My Ebola story: Nyangoma cried for her Bible

To a Christian, the Bible is a sacred book and one of their most jealously guarded properties. When Christine Nyangoma, an Ebola virus disease survivor, was asked to hand over her Bible among other properties in preparation for discharge at the hospital, tears rolled down her face.
Nyangoma, a wife to a pastor and a resident of Kijjaguzo Village, Madudu Sub-county in Mubende District, has bitter memories of that time. Her Bible was precious to her, she read it each time she had strength to do so as a patient at the ward, and had managed to keep it safely. 
As the time approached to have her discharged, she was worried that her property that included her Bible, mobile phone and clothes would be taken and burnt. 
While she had been informed about the reason the property had to be destroyed, she was uncomfortable with the idea of burning her Bible. 
“I had never imagined in life that at one time, I would voluntarily surrender my Bible for destruction. It almost amounted to denying my faith although I had been briefed by the medical staff as to why all the personal property that I had been using had to be destroyed,” she says in an interview.
Even after the property had been withdrawn on the date she was due for discharge, Nyangoma says she was ready to fight for her Bible untill the last minute.
The last tactic she had was to wear on a gloomy face and possibly shed tears to attract the attention of the guests including the Health minister who had come to officially discharge four survivors at the Ebola treatment unit. 
“When the Health minister observed my miserable face, she asked why I was very miserable at a time when I was supposed to be happy to rejoin my family after the treatment. I explained that my Bible was going to be destroyed,” she says.
Touched by her statement, the Health minister, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, assured her that she would get a new Bible. 
“While I lost the battle to get back my original Bible, the hope was in the new Bible that was bought for me. The Bible had been my fighting weapon at the patient ward whenever I regained strength to pray to God for my healing and that of other patients,” Nyangoma reveals.
Medical research shows that the Ebola virus can survive on body surfaces for several hours and has the ability to survive for several days at room temperature. This necessitates high grade disinfection.
Dr Pasker Apiyo, a consultant physician with vast experience in the management of the haemorrhagic fevers, who was in charge of case management at the Mubende Ebola treatment unit, explains that by taking away some of the equipment used by the patients,  for destruction, the health teams were performing one of the many health guidelines on the management of the disease.
“The health teams took away the property to ensure that the possibility of the Ebola virus that could be hiding on such surfaces does not get chance to spread,” she explains.
Her possible contact with Ebola 
Nyongoma, like several other Ebola survivors from Madudu Sub-county, traces her contact with Ebola to a clinic at Ngabano Village in Madudu Sub-county, St Florence Medical Centre, just days to the declaration of the Ebola outbreak on September 20, 2022.
While the mysterious deaths that occurred at the Ngabano-based clinic shortly before the declaration of the EVD outbreak by government of Uganda were classified as probable Ebola cases since the tests were not conducted, Nyangoma witnessed likely symptoms of the disease when her three-year-old baby was admitted at the clinic.
“The only bed that was not occupied when my child was admitted was not clean. It had bloody-like fluids left behind by a patient. I got some water and cleaned the bed because I wanted my baby to occupy a clean bed,” she says.
The baby was diagnosed with severe malaria but fortunately, he responded to the treatment and got discharged the next day. But just two days after leaving the facility, health teams from Mubende hospital listed her as an Ebola contact after tracing and listing all the patients that had received medical care at the Ngabano-based clinic as Ebola contacts. This was just a day after the Ministry of Health declared the Ebola outbreak in Mubende District.
By this point, Nyangoma had developed severe body joint pains, a high body temperature and cold. Because she had been listed as an Ebola contact person, she was escorted to Mubende Hospital on September 21,  2022. By September 23, the test results from the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) confirmed she had Ebola. She had earlier been booked at the Ebola treatment unit at Mubende Regional Referral Hospital waiting for the test result from her blood sample. 
Her son tested negative
Surprisingly, her three-year-old son who she nursed at the Ngabano clinic did not contract the disease.
“While in hospital and after recovery, I was able to trace the circumstances that made me contract the Ebola virus disease. It was at the Ngabano-based clinic that I possibly contracted the disease,” she says.
At the Ebola treatment ward, Nyangoma encountered several challenges and was forced to take on the role of a caregiver whenever she had some strength. The mood at the ward, she says, was dark and depressing. 
“The patients were fighting for life on their own and many called out for their relatives who were not even there. Some needed help while others seemed to want to say goodbye to their dear ones in their last hours of life. I got terrified but later gained strength because of my Christian background. I had to pray and encourage my fellow patients at the ward because they did not have their respective caregivers,” she says.
While she struggled and almost lost consciousness during the first week of admission at the Ebola treatment unit, Nyangoma reveals that God gave her the strength to read her Bible and preach the Word of God to the other patients. She was weak but had the strength to preach the message of hope to them.
“At one time, I collapsed and fell to the ground after preaching. I was put on drip water because my body was dehydrated. But I whispered to a nurse that had come to check on the patients to help me get my Bible nearer. I wanted to read some verses. The Bible was my strength as I battled the Ebola virus disease,” she reveals.
Nyangoma survived and was discharged but like other survivors, she experienced health challenges. At the time she was admitted, she was pregnant. However, she was not so worried about the baby. She had hope that since she had survived the Ebola disease, her baby too would survive after the medics earlier assured her that the baby was normal.  
But two weeks after being discharged she lost her five-month pregnancy. Nyangoma says she felt sad about the loss of her baby but says as a Christian, she is always quick to find hope in God for a better plan and future. 
effects
She also struggled with back pain and at first linked it to the kind of pains that women experience while giving birth. However, because of the medicine she gets when she visits the Ebola Survivor Clinic that takes care of the Ebola recovery cases, the back pain has reduced in frequency and she can now go to the garden and lift heavy objects. She also temporarily had a memory loss challenge and itchy skin.