The girlfriend of Thomas Eric Duncan is in “shock and despair” over the Ebola patient’s death, and those in quarantine with her are fearful they could be next, the woman’s pastor said. Rev. George Mason, senior pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church, said he helped deliver news of Duncan’s death earlier Wednesday to Louise Troh and the three children in isolation with her at an undisclosed Dallas location.
Mason said Troh reacted very emotionally, with great “shock and despair.” He said the children were less “visibly emotional” but stunned by the news. “As you might imagine, them being in quarantine and thus determining having to have been exposed,” he told a news conference, “their thoughts not only go to the shock and sadness… but also to whether this will be the course that their life will take next.” The children were reassured that they are being closely monitored and would receive very quick care if they do display any signs of illness, he said. While Duncan’s family members had complained about the delay in his care, Mason took pains to stress that for now the family must focus on their grief and not the circumstances of Duncan’s treatment.
