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Young nurse asked to adopt newborn after mom dies of Ebola

In this photo taken Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, nurse Donnell Tholley, 25, holds his adopted son Donnell Junior at their apartment in Freetown, Sierra Leone, as the baby’s great-grandmother Marie looks on. Tholley adopted the boy following the death of the mother Fatu Turay last year from the Ebola virus at the hospital on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone. The Ebola epidemic killed nearly 4,000 Sierra Leoneans and left thousands of orphans. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
In this photo taken Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, nurse Donnell Tholley, 25, holds his adopted son Donnell Junior at their apartment in Freetown, Sierra Leone, as the baby’s great-grandmother Marie looks on. Tholley adopted the boy following the death of the mother Fatu Turay last year from the Ebola virus at the hospital on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone. The Ebola epidemic killed nearly 4,000 Sierra Leoneans and left thousands of orphans. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

By Associated Press 5 min read

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) – The 19-year-old mother clutched her newborn son as she arrived at the Ebola holding center. The child’s father was gone, and she had no family to help her. She knew she was dying.

Nurse Donnell Tholley, 25, had seen hundreds like Fatu Turay in his work at Ebola clinics around the country. He knew to keep his distance – most patients would not make it, and any emotional connection would make the work even harder.

But taken by her plight, he stopped to ask the name of her baby, who was just over a week old.

“Bobo,” she replied faintly – a term of endearment that translates as “my sweet boy.”

“That’s not a real name, though,” Tholley replied. Impulsively, he grabbed a scrap of paper, wrote down his name and phone number, and gave it to her.