Thomas Eric Duncan
Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 11:17 am
From the DMN 3 Oct
Thomas Eric Duncan moved overseas to Dallas to marry the mother of his estranged son, his family has told their church.
Instead, he ended up in an isolation ward as the man who brought Ebola to the United States.
Duncan met Louise Troh in Liberia many years ago, according to the pastor of Troh’s church, Wilshire Baptist in East Dallas.
“They had this child. They had a falling out, and she came to the states,” Wilshire pastor George Mason said Friday.
The son came to the U.S., too, and is now a 19-year-old college student at Angelo State University in San Angelo. Earlier this week, Kasiah Duncan said he had not seen his father since he was 3 years old.
His mother, Troh, joined the church and was baptized this summer. Church officials describe her as the beloved matriarch of an extended family that has been moving to Dallas recently.
Back in Liberia, Duncan had been seeking to join that family.
“The son hasn't really seen his father in many years,” Mason said. “I think ... [Duncan] was seeking reconciliation and hoping they might marry. ... [Troh] was open to that.”
Duncan is believed to have made previous attempts to move, and Troh visited his city, Monrovia, in August, according to her Facebook page.
As fate had it, Duncan didn’t book his ticket until Ebola was ravaging West Africa.
Not long before he flew to Dallas, The New York Times reported, Duncan tried to save a woman dying of Ebola. He helped drive her to the hospital when no ambulance would take her. That’s probably where he caught the deadly virus.
But he never mentioned the incident on a health form at the airport, and he may face criminal charges in Liberia and the United States for lying about his exposure to the virus.
He never told Troh about it either, she has told reporters.
Troh told her story to Mason by phone Thursday from the apartment where Duncan stayed with her and fell ill.
Mason then shared it with his congregation. Wilshire officials say no one from the family has attended church since Duncan arrived, so the congregation is safe from Ebola.
Mason is praying that Troh and Duncan make it through the illness. One day, his church may play host to their wedding.
But for now, no one knows whether Duncan, who remains in serious condition, will survive his illness, and his would-be bride is under quarantine in case she caught it.
“There’s this no man’s land she’s living in right now,” Mason said. “I just assured her that God is with her ... and that we are praying with her. It’s about all we can promise at this point.”
Thomas Eric Duncan moved overseas to Dallas to marry the mother of his estranged son, his family has told their church.
Instead, he ended up in an isolation ward as the man who brought Ebola to the United States.
Duncan met Louise Troh in Liberia many years ago, according to the pastor of Troh’s church, Wilshire Baptist in East Dallas.
“They had this child. They had a falling out, and she came to the states,” Wilshire pastor George Mason said Friday.
The son came to the U.S., too, and is now a 19-year-old college student at Angelo State University in San Angelo. Earlier this week, Kasiah Duncan said he had not seen his father since he was 3 years old.
His mother, Troh, joined the church and was baptized this summer. Church officials describe her as the beloved matriarch of an extended family that has been moving to Dallas recently.
Back in Liberia, Duncan had been seeking to join that family.
“The son hasn't really seen his father in many years,” Mason said. “I think ... [Duncan] was seeking reconciliation and hoping they might marry. ... [Troh] was open to that.”
Duncan is believed to have made previous attempts to move, and Troh visited his city, Monrovia, in August, according to her Facebook page.
As fate had it, Duncan didn’t book his ticket until Ebola was ravaging West Africa.
Not long before he flew to Dallas, The New York Times reported, Duncan tried to save a woman dying of Ebola. He helped drive her to the hospital when no ambulance would take her. That’s probably where he caught the deadly virus.
But he never mentioned the incident on a health form at the airport, and he may face criminal charges in Liberia and the United States for lying about his exposure to the virus.
He never told Troh about it either, she has told reporters.
Troh told her story to Mason by phone Thursday from the apartment where Duncan stayed with her and fell ill.
Mason then shared it with his congregation. Wilshire officials say no one from the family has attended church since Duncan arrived, so the congregation is safe from Ebola.
Mason is praying that Troh and Duncan make it through the illness. One day, his church may play host to their wedding.
But for now, no one knows whether Duncan, who remains in serious condition, will survive his illness, and his would-be bride is under quarantine in case she caught it.
“There’s this no man’s land she’s living in right now,” Mason said. “I just assured her that God is with her ... and that we are praying with her. It’s about all we can promise at this point.”
