UNIVERSITY PARK, TX - OCTOBER 26: Dallas-area resident James Faulk displays his Ebola-themed Halloween decorations on October 26, 2014 in University Park, Texas. Faulk decorated the front of his house and lawn to resemble the scene of the Dallas apartment where the first U.S. case of Ebola virus was confirmed several weeks ago. Faulk has set up a Twitter account and a website in an effort to raise funds for the Doctors Without Borders charity organization. (Getty Images)

Re: “Ebola decor is tasteless,” by Doris Taylor, Sunday Letters, and “Ebola is nothing to laugh at,” by Donna Baker, Sunday Letters.

I have to respond to these letters that took strong exception to the University Park resident with the Ebola-themed Halloween decorations.

News flash — nobody actually thinks Ebola is funny, including the UP resident. Treating serious and unpleasant topics with humor is a normal human coping mechanism. It’s a pressure-relief valve that makes going through life a little easier. Try it — you’ll live longer.

Mike Haughton, East Tawakoni

Re: “Protesters speak up for Duncan — Event outside hospital cites ‘pain and suffering Eric went through,’” Friday news story.

I was more than miffed watching family and friends of Thomas Eric Duncan protesting outside of Presbyterian Hospital last week.

They insinuated that Presbyterian did not give the care to Mr. Duncan that is given to other patients. How dare them.

Do they not realize or understand the tremendous risk the doctors and nurses were exposed to caring for Mr. Duncan, two of whom contracted the virus and became very sick themselves?

Do they not comprehend the unbelievable amount of resources the hospital expended caring for Mr. Duncan, which it will never be compensated for?

Do they understand the expense that the city of Dallas went to in caring for the family of Mr. Duncan?

What about the shelter, food and physician care they were given during the quarantine period? And that’s not even counting the emotional support given to them by County Judge Clay Jenkins, who personally tended to many of their needs.

How unthankful and inconsiderate of them to not even send a thank-you note to the hospital, doctors and nurses who did everything humanly possible to save Mr. Duncan.

Did anyone besides myself consider Mr. Duncan might have known he was infected and decided without thought of risk to travel here where he could receive better care?

Just a thought.

Ronnie Smith, Garland

Re: “There’s no way caring for sick can be termed ‘selfish,’” by Jacquielynn Floyd, Tuesday Metro column, and “Intervention warranted,” by Lynne Harmon, Tuesday Letters.

I appreciate Jacquielynn Floyd’s voice of reason in her recent column.

In contrast, Lynne Harmon wrote that nurse Kaci Hickox should quit “whining” about the shabby and excessive treatment she received in exchange for her brave service in West Africa.

I believe Hickox’s quarantine in a tent with only rudimentary sanitary facilities was unsupported by scientific experts and serves only as symbolic pacification of public fears.

Seems that every time our country faces a crisis, some folks take leave of their senses and call out for the most draconian of measures at the expense of basic decency.

While Hickox’s quarantine perhaps doesn’t approach the outrageousness of some past events, there still seems to be a pattern that continues again and again in our history.

In the end, what first appeared prudent ultimately is viewed by history as regrettable folly.

Brian Cofer, Irving

Re: “Returning to folded arms — When health care workers come home, treat them with dignity, not fear,” Sunday news story.

I read with interest Kaci Hickox’s column and the comments posted online.

First, I’m thankful to Ms. Hickox and all the doctors, nurses and others who have worked tirelessly in treating those affected by the Ebola virus in West Africa.

I believe the treatment afforded her (and to other medical workers about to return to America) is indicative of our government response to this crisis. It appears to be reactionary and not thought out.

If quarantine is deemed appropriate for returning medical staff, why hasn’t Congress or the state legislatures convened and passed a bill that guarantees an appropriate protocol for such workers?

The protocol should include safe harbor, guaranteed free medical treatment, and a safe and comfortable environment for their quarantine period.

The treatment of Ms. Hickox is shameful.

Not to soapbox, but our medical workers and volunteers need to be assured that their service is respected and that we, as a nation, will do everything to ensure their well-being.

I also believe we should immediately guarantee the same for our veterans, who have been treated just as shabbily.

Rick Obadiah, Genoa City, Wis.

In this Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 photo provided by attorney Steven Hyman, quarantined nurse Kaci Hickox meets with the prominent New York civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, seated, at the isolation tent at University Hospital in Newark, N.J., where Hickox was confined after flying into Newark Liberty International Airport following her work in West Africa caring for Ebola patients. Hickox, the first person forced into a mandatory quarantine in the state, was released Monday but has complained about her treatment. Following her release Siegal said "We are pleased that the state of New Jersey has decided to release Kaci. They had no justification to confine her," and added that she has not ruled out legal action. (AP Photo)

Re: “Nurse is kept in isolation New Jersey quarantines former UTA student despite negative test for virus,” Sunday news story.

Granted, Dallas made some mistakes with Ebola. But there’s one thing we did not do. We did not stick our nurses in a tent without a flushable toilet.

Shame on Gov. Chris Christie and good for the nurse for showing her Texas spirit and speaking out!

Betty Boyd-Meis, Dallas

Ms. Hickox demonstrates a scenario where courageous choices have unexpected consequences.

Unfortunately, I believe the behavior of another, Dr. Craig Spencer, validates the need for a rigid quarantine. He violated self-imposed quarantine in a densely populated area and may have put many at risk for Ebola.

Rereading her account, I find it confusing that a doctor would diagnose by touch rather than by an instrument used to measure temperature. If Ms. Hickox’s face was flushed, might it not indicate she had a fever?

My mother shared her own stories about quarantine. During a scarlatina outbreak, health officials placed a sign on her door and neighbors left supplies for the duration of the quarantine.

Self-quarantine was expected during a mumps epidemic. Our entire family was confined to home. These diseases were mild compared to Ebola.

With any outbreak, I believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Community safety trumps the individual with something as deadly as Ebola.

Ms. Hickox’s bravery, sacrifice and dedication illustrate how one person can make a difference, but it doesn’t keep her from falling under the rules deemed necessary to protect the community.

Cynthia Stock, Garland

Pardon me for not sympathizing with Kaci Hickox on her interrogation and stern treatment by airport employees upon arrival back into the U.S. after having contact with Ebola patients in Sierra Leone.

I believe Hickox should take off her rose-colored glasses and step into the reality of the disease and its potential impact on our health care workers, as well as all American citizens.

She chose to go to Sierra Leone to help Ebola-stricken people. I commend her for that.

That said, I don’t think she has the right to complain about our government officials treating her as a potentially Ebola-infected person who may be bringing it into our country.

I believe she should have stopped whining and realized that Americans appreciate our officials screening people who are entering our country from Ebola-infected regions.

It’s not all about you, Ms. Hickox.

Lynne Harmon, Fort Worth

As an alumna of the UTA nursing program, I retain a level of embarrassment due to the scattered thoughts of a fellow alumna, Kaci Hickox, R.N.

Ms. Hickox wrote of her perception that she was treated like a “criminal” on her return from a season of residency within the West African Ebola hot zone.

She decried a mandatory quarantine to assure the safety of her fellow Americans.

We cannot talk Ebola to death. It is a disease that must be quarantined and contained.

Only with the aforementioned will Ebola be conquered within the foreseeable future.

The states with quarantine policies will undoubtedly do better with their process in the near future. But I prefer a nascent process to no real intervention and public guardianship for the safety of American citizens.

Ms. Hickox may whine about human dignity and respect.

But those stricken with Ebola lose all human dignity as they vomit blood and excrete bloody stools whilst they lie awaiting death.

Ebola is a vicious and merciless disease.

Give it a break, Ms. Hickox. The story is bigger than your perceived slight.

Tammy Swofford, Irving

Re: “Looks like Ebola … but it’s not — UP home’s Halloween decor grabs attention, throws some for a loop,” Friday news story.

I am appalled that there are people living in our country who could be so insensitive to the suffering of others that they would use a deadly virus as a Halloween theme.

I believe James Faulk has crossed the line of what is acceptable as a source of humor and good fun.

This kind of callous behavior represents total disregard for human suffering.

It is not “just too soon,” as some have said, for such perverted humor. I don’t believe it should ever be acceptable as a source of amusement to make light of the tragic losses that people are enduring.

There are children who have lost parents. There others who have survived the disease but have lost their entire families.

I don’t believe they would find this funny. Neither should we.

I hope the people of West Africa never hear of this cruel and tasteless act.

It is enough that the family and friends of Thomas Eric Duncan had to witness this lack of compassion during their period of grief.

Doris Taylor, Highland Village

Earlier this week, I checked into Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas for a scheduled surgery.

I chose to go with no concern that I would become infected with Ebola.

I don’t want to discount the loss and worry of possible Ebola carriers, but my care at Presbyterian was the best one could have ever received.

This was also the case when I had my first surgery there in 2013, and I still felt this way upon entering the hospital this past Tuesday.

The professionalism of each care person and the peace displayed in my room helped me feel completely confident.

I stayed four days as part of my recovery and in that time, I asked some of the staff about how they were feeling.

I could feel their woundedness from the impact that the media frenzy has had on the hospital’s reputation and the perceptions of the Dallas community.

However, I have no doubt these brave and dedicated professionals will rise up past this time because of who they are in the care industry.

Martha O’Rear, Allen

A member of the family that was in quarantine due to exposure to Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan waves as he walks outside at the Diocese of Dallas Catholic Conference and Formation Center where Duncan's fiancee, Louise Troh, and her family have been staying in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Monday, Oct. 20, 2014. A letter dated Oct. 19 and signed by Dallas County’s chief epidemiologist authorized Troh and members of her family to return to work and their children to go back to school “without any restrictions.” (AP Photo)

Re: “A big stride toward normal — Dozens considered at risk freed from monitoring; Mayor warns of hurdles; victim’s fiancée, kin cleared,” Tuesday news story.

Louise Troh, the fiancée of the first Ebola victim in the U.S., has finished her 21-day mandatory quarantine.

What you don’t know is that she is one of the finest, most compassionate caregivers at the senior living center where she works.

She cared for my mother, who was in the Alzheimer’s unit until her death in January. She cared for her with the utmost dignity and compassion.

Louise is a hard worker, and I don’t believe she knowingly invited Ebola into her home.

The fact is, she and her family didn’t contract the disease. However, everything her family owned, except for some photographs and passports, has been incinerated.

She is an exceptional woman who has lost her fiance and almost everything she had in this material world.

I’m happy that she can return to work.

If this had happened to you or me, we would want to be treated fairly and compassionately.

I hope that our community shows compassion to Louise and her family as they return to everyday life in Dallas.

Mary Overton, Preston Hollow

It is with great sadness that we had to leave a hospital and a staff of nurses and doctors who have worked tirelessly with dedicated hearts to keep us safe, comfortable and healthy.

We entered Presbyterian through the emergency room more than six weeks ago, prior to the arrival of the first Ebola patient. We never felt threatened or fearful for sharing the same hospital, despite a view from our window of the teeming media in the parking lot.

The staff of the Main West sixth floor offered tremendous support, professionalism and individual displays of caring.

It is time for the city to move back to normalcy and put this hospital back to work, doing what it does best — caring for the sick.

Jacie Minick, Dallas

Re: “For Ebola, Obama abandons usual wait-and-see approach — President cleared schedule, named czar in response,” Monday news story.

The surgeon general of the U.S. is the operational head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesman on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States.

So would someone explain to me why Rear Adm. Boris D. Lushniak, acting surgeon general, is not the White House point man for Ebola?

Is it because Obama has no confidence in him or feels the acting surgeon general and staff aren’t qualified to coordinate between the various federal public health departments and agencies, NIH, CDC, etc., and speak for the White House?

Apparently, Obama believes we need an “Ebola czar” to speak for him. For some reason appointing Ron Klain as the czar reeks of political favoritism and pandering to the Democratic base and is not in the public’s health interests.

John Eggen, Wilmer

@jrewilmer

Re: “Obama assures public that virus won’t become epidemic,” Saturday news story.

There is a saying, “Forewarned is forearmed,” and it doesn’t necessarily mean with guns.

Apathy and complacency have done more harm over the centuries than being forewarned and forearmed.

Sure, it’s easier to be complacent. It takes less time. No research. No action. Just sit back and let others handle the inevitable emergency after a point of complacent no return.

It’s like firemen who know that getting to a fire early using all “arms” is more effective than getting to it late using all arms. Prioritize in the beginning.

Thomas Duncan lied about his contact history with Ebola to get into the U.S. Only he knew that he was exposed. I believe others will lie, too.

So I believe we should insist on a ban of flights originating from Ebola-stricken areas and use quarantine liberally.

And, yes, I also think we should question authority, question the president, question the CDC because they cannot know the precise moment when someone may become infectious and spread the virus.

This is a call to arms: Call your congressmen!

Liz Hunter, Uptown Dallas

Texas Health Presbyterian nurses walk arm in arm on their way to a press conference defending the hospital outside Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas on Monday, October 20, 2014. The first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States, Thomas Eric Duncan was treated at this hospital. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)

Don’t point fingers at Presby

I’m a registered nurse, native of Dallas and now living in northeast Tennessee.

I recently visited my home city, and I have been asked about the “terror” supposedly being experienced by Dallasites regarding the recent Ebola events.

I saw no terror-stricken people at all in Dallas. I talked to friends concerned for those stricken or being watched for symptoms.

They are upset about how this episode impacts the fine reputation of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Hospitals must evaluate and treat those who arrive at their doors.

The presenting symptoms of the man from Liberia are symptoms of other common viruses. Like other U.S. health care facilities, Presbyterian observes “universal precautions.”

If this patient had presented at any hospital other than the four Ebola-trained facilities, the scenario would have been the same. Other hospitals may say they would have done better, but they are really relieved they weren’t put to that test. Ebola is new to U.S. shores.

There seems to be a lot of finger-pointing and rumor, which needs to stop. Let’s take care of those stricken, protect caregivers and fix the national health care community that failed to provide information/education to caregivers.

My mom was an OB nurse, I was a newborn and junior volunteer at Baylor. I know Presbyterian’s excellent reputation and care.

My thoughts and prayers are with victims and caregivers who face fears resulting from exposure and the knowledge that Presbyterian may not recover from this incident.

Jeanne Terrell Alexander, Kingsport, Tenn.

I’m worried! For 23 years I worked at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital in the position of director of laundry and linen services.

It was me and my staff who handled all the contaminated linens coming from isolation cases. Rarely did we receive a batch that had been bagged and sealed correctly.

Even more problematic was the unceasing flow of sharp objects coming into the laundry.

I wrote untold dozens of incident reports detailing these breaches, but it seemed nobody cared if the mere laundry workers’ lives and safety were being jeopardized.

I believe the only way to stop Ebola is to secure our borders, including the southern one. Hospitals may easily and unknowingly spread the infection.

Larry Johnson, Mesquite

I read this column exclusive to The News with dismay and disbelief. I am saddened by the loss of his uncle, Thomas Duncan, but find it ironic that he demonizes Presbyterian Hospital with incompetence and insensitivity when it mounted an incredible effort to save him and spent most likely more than a million dollars on care that will never be paid.

I am a retired physician who cared for some of the first patients with HIV in the ’80s in Dallas. It was a plague.

There was much fear and misunderstanding. Very little was known.

Those of us who chose to treat them did so at our own risk, although it turned out that was low.

I can attest to the fact that things in emergency rooms all across this country fall through the cracks every hour of every day.

Fortunately, most of them do not result in deaths. This was ONE exception.

To his nephew, I would ask what level of care would he have received if he had remained in Liberia?

Robert Henderson, Dallas/ Turtle Creek

Re: “Taking Ebola seriously — CDC’s clinical response to virus worrisome, Heather Wilhelm writes,” Friday Viewpoints.

Having followed the Ebola matter perhaps closer than most, I was a bit puzzled and taken aback to read in Ms. Wilhelm’s recent Dallas Morning News op-ed her attribution to the CDC, the White House and other officials the statement “Don’t panic; it’s no big deal.”

In all my reading and, since this article, Google searches, blog searches, congressional hearings on C-SPAN, and governmental agency searches, I failed to encounter the statement “Don’t panic; it’s no big deal,” or even “It’s no big deal.”

It’s always helpful if one knows someone’s agenda in order to determine their motivation. If what the author asserts is true, it borders on criminal activity. If it is not true, she has built and demolished the biggest, most self-serving straw horse I’ve ever encountered in my 80 years.

I would be grateful if Ms. Wilhelm would send just one citation not to me, but to The News, which citation supports her contention that anyone engaged in trying to manage this tragic situation has said or implied, “It’s no big deal.”

In the milieu we live in today, truth telling is more important than ever before — and that’s a big deal!

Rodney Pirtle, Farmers Branch

Re: “Longevity comes up short — 75 years is plenty: Ezekiel Emanuel challenges those who think a long life at any cost is the American way,” Sunday Points.

I found it somewhat ironic that on the day Emanuel’s controversial essay appeared in your paper there were 43 obituaries. Of those 43, 20 of the deceased people were in their 80s and 90s, well past his age of demarcation of 75.

This would seem to say that it is not that uncommon to have many good years after 75. That said, the most pressing concern of folks as they grow older, and I count myself in that group, involves loss of independence, becoming a burden to family, and little or no quality of life.

A radical approach, one that will never be adopted, would be to give everyone a little black pill when they reach a predetermined age, say 50, to be put away for some undetermined future time. It would have an unlimited shelf life. When, hopefully many, many years down the line, a person reaches the point that the concerns enumerated above have become reality, the pill could be retrieved. We should all have the right to pass from this life with dignity and at a time of our own choosing.

Fred Neary, Far North Dallas

If your life is sitting on your sofa, drinking beer and watching TV, fine, maybe you want to go ahead and die.

But I’m 80 and I still mow my own yard, fix the roof, read, walk 2 miles a day and enjoy sex.

I have slowed down recently due to my fourth Agent Orange attack from my Vietnam Expeditionary Force days, which has left only 50 percent of my lungs usable.

I say, live till you die and enjoy it!

Ronald Griffey, Farmers Branch