Dr. Kent Brantly asked for continued prayers for the people of West Africa and an end to the panic over Ebola spreading in the U.S. during a speech given at his alma mater, Abilene Christian University in Texas, today.
“This is not about me,” Brantly said, choking back tears during his 10 minute speech. “This is about our great, loving, compassionate God who has called us to love our neighbors. This is about the more than 3,800 people who have died from Ebola in West Africa.”
A medical missionary who graduated with a degree in biblical studies before going to med school, Brantly tried to reassure the crowd that an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. is unlikely.
“There’s been a lot of panic around the events in Dallas,” he said. “I just want to tell everyone that, yes, Ebola is serious, it’s a devastating disease, and for those people who have been identified as contacts of an Ebola patient, they need to be monitoring themselves and cooperating with authorities. But for the rest of us we don’t need to be worried. … We need to be putting that aside and trying to love our neighbors.”
He also expressed deep sympathy over the death of Thomas Duncan, the first patient to die of Ebola on U.S. soil, and said that the situation in West Africa “is worse than the worst report you’ve seen.”
Brantly spoke as the University began its homecoming weekend. He and his wife Amber will be the grand marshals at Saturday’s homecoming parade.
Thanking his supporters and “my ACU family” for their continued support, Brantly said that he is grateful to be alive and excited to reconnect with friends on campus this weekend. He also asked those current students to not forget Jesus Christ as they work toward their degrees.
Brantly contracted Ebola over the summer while serving as a medical missionary in Liberia. He was treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta and released Aug. 21.
