Texas nurse Nina Pham got a special hug this week as she was declared Ebola-free by health officials, and that hug came from President Obama himself. Pham met with and embraced the president in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington D.C.
Before her special meeting with the president, Pham was released from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, where she had been isolated since Oct. 16. Pham made a brief statement upon her release, taking the time to thank everyone involved in her treatment, and stated she was looking forward to returning home and seeing Bentley, her pet dog.
During her brief statement to the media and CDC staff, Pham was joined by her sister and mother. ""I feel fortunate and blessed to be standing here today," she said.
Nina Pham Makes Statement After Her Release
Pham is currently 26-years-old and reportedly contracted the Ebola virus while providing care to Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian national who was the first Ebola case diagnosed on U.S. soil, and has since passed away while receiving treatment in the same Dallas hospital where Pham treated him.
Duncan died on Oct. 8 and Pham tested positive for Ebola shortly thereafter on Oct. 11. This was significant news because it was the first known case of Ebola transmission within the United States.
During her public speech Pham read from a prepared statement which acknowledged that while she making a recovery from the deadly virus, she remains cognizant of others, "who have not been so fortunate."
Another nurse at the same Dallas hospital where Pham worked, Amber Vinson, also tested positive following her providing treatment to Duncan. Vinson was subsequently taken to Emory University where she has been receiving treatment.
Pham's dog was also evaluated to see whether or not it had contracted Ebola and reportedly tested negative at an animal shelter, however, the dog's 21-day incubation period will not be over until Nov. 1. So even though Pham is cleared to return home, it will most likely be a week until she and Bentley are reunited.
