Message from the CEO
 |
|
|
Wright Caughman |
When Emory became the nation’s leading authority on the treatment of Ebola virus disease last summer, Dr. Ian Crozier was our most challenging—and ultimately rewarding—patient.
Dr. Crozier arrived at Emory carrying 100 times the viral load of any other patient we had treated. After 40 days of critical care in our isolation unit, during which he suffered multi-organ failure, was placed on a ventilator, and required dialysis, he rallied and was declared free of Ebola.
Crozier later began to experience serious problems in his left eye—decreased vision and increasing pain, problems we now know affect some 30 to 40 percent of Ebola survivors. Unfortunately, that’s the way of many life-threatening illnesses and a hallmark of the extraordinarily complex cases Emory specializes in treating. Occasionally, long after some diseases appear to be cured, new problems appear that require additional specialized services, such as those provided by Emory Eye Center. That’s the strength of a comprehensive academic medical center. When Dr. Crozier first came to Emory, he had the benefit not only of some of the best physicians, nurses, researchers, and staff in the country, who managed his acute Ebola infection, but when his eye problems occurred we were able to address that potentially devastating ailment as well. That’s true for all of our patients. At Emory, they will find the best health care available across specialties and providers.
Congratulations to Dr. Steven Yeh and to everyone at the Emory Eye Center on the speed, compassion, and ingenuity with which they identified and treated a potentially disabling vision problem. Consequently, we learned more about post-Ebola ailments and how to diagnose and manage them, and are sharing that knowledge with the world. Our deepest thanks to Dr. Crozier, whose brush with Ebola and its aftereffects has made him all the more determined to understand and combat the virus.
