Ebola's American Victim Doctor Martin Maada Salia: I Strongly Believe My Dangerous Work Was God's Calling
Martin Maada Salia, the American doctor who passed away earlier this week after contracting Ebola at a mission hospital in Sierra Leone, said he felt called to serve the less fortunate. The doctor, who was undergoing treatment at the Nebraska Medical Center, said he knew working in the poorer sections of Freetown, the capital city of his native Sierra Leon, was not going to be easy.
"I see it as God's own desired framework for me," he said in a video posted by the United Methodist Church website. "I took this job not because I want to but I firmly believe that it was a calling and God wanted me to and that's why I strongly believe that the God who has brought me here will fix whatever comes my doorway"
In a second video also posted by the UMC's communications department, Salia said his training embodied both pastoral care as well as medical care and he regularly said a prayer before surgery.
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"I was trained as a Christian surgeon," he said. "Part of our training entails spiritual and physical aspects of the training, and so by the time you finish your training you are more or less like a pastor. You become a pastor."
Salia's son told NBC News that his father was a selfless man who loved helping others and would always give to make others happy.
In a press statement, Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr., president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops eulogized the surgeon, calling him "a dedicated Christian physician who was living out a calling to serve others."
"We are inspired by his faith and by other health care workers like him around the world who provide medical care to those who might not otherwise have care, even at risk to themselves," he said.
Salia is one of many Christians travelling abroad to help care for Ebola patients in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Earlier this summer Richard Scara was successfully treated for Ebola at the same hospital that Salia sought care. Scara received a blood donation from Kent Brantly, another missionary doctor who became sick in Liberia and was successfully treated at Emory Hospital in Atlanta.
At his release from hospital in late August, Brantly said he was thrilled to be alive. He thanked those who had supported him in prayer and through contributions, exhorting them not to forget his patients in Liberia.
"I did not know then, but I have learned since, that there were thousands, maybe even millions of people around the world praying for me throughout that week, and even still today," he said. "And I have heard story after story of how this situation has impacted the lives of individuals around the globe – both among my friends and family, and also among complete strangers. I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and your support. But what I can tell you is that I serve a faithful God who answers prayers.
A UMC spokesperson confirmed that Dr. Salia was not a member of the congregation and that he worked for different healthcare facilities while working at the mission hospital in Kissy, Sierra Leone. The Christian organization was not involved in the medical transport of the surgeon, but has set up a donations account to defray the cost of airlifting him from Sierra Leone to the U.S.
The 60-bed Kissy United Methodist Hospital where Dr. Salia served was closed on Nov. 11 after he tested positive for Ebola. Although countries in West Africa have had other Ebola epidemics, the 2014 outbreak is the largest according to the Centers for Disease Control And Prevention. The CDC estimates the current epidemic has sickened more than 8,900 people and claimed more than 5,000 lives as of mid November.
