Ebola Update June 17, 2026: Our family reunited, our friends in mourning

 

June 10th was Biobox liberation day. It was wonderful to talk to my doctors and nurses without a plastic barrier between us!

An update from: Patrick, Anna, Luke, Miriam and Isaiah LaRochelle Serving in Nyankunde, Democratic Republic of Congo Dear Family and Friends,  As I write, I’m in the car with Anna and the kids (!!!) and on the way to see my side of the family (!!!). On Sunday we finished a family reunion in West Virginia with Anna’s family (!!!). Anyone tempted to take their family for granted should try sitting in a plastic cube for 21 days an ocean and most of a continent away from them! It is good to be back together.  To continue with the excessive use of exclamation marks, DRC just got its first goal in world cup history and tied against Portugal! It’s a gift to have something to celebrate in the midst of the suffering going on in Ituri.  Unfortunately, though, a World Cup goal is little solace compared to the pain of what is happening in Bunia and the surrounding region. My friend told me recently that he knows personally thirty people who have died since the beginning of the outbreak. His wife knew 8 people who died in one day.  I asked you to pray for a number of people last week. Unfortunately, Mama Lydie, one of our nurses, died that same night. And Miriam, her brother and several family members died as well. I did not know know Miriam well and I didn’t know her family, but a good Congolese friend who has been leading many of the outreaches to communities that are resisting the Ebola response told me that Miriam’s brother John was like a son to him. Bagamba was trying to keep working in order not to be overwhelmed by the grief.  I believe I also asked you to pray for Lambert, the brother of our medical director, who was hospitalized in our Ebola treatment center right as his wife, Esther was declared cured. Esther is a nurse who works with me on the internal medicine service.  I woke up to many messages on Monday: Lambert had died. I wrote to my friend and colleague, Dr. Davin, the medical director of CME’s Bunia hospital. He responded: “Mon coeur est dechiré.” My heart is ripped, torn apart. I did not know Lambert well but he was a psychologist and worked for Samaritans Purse. Every time I spoke with him I was struck by his thoughtfulness. Please pray for his wife Esther, his children, his extended family including our colleagues Dr. Davin and Dr. Paulin, as well as for the families of Miriam and of Mama Lydie.  I also asked for your prayer for 6 orphans. It turns out that only 2 of these orphans ended up having Ebola (and subsequently died), while the others were kept at the Ebola treatment center due to concern that they would develop Ebola after high risk exposures. These 4 were just released from the treatment center. This video tells their story:  https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/africa/100000010952087/ebola-congo-orphanage-children.html I think I failed to inform you that we also lost our first doctor colleague, Dr. Blaise, a few weeks ago.  His death was devastating for us all. CME Bunia’s treatment center continues to have issues with doctors and nurses that have been brought in from the other side of the country and who are either unmotivated, afraid to treat Ebola patients or unethical. We’ve heard reports that they are offending patients and leaving our CME colleagues to do most of the work. We are working very hard for a solution. Samaritan Purse opened an Ebola treatment center yesterday at ISTM, CME’s university-level nursing school in Bunia. Apparently all the other treatment centers are full, so this center was desperately needed. Samaritans Purse is also hopefully opening a treatment center in the next several days in Nyankunde. The Ebola response has also given Nyankunde testing capability which will expedite evaluation of possible Ebola cases. Sota is a village perhaps 7 km away from Nyankunde and home to another tribe. The burden of disease in Sota is very high but people are afraid to go to Nyankunde. This seems in part due to the rebel group in Nyankunde but also due to fear of Ebola treatment centers, where so many people end up dying. More outreach to the people of Sota and to other similar communities is desperately needed. Please pray that the Bira of Nyankunde would be filled with love for their Hema brothers and sisters in Sota and that they would find ways to show the people of Sota that they are welcome, that they are safe in Nyankunde, and that they can trust the quality of care they will receive in Nyankunde.  Today our second $10,000 order of PPE arrived in Bunia. The first went to support CME Bunia and Nyankunde. This one will support 44 hospitals and clinics that are run by the CE39 church denomination and which are supervised by our Dutch medical missionary friend, Mark Godeschalk. I’ve already initiated another order. We have also sent money for salary support. So many of you have sent money to help fight this outbreak. Please pray that we would have wisdom to know how best to use it.  At the ISP IDP camp our team is courageously caring for the ill day in and day out.  Patients are still arriving in high volumes, unlike at many health centers and hospitals, where many are afraid of being quarantined or contracting Ebola. This demonstrates the trust that the community has for our health workers there, and we are so thankful! I (Anna) reached out to our head nurse there and said how happy I am that the population trusts them, and he said, “That is also our joy!” They have provided excellent care for years and its paying off!  We are also working on better house-to-house counseling and education about Ebola.  I had asked our friend, Pastor Heritier, to come and do counseling at the camp months ago, and because he and his team were already working in the camp prior to the outbreak, they are trusted and can help convince people to protect themselves and their families from Ebola.  We are hoping to expand efforts to educate other IDP communities about Ebola. Please pray that those on the ground would have the capacity and endurance to carry this work forward. As always, we are grateful for your love and friendship, your encouragement, your financial support and your prayers.  Patrick and Anna

Two of the orphans that were hospitalized at CME's Ebola treatment center.  Freddy and Console, our Upendo nurses, consulting at ISP IDP camp

Ndjalenga, one of our displaced patients from ISP camp, was hospitalized for 3 months at CME after an intestinal perforation due to typhoid that required multiple abdominal operations. He was 36 kg when he was finally discharged in April. Now he is 42 kgs! A planeload of PPE arriving in Bunia for the hospitals and clinics of the Communauté Emmanuel church denomination.  Mama Lydie died of Ebola overnight on June 9. She was a long time nurse at CME. Lambert, the brother of our medical director Davin, died on Sunday night.