Ebola-stricken nurse says she's 'doing well,' gets blood transfusion from Dr. Kent Brantly

Nina Pham, the 26-year-old Dallas nurse who contracted the Ebola virus while caring for a stricken patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, released a statement Tuesday saying she's "doing well."

On Tuesday, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas released this statement from Pham.

“I’m doing well and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers. I am blessed by the support of family and friends and am blessed to be cared for by the best team of doctors and nurses in the world here at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas."

In the hospital's release, Texas Health Resources CEO Barclay Berdan added, “The hearts and prayers of everyone at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas are with Nina Pham, and we are working tirelessly to help her in this courageous fight. The doctors and nurses involved with her treatment remain hopeful, and we ask for the prayers of the entire country.”

Pham remains stable after receiving a blood transfusion from Dr. Kent Brantly, the Fort Worth physician who survived a case of the disease he contracted in Africa.

Brantly went to Texas Health Presbyterian on Sunday at the hospital's request, according to Samaritan Purse, an aid group with which Brantly is associated.

Pham remains hospitalized at Texas Health Presbyterian while health officials try to determine how she was infected while caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died from the disease at the hospital last week.

Pham's diagnosis has led to a re-evaluation of procedures for health care providers in dealing with the Ebola virus.

On Monday, Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said that his agency was improving the protocols used by health care workers.

Lance Murray edits and writes for the DBJ's website and can be reached at 214-706-7106. Subscribe to our email newsletters.