‘It is desperate, I thought I was already dead’

Decontee Davis now volunteers and works with other Ebola survivors. Source: Supplied

SHE is regarded as a living miracle, her father calls her the resurrected, but not even she is sure how she survived.

All Decontee Davis knows is that she caught the deadly Ebola virus and lived.

Speaking exclusively to news.com.au from Liberia, the 23-year-old admits she is one of the lucky few to not only survive but is now immune from the virus which has so far claimed more than 4000 lives.

But in a tragic twist, the same virus which killed her also claimed the life of her fiancé Peter, who is also the father of her five-year-old son, James.

Peter had been studying at a university in Ghana and was just home in Liberia for a short holiday when he and Decontee both contracted Ebola from his sick aunt.

At first neither realised what was even wrong or why they got so sick so suddenly when the virus struck in August.

"You're lying there helpless, seeing people dying around you," she said as she waited to die.

"You feel discouraged because you cannot do anything for yourself. You're no longer a human being — you just lie in your bed. Nurses and doctors come and go. It was so bad."

Despite losing her partner, Ms Davis, who was released from hospital last month, is now determined to help other Ebola victims and survivors and is one of eight volunteers now working at Liberia's first interim care centre for Ebola orphans, established by ChildFund in the capital Monrovia.

ChildFund's Interim Care Centre near Monrovia, Liberia. Source: Supplied

But Ms Davis, like millions of others around the world, hadn't even heard of Ebola until this year, or how to protect herself from catching it.

"It was very serious in Liberia and everyone in our country found it difficult to believe that Ebola was here and it was real," she said.

"I didn't have any idea about protecting myself from Ebola at that time. I just thought it was ordinary sickness, that she would recover from it."

A week after her fiance's aunt died, each person who had contact and cared for her also began to get sick, some of whom later died.

Then Ms Davis began to get a headache and fever, as did her fiance and son.

They went to the local health clinic and were told that they had malaria and fortunately her son started responding to treatment.

But both she and her partner didn't.

It wasn't until Ms Davis's father suggested an Ebola test that their worst fears were confirmed.

Not only did both have it, but were getting worse by the hour.

The only saving grace was that her son was Ebola free, having been diagnosed with malaria.

Decontee Davis calls herself an Ebola survivor. Source: Supplied

Ms Davis checked into an Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) for treatment, while her fiance said he would do the same. But he never made it.

"It was terrible for me because I couldn't even move, I couldn't recognise anyone there," she said.

"The pain of Ebola is too heavy. It is tough. Even the things you're seeing around you are difficult. I was afraid. I called my daddy. I said Dad, I am afraid I will soon die because I am the only living being among these people who are lying dead around me.

"That's why my dad calls me 'the resurrected Decontee' because he never thought I'd be alive today."

As she watched others die around her, certain that she would meet the same fate, she slowly began to get better.

Why there is no known cure for Ebola, there are treatments for the symptoms of Ebola such as vomiting and diarrhoea.

In a Liberian village affected by Ebola, ChildFund is providing water for handwashing and hygiene kits to protect children and families. Source: Supplied

"I was responding to treatment in there. It was a miracle. Soon I could do everything normally again," she said.

But while things were improving for her, it wasn't the same case for her family.

"My people were stigmatised. No one would go around there," she said.

"They found it difficult to buy food for themselves because everyone said their money was infected. My five-year-old son could not play with his friends because they were afraid that he could spread the virus."

She was discharged on September 1.

"I followed every instruction the doctor gave me, took every pill they gave me. I wanted to recover, I never wanted to die."

A child stands near a sign advising a quarantined home in an effort to combat the spread of the Ebola virus in Port Loko, Sierra Leone. Source: AP

Realising just how lucky she was, Ms Davis wanted to help others and began volunteering at ChildFund's interim care centre for children orphaned by Ebola just this month.

"I put my name down because I thought it could help stop some of the stigma," she said.

"I don't want what happened to my family to happen to anyone else. It is difficult for these children. Their parents came down with the virus, nobody wants them. As survivors we have an

understanding of how to work with them."

As well as volunteering at the ChildFund-supported care centre for orphaned children, she is part of a survivors' network helping others.

"Some survivors are still stigmatised in their community, in their workplaces," she said.

"People don't get a clear picture of what survivors are like. This is why some people are still afraid of them."

It is people like Ms Davis who want to make a difference.

But she's not the only one.

ChildFund International national director for Liberia and Sierra Leone, Billy Abimbilla said the crisis in both countries was worsening by the day.

Billy Abimbilla (right) pictured overseeing shipment of medical supplies to help protect health workers from Ebola. Source: Supplied

"It's a difficult and challenging moment for all of us," he said.

"Especially with regard to the risks involved. You don't know who's infected that you might come across. So we are very cautious. We are letting staff work from home. Only the essential ones come to the office on a 'need to be there' basis and we manage to carry on our activities by not getting in close contact with each other most of the time. Because you never know who touches who before coming to the office."

He also can't explain how Ms Davis survived.

"Luck was on her side — she was just lucky because others who caught the disease at the same time as her did not make it."

Mr Abimbilla said he first heard about Ebola in December breaking out in Guinea last year and initially thought it was some kind of joke, but soon realised it was anything but.

"If Guinea sneezes, Liberia and Sierra Leone will catch a cold," he said. "There are very close

family relations across all three countries, with very porous borders"

"It suddenly became serious around March and from then it was unstoppable."

He added the situation was still dire.

Ebola patients sit inside the Island Clinic Treatment centre, where they are kept under quarantine in Monrovia, Liberia. Source: AP

"Many people, including children, are dying," he said.

"Some parts of Sierra Leone are under quarantine. There is a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Monrovia. Prices of basic household supplies like rice and oil are high. People are moving around in fear of

being infected.

"So as much as there are ongoing collaborative efforts to address the situation, including support from the international community, we're at a critical point where we have not been able to

move at the same pace as the risk of infection from Ebola."

Mr Abimbilla said the international community could help in two ways firstly by supporting the countries who are mostly affected to break the cycle of transmission and intensifying community

awareness — ensuring that people who are still in the denial stage understand that Ebola is real.

The threat from Ebola remains serious. Source: AFP

"The second thing is treatment of those who are already infected. Many people have no access to the treatment centres, not because there aren't any but because they are too far away," he said.

He added another issue was the stigma that faced survivors and their families and children at the centre often don't understand what's happening to them.

"These are children who have lost one or both parents to Ebola," he said.

"And because their parents died of Ebola, sometimes their relatives are unwilling to accept them back for fear of being infected by these children."

Together in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, he helps bring in children who've been in contact with infected people.

"The quarantine period is 21 days. So we bring in these children of all ages, boys and girls, and then we observe them for the 21 days. If they start to show symptoms, we quickly isolate them

and refer them to the nearest Ebola treatment centre. Otherwise after 21 days, if they have no signs, we reunify them with the relatives of their parents or we get foster care for them."

Mr Abimbilla said volunteers like Ms Davis were vital because they are now basically immune to Ebola.

The Ebola cross remains out of control. Source: AFP

"These are people who got infected by Ebola and survived. So it is believed they are immune to reinfection. So even if they're in contact with the children, the risk is minimal," he said.

And he has words for Australia.

"My message to our good friends in Australia is that the situation is as critical as you have heard about in the news," he said.

"People are still getting infected, people are dying. Children are losing their parents and they are in need of support because they are most vulnerable. Some of them are on the streets or have

been abandoned or stigmatised."

ChildFund Australia CEO Nigel Spence agreed we could be doing more.

"We are already seeing catastrophic effects in West Africa — health systems have collapsed, schools are closed, thousands are dying not only from Ebola but other illnesses, and the number of orphaned children is growing by the day," he said.

"It requires a massive and coordinated effort by governments around the world, UN agencies and NGOs to contain and stop this deadly virus."

To help, donate to ChildFund's Ebola appeal here.

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