Ebola-Surviving Doctor Home in Massachusetts

Dr. Rick Sacra has been released from Nebraska Medical Center and has returned home to Massachusetts.

Ebola survivor Dr. Rick Sacra is finally back home at his Holden, Massachusetts, house after being released by doctors in Nebraska.

He was healthy enough to walk off a private jet Thursday at the Worcester Regional Airport, his family right by his side.

"It's good to be back," he said when he landed, adding, "Praise be God to be home." 

The 51 year old was volunteering in Liberia as an American aid worker when he contracted the illness. He was flown to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha on Sept. 5 and had been recovering there since.

Earlier Thursday, Dr. Sacra spoke with the media about his recovery after it was announced he was being released.

He says he never thought he'd die, but added, "I would say honestly I never felt like I was horribly, deathly ill."

Dr. Sacra is the third American aid worker to recover from the Ebola virus. While in isolation, Dr. Sacra got blood transfusions from Dr. Kent Brantley, another Ebola survivor, along with an experimental drug. He's so strong now, he says he can spend five minutes a day riding a stationary bike.

Thursday night will be the first time in months he'll be at his Holden home with his wife and three sons.

Dr. Sacra will address the public Friday during a news conference at UMASS Medical Center in Worcester at 11 a.m.

The World Health Organization says the illness is responsible for the deaths of more than 2,900 people in West Africa.  

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