Church Prays For Doctor's Ebola Recovery

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The second American infected with the Ebola virus in West Africa should land back in the United States on Tuesday. This news comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that Fort Worth doctor Kent Brantly is showing strong signs of improvement. Brantly arrived in Atlanta on Saturday.

The doctor caught the Ebola virus while treating other patients in Africa. When he arrived back in the United States, he was taken to the hospital at Emory University to receive treatment. Brantly now resides in a glass-protected room in an isolated wing of the hospital, though the Ebola virus is not spread through the air.

Despite these precautions, some Atlanta residents are nervous about the decision to bring the Fort Worth doctor to their city. Others said that they have heard plenty of reassuring comments to make them feel safe.

"I think it's a good thing," said Atlanta resident Virginia Turner. "If I was an American and I went over there and got sick, bring me home!"

"My minor in graduate school is biochemistry, so I'm not in any way freaked out by this," added Atlanta resident Phil Graham.

Meanwhile, the congregation at Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth, where Brantly and his family worship, has been eager to help the doctor and his family. Brantly's wife wrote a letter to the congregation, thanking them for their support and prayers, and asking that they continue to pray for her husband and the people of Liberia, where Brantly was doing his medical missionary work.

Church members are amazed that Brantly was able to get out of the ambulance on Saturday on his own two feet. "We all assumed that he would be rolled out on a gurney," added church elder Kent Smith on Sunday. "I think today was a very uplifting and positive worship service when, earlier in the week, I was expected a sad one."

The church has asked people to keep their front porch lights on, to shine a light on their friend.

Nancy Whitebol is the other American medical worker who infected with the Ebola virus in Africa. She is expected to return to the United States on Tuesday.

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