Duncan bore some blame
I am disappointed by Eric Duncan’s family’s response to his treatment for Ebola. Why are they turning this into a race issue?
Mistakes were made by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, but why would they suspect Ebola in Dallas, Texas?
The mistakes at the hospital could have occurred regardless of where Ebola made its first appearance in the U.S.
It just was not expected.
Was Mr. Duncan adamant that he had just arrived from Liberia and could have been exposed to and carrying the Ebola virus? I don’t know.
It may sound heartless, but I believe Mr. Duncan has some blame for his delay in treatment.
The hospital had a communication problem, but was Mr. Duncan insistent about recently arriving from Liberia and that he may have contracted Ebola?
Finally, the statements that Mr. Duncan would have lived if he had been white or treated immediately or because others have is very simplistic.
Everyone is different in how they respond to disease and treatment.
I pray for the family of Mr. Duncan as they mourn, but please do not blame his demise on race.
Laura Grim, McKinney
Medical science is not exact
I feel sorry for the Duncan family who lost a beloved family member.
As a wife and sister, it was difficult to accept that my own husband and brother both died much too young, but the reality is that not every disease is curable.
It helps that I have worked as a nurse in critical care and emergency care for the last 17 years.
I fully understand that medical science is not an exact science.
I wish the Duncan family would accept that, as well.
However, patients also have responsibilities as well as rights.
Duncan had the responsibility to inform his ER physician that he had just left a country where Ebola was rampant. I believe he knew all too well what that disease looked like and his doctor had likely never seen it.
Thomas did not die because he was a poor man of color.
He died of a disease that kills more than half of its victims.
Also, I note that there was no gratitude expressed by Duncan’s family for the nurses, who risked their own lives to attempt to save Mr. Duncan.
Ask Joan Rivers’ family if color or money mattered.
Pardon us for not being perfect people with a perfect health care system.
Ann Zientek, New Berlin, Wis.