The Ebola epidemic has left many dead and orphaned in Sierra Leone, one of the countries that were hardest hit by the outbreak.

Twenty five-year-old nurse Donnel Tholley has seen many patients arriving at Ebola clinics with no family to help them. He has learned to keep his distance, as emotional connection with these patients, many of whom eventually die, could make work harder.

The young nurse, however, was taken by the plight of one mother who was clutching her newborn son when she arrived at the Ebola holding center. The 19-year old mother, Fatu Turay, no longer had a family to help her and she was aware that she was going to die.

Donnel asked the young woman the name of her baby, who was then just over a week old. The mother replied "Bobo," an endearment term which means "my sweet boy."

Tholley then wrote down his name and phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to Turay before moving on to help other patients. The woman, on the other hand, was whisked off with her baby to a treatment center.

After about a week, Donnel received a phone call from a nurse telling him that his wife was dying. Tholley said he has no wife but remembered the woman he gave his contact information to.

He decided to go to the treatment center but by the time he arrived, the woman's body was already removed for burial. The nurses had the sheet of paper that Tholley handed to Turay. She was clutching to the scrap of paper as she was dying.

The baby was brought to a hospital in the capital but while the now two-week old child was free of the fatal virus, he is still fighting for life with no mother to nurse him. Nurses inflate empty surgical gloves and tie them shut so the baby could suck on the fingers when he cries because of hunger.

When Tholley went to see the baby, the nurses asked him if he can take the child. Without a parent, the child would die. Tholley was uncertain if he could care for a sick child while working long hours but the fragility of the little boy, whose ribs protruded through his skin, stuck with him.

"I kept thinking of this boy and how at his young age he had no one else," Tholley said.

With the support of his family, Tholley eventually made the decision to adopt the boy. He left about $200 to the nurses at the hospital so they can care for the baby while arrangements were made.

In January, the baby was brought to Tholley's family apartment in Freetown. The boy, who is now 18 months old, was named Junior. Tholley, whose cellphone shows a picture of him and the boy together, appeared happy with his decision to adopt the baby.

"People say I made a brave decision," he said. "The task is very hard, but God being our helper, up 'til now it is going very well."

Photo: CDC Global | Flickr