Sawyer’s wife seeks Adadevoh family’s forgiveness

Patrick Sawyer

The widow of the Liberian who brought the Ebola disease to Nigeria, Patrick Sawyer, Mrs. Decontee Sawyer, has pleaded for forgiveness from the family of the female doctor, Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, who died from the disease on Tuesday.

Adadevoh was one of the first people that had contact with the late Sawyer.

Mrs. Sawyer said she shared in the pain of the Adadevoh family in an email interview with The Leadership.

She added that it was painful that her husband had caused so much damage in his country, Liberia, and Nigeria with the Ebola virus.

Sawyer said, “I share in the pains that the family members of the Nigerian doctor are going through. It is just a pity that Patrick had to cause this damage both in Liberia and Nigeria.” Sawyer, a resident of Minnesota, USA, apologised for the seeming heartlessness of her open letter, asking Nigerians to be mindful of her daughters, and not curse the Sawyer name, even if they curse Patrick Sawyer.

She said, “I want to reach out to them and express how deeply saddened and sorry I am for their loss and their pain.

“I do apologise if my words have caused anyone who is grieving more pain. I fall on my knees and ask God for his healing power for all of those who are still infected with Ebola.

“I pray for all of the families whose loved ones were taken away by this merciless killer, Ebola, especially those affected by Patrick’s actions.

“Many people died before Patrick and their lives were just as important. That is my frustration. Ebola didn’t have to go to Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country, had the Liberian government taken drastic actions sooner.

“I, too, have family members and friends in Nigeria, and now they are at risk because of Patrick’s actions.

“In spite of my anger and disappointment with him, I don’t believe that he did this with evil intent (I could be wrong). I believe his actions were that of a desperate man. And sad for everyone involved, Nigeria was closer than the U.S. This is just my take on what he could have been thinking (of course, I could be wrong).

“My regret is that I was so caught up in my own pain and frustration that I neglected to see the pain of the innocent people both in Liberia and Nigeria who are affected by Patrick’s actions.

“For that, I am deeply sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was to cause them pain. It is a pain I know. It is a pain I don’t want them to have.”

Meanwhile, the Enugu State Ministry of Health has said it was worrisome that some individuals had been making claims of having either physical or spiritual cure for the Ebola virus disease.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. George Eze, advised the state residents and Nigerians to disregard such claims.

He said in a statement issued on Friday, “It is not only false and malicious, but misleading. The fact remains that at this moment, there is no certified drug for the cure of Ebola Disease.

“The Federal Ministry of Health directs that individuals with such claims should forward it to a scientific committee set up by the Federal Government.

“Members of the public are encouraged to continue to observe strict personal hygiene, regular hand washing and limit body contact to mitigate the further spread of the virus.”