said in the statement, released by Samaritan’s Purse. But as the disease spread, he said, his focus turned more and more to treating patients stricken with the deadly virus. “I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the horror firsthand, and I can still remember every face and name.”

As soon as he began to feel ill, Brantly said, he isolated himself until tests confirmed that he had contracted Ebola. Brantly said he felt “a deep sense of peace that was beyond all understanding” when the diagnosis was confirmed, citing his firm faith in God.

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