The Sierra Leone Telegraph: 11 September 2014
Report from Freetown says that Dr. Olivette Buck, who works at the Lumley Hospital in the western area of the capital Freetown, has contracted the deadly Ebola virus.
Dr Buck is said to be very sick, but currently stable, though doctors are anxious about her prognosis, as the international community have so far failed to attempt to save the life of every single doctor that has contracted the virus in Sierra Leone.
Three senior doctors have been left to die – Dr. Khan, Dr. Modupe Cole, and Dr. Rogers.
Friends, colleagues and family members of Dr. Buck are working frantically to get WHO to help fly Dr. Buck out of Sierra Leone, so that she can receive treatment in Hamburg, where a hospital is willing to treat her.
But Dr. Buck’s family are desperately trying to raise the cost of her treatment, which is believed to be in the region of 300,000 Euros.
The Sierra Leone Telegraph is trying to contact the Bill Gates Foundation to request humanitarian assistance that could save Dr. Buck’s life.
In the meantime, it is understood that Lumley Hospital has been closed until further notice, as doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are gripped with fear and shock at the news of Dr. Buck’s illness.
A colleague of Dr. Buck working at the Lumley Hospital makes this desperate humanitarian appeal:
“My colleague Dr. Buck is one of the most dedicated and determined physicians that I know. She had worked for over 20 years as a teacher before entering medical school, and finally graduating the same year as me in 2002.
“Dr. Buck is a patriot and focused individual. She is soon to be (or perhaps already) a member of the West African College of Physicians. One of the few to recently challenge this position. She is a mother of three and a dedicated Christian.
“She also unfortunately happens to be the first female physician to be infected in Sierra Leone with the Ebola virus. We all need her to win this battle, so as to give us doctors – hope and faith that our country won’t let us down in this battle. Other countries have recorded victories in saving the lives of their doctors, and so can we.”
Appeals are being made to the international community – WHO, the Bill Gates Foundation, and others, to help save the life of Dr. Buck before it’s too late.
Please Mr. Bill Gates and Mrs Miranda Gates, help our doctor, sister, mother, colleague and friend, help Sierra Leone. We need 300,000 Euros to fly Dr. Buck out of Sierra Leone and to pay for her treatment in Hamburg!
Dear Mr and Mrs Gates
I am writing to personally beg you to come to our rescue. One of the very few surgeons we have in Sierra Leone is very ill. She will die of Ebola if she is not taken out of Sierra Leone for urgent treatment in Germany.
We need your help to pay for airlifting and cost of treatment at the hospital in Germany.
Please cut out the bureaucracy and request that the hospital in Hamburg send you details of the treatment and cost. You do not need to hand over cash to the government of Sierra Leone.
Mr and Mrs Gates, We desperately need your help please urgently. God bless you.
Regards
Mrs. Agnes Williams
Freetown
What a shame we are today begging the international community to save the precious life of a doctor whose job it is to save lives.
President Koroma should be ashamed of himself. He is sitting on millions of dollars that have been donated to state house and his wife for ebola. Why cant they spend some of that money to send Dr. Buck abroad for treatment?
We failed to do this for Dr. Khan and Dr. Cole. Now is the time for president koroma to make amends and ensure he does not make another mistake that will remain on his conscience for the rest of his life.
Mr. President please use some of the donations to pay for Dr. Buck’s treatment. Please dont let her die Mr. President.