It was one of the most rewarding things I ever did, says Wolverhampton Ebola fighter
A reservist soldier from Wolverhampton has said flying out to one of the world's poorest countries to help the Army in its fight against the deadly Ebola virus was one of the most rewarding moments of his life.
Adrian Smith was deployed to Sierra Leone in West Africa with the 202 Field Hospital in February where he is currently an Army reservist.
More than 11,000 people have died from the deadly disease in West Africa.
The disease has hit the small West African countries hard and has seen fragile health services struggling to cope with the pressure, as well as a lack of trained health workers and equipment.
Mr Smith, aged 46, from Wednesfield, worked at the country's Kerry Town treatment unit which was run by the Save The Children charity and did pathology tests on possible cases of Ebola on healthcare workers for the Ministry of Defence.
He also provided pathology support for the Save The Children clinic which was dealing with families and children from the poverty-stricken areas.
Mr Smith, who works in the Biomedical Science (BMS) department at New Cross Hospital, said his first ever deployment job will live with him forever.
"It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I'm so glad I did it," he said. "It was a huge honour to go out and do the job and be a little part of the big picture in helping Ebola patients. It felt like I was part of a big team and was really rewarding.
"I didn't realise I would be working with Save The Children until I got there and it was a real added bonus. It was great to know I was directly helping with the healthcare of the locals who were suffering.
"I've done charity work before but this is a major crisis and it proved a massive challenge compared to everything else I had done.
"It was 31 or 32 degrees every day with high humidity so everything I did I felt sweaty. It felt uncomfortable at times because of the heat and that was just the general living bit. There was the working side of it as well."
Mr Smith, who has been working at New Cross Hospital for 13 years, stayed in an Army camp throughout his three-month stay but things began to really hit home when one his colleagues was tested positive for the virus.
"When one of my colleagues was tested positive for Ebola while I was out there it really brought it home how serious it was," he added.
"Even with the highest calibre of training it is still possible to catch the disease.
"Thankfully she is ok now but it made me think how privileged we are and what the people in Sierra Leone and other countries struck by Ebola have to face in their every day lives."
