The past several days have been the most trying our family has
collectively ever faced. We remain intensely prayerful and
optimistic about Amber's condition and of the treatment she is
currently receiving. Our prayers and thoughts also go out to
Amber's colleague, Nina Pham, and the Dallas and Ohio communities
impacted by this tragedy. Amber is the shining light of our family
and truly an exceptionally good and caring young woman. She is a
loving daughter, granddaughter, sister, friend, and soon-to-be
wife. Furthermore, Amber is a deeply committed nurse driven by a
fundamental passion for helping others. Although the majority of
the correspondences we have received since her diagnosis have been
positive, we are troubled by some of the negative public comments
and media coverage that mischaracterize Amber and her actions. To
be clear, in no way was Amber careless prior to or after her
exposure to Mr. Thomas Eric Duncan. She has not and would not
knowingly expose herself or anyone else. Before traveling, Amber,
working through her Texas Health Resources Presbyterian Hospital
assistant manager, contacted the CDC and was fully cleared for
travel. On Sunday, while in Ohio, Amber received word that Ms.
Pham, a colleague she worked closely with during treatment of Mr.
Duncan, had been diagnosed with Ebola. Amber was contacted by the
Dallas County Health Department and told that the agency had begun
conducting outreach to all of the nurses who had direct contact
with Mr. Duncan for status updates on their health. She reported
that she was fine and provided her temperature reading at that
time. By phone, county officials read Amber a letter that contained
information about symptoms to observe and report should they
develop. She was also told to continue self-monitoring and was
asked to report these results twice daily to the agency. During
this conversation, Amber, unsettled by the news of Ms. Phan, asked
if arrangements could be made for her to fly her back to Dallas on
Sunday as a precaution. Amber was particularly concerned
considering that Ms. Pham, being a capable nurse who followed the
same Dallas county mandates, had become infected. Officials assured
Amber that her concerns were unfounded because her temperatures
were within the appropriate measures and asymptomatic in all other
areas. Amber then asked if, after returning to Dallas, she would be
allowed to reside at the hospital until the end of her 21-day
monitoring period. She was told that this was the first request of
its kind, but that the agency would consider the option. Once
again, Amber was assured that she should not be alarmed and
prompted to continue self-monitoring. The Dallas County Health
Department informed her that, upon her return to Dallas, someone
from their agency would record at least one of her readings, in
person, daily. The following day, Amber prepared for her return to
Dallas, and following the request of the Dallas County Health
Department, reported her temperature before boarding her flight
three different times. Her initial flight was delayed and two
subsequent delayed flights prompted Amber to report her
temperature, as instructed, each time she anticipated departure. In
all three instances, she was cleared to return to Texas. One day
after returning to Dallas, on the morning of Tuesday, October 14th,
Amber first reported a temperature of 100.3 degrees to the Dallas
County Department of Health. Immediately after, Amber proactively
admitted herself to Texas Health Resources Presbyterian Hospital,
and has been quarantined since. Suggestions that she ignored any of
the physician and government-provided protocols recommended to her
are patently untrue and hurtful. In the interest of Amber and our
family, we have retained esteemed attorney Billy Martin to provide
us with legal counsel during this unfortunate and troubling time.
We also ask that the media respect our privacy. All media inquires
should be directed to Steven Jumper. We thank everyone for their
prayers and support.
