Nurse Nina Pham is headed back to Dallas after being declared free of the Ebola virus at the National Institutes of Health hospital in Maryland on Friday — but not before making a quick stop in Washington for a hug and a photo op with President Obama.
Pham spoke outside of the Bethesda, Md. hospital after being declared Ebola-free by NIH Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The nurse thanked God, her family and medical team, and singled out Dr. Kent Brantly, another Ebola survivor who donated his blood plasma, which theoretically contains valuable Ebola antibodies.
She called for privacy as she returns to Texas and “reunite[s] with her dog Bentley” — drawing laughs from the crowd.
Pham then visited the White House, where the president also made sure to give the nurse a very public hug:
Only official White House photographers were allowed to document the hug, drawing the usual protests from the White House press corps.
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