Ebola nurse Pauline: I’m going back to Sierra Leone for closure
NURSE Pauline Cafferkey is returning to Sierra Leone for the first time since she nearly died of Ebola.
The Scot said she hopes her fundraising trip next month will help to bring some closure to her ordeal.
Pauline, 41, almost died and was hospitalised several times after being infected with the virus while volunteering at an Ebola treatment centre in the west African country in 2014.
To add to the nightmare, she faced disciplinary proceedings over events surrounding her return to Britain. She was cleared of the charges last year.
Pauline, of Cambuslang near Glasgow, said returning to Sierra Leone would be “psychologically important”.
She told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show yesterday: “It’s where things kind of started for me and I’ve had a terrible couple of years since. So it will be good to go back just for things to come full circle for me and a little bit of closure.
“Most people have been supportive.
“I’ve had a few people, like family friends, who say, ‘Just be careful when you get back there.’”
Pauline said she was excited about returning and is “not going there with any trepidation”.
During her trip, the nurse will do a 10km run in aid of charity Street Child, who help children affected by the epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people from 2013-16.
Pauline was struck down with Ebola after she returned from Sierra Leone in December 2014.
She recovered but was re-admitted to hospital in October 2015 and in February and October 2016.