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A Twin Cities nurse who opened one of the first Ebola survivors clinics in Sierra Leone is returning to Africa this week.

Carrie Jo Cain says traditional health care systems weren't equipped to treat survivors, who often endure joint pain, vision and hearing problems, as well as emotional problems. 

"Survivors would show up at a clinic and the person who was running it, the nurse, whoever was there seeing patients, would realize they were seeing a survivor and were afraid," Cain told MPR News host Tom Weber. "They weren't sure if they knew how to take care of them take care of them if they knew how to take care of them and be safe."

She said many people who survive an Ebola infection experience joint pain, vision and hearing problems, as well as emotional problems. 

Cain will return to run another survivor clinic. She says the goal is to improve sanitation practices and educate health care providers so survivors can return to their regular doctors.

This is what it was like fighting Ebola in West Africa.

One year ago, the world was watching an Ebola crisis unfold in West Africa.

It was last August that the World Health Organization declared Ebola an international public health emergency. The death toll passed 1000 that month, and Senegal became the fifth country hit.

A Twin Cities nurse travelled to Sierra Leone to help, spending months in the country. While she was there, Carrie Jo Cain opened one of the very first clinics for Ebola survivors. She's headed back to Sierra Leone in just a couple of days... but will stop by the studio first to talk with Tom Weber.

Ebola nurse: What it Is like fighting this disease

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