"God moves people": How did the first American infected survive Ebola?

October 07, 2014

Writer

Glenn interviewed Franklin Graham, President of Samaritan’s Purse, and Dr Lance Plyler on radio today. Both men were directly involved in helping Dr. Kent Brantly survive after he came down with Ebola while working for Samaritan’s Purse in Africa. How it all went down left everyone giving God the credit.

Glenn: Okay, so when the doctor found out he had Ebola, were you there?

Dr. Plyler: I informed him.

Glenn: What was that like?

Dr. Plyler: It was really one of the most sobering experiences of my life, if not the most. It was horrible.

Glenn: Are you friends with him?

Dr. Plyler: I am, yes.

Glenn: And as we said, pretty much a death sentence. How long…14 days to live? How long do you usually live?

Dr. Plyler: It depends, Glenn, but some people can pass in as quickly as four or five days. Some people will, you know, live after ten days.

Glenn: How much of the time from being diagnosed to death is agony?

Dr. Plyler: Well, a lot of it is, but the last several days are terrible.

Glenn: Can you describe a little bit?

Dr. Plyler: Sure. Ebola really, they’re fluid producers, so it initially starts off a lot like as we’ve described other endemic diseases or even flu, but you quickly develop very high fevers, headache, terrible muscle aches, joint aches, but then they begin to have…really it’s like a gastrointestinal disease. They begin to vomit profusely, uncontrolled diarrhea, and then in advanced stages, as you’ve read, they can have bleeding, significant bleeding.

Glenn: Do organs melt? That’s what I’ve always heard, that your organs melt. Is that true?

Dr. Plyler: I’m not sure I would say that they truly melt, but it truly infects multiple organs. It’s overwhelming sepsis of the body.

Glenn: Okay, so you find out. You get called, and you find out. Was it you that found the serum? Or how did you stumble across the serum?

Franklin: No, I was in Alaska when they called me, Glenn. We thought he might be infected, and it wasn’t until two days later that we got the test back that he was infected. And I called his wife right after Kent had called her to tell her that he was infected. I called her within a couple of minutes, just had prayer with her and to try to comfort her a little bit. And I told her, I said, “Amber, we’re going to try to do everything that we possibly can.” And Glenn, when I hung up the phone, I just thought to myself I have no idea what to do. He’s in Africa. How am I going to get him out of there? I need to get him back for treatment. How in the world are we going to do this?

And Glenn, as a Christian, as a believer in Jesus Christ, you say I believe that Jesus took my sins to the cross, that he died for my sins, that he was buried for my sins, that God raised him to life, and when I was 22, I gave him my life to take me, to spin me, to use my life however he wanted to use it. And all of my life I’ve just put my faith and trust in him for the day-to-day even, just Lord, get me through today. And when I hung up that phone, I just felt like I didn’t know what to do, and I was at a loss.

Ken Isaacs runs our programs, and I talked to Kenny. I said, “Ken, what are we going to do?” He said, “Franklin, I don’t know.” Well, we had a policy that if you get sick anywhere in the world, a plane will come get you, a policy, you know, insurance. We pay for that.

Glenn: This is a big difference.

Franklin: Well, when they found out that we needed to go to Liberia, they said well what’s this for? Well, we have a doctor who’s sick. Well, what has he got? He has Ebola. We don’t do that. And so the insurance company just right then denied it, and we thought that we had it worked out. We even told Kent that, you know, hey, listen, we think…we’ve got an insurance policy. We’re going to get you home, get you back someplace that can help you.

And I think it was that Tuesday or that Monday or Tuesday we realized that that plane wasn’t going to work out. And I tell you, God moves people, and he moves individuals. There were people in the State Department at levels, and I’m not talking about the leadership, but people that are in the State Department, career diplomats, workers who knew where the levers were and made decisions to help Dr. Brantly, and they just did this on their own. They controlled airplanes.

Glenn: There’s only one airplane that can do this, right?

Franklin: They now have two, just one at the time, and that plane…and here’s another thing, when that plane took off, it had a pressurization problem and had to come back and land. And it was, I think, about 12 or maybe it was 19 hours delayed getting the pressurization problem worked out. If Dr. Brantley had gotten on that plane early, he would have died because he would not have had ZMapp. I think God stopped the airplane and delayed it until the ZMapp, we were able to get…his team could put one dose of ZMapp in it.

Glenn: How much time do I have here? Okay, let me take a break, and then I want you to tell the ZMapp story because this is the serum never, ever been tried on anyone before, brand new, in San Diego, comes from San Diego, right?

Franklin: That’s where the home office is located.

Glenn: Right, and it’s like cultured on a tobacco leaf with a mouse blood or something. I mean, it’s crazy, and you get it, but I want you to take me through how you get it and what happens when we come back.

(Second Segment)

Glenn: I think we actually probably like Congress a little less than we like Ebola. All right, so you’re there, the plane is coming. You had to land the plane. He’s sick. If he would’ve gotten on the plane, he would have died in the air. But in the meantime something else happens.

Dr. Plyler: Yeah, Glenn, it was really, it was very miraculous. And let me just make too a preface comment before I go into the ZMapp. We had a phenomenal medical team from both Samaritan’s Purse and SIM that provide around-the-clock care for Kent and Nancy, and they’re the unsung heroes. They should be applauded. And number two, this is an anecdotal experience. Certainly there needs to be further studies, but I can say in my 25 years of practicing medicine, it was the most powerful anecdotal experience I’ve ever had.

Glenn: The experience of what this drug did?

Dr. Plyler: Of what this drug did. And the amazing thing is really what I think the way God brought so many powerful people together to help me make an informed decision and us make an informed decision. And I’ve received permission from them, but it started…it actually started with the CDC. Dr. De Cock introduced me to Lisa Hensley from the NIH. She was there serving at the reference laboratory to confirm patients with Ebola, and he said why don’t you tell Dr. Plyler about some experimental drug opportunities? And she did just that.

We made contact, and she quickly made contact with many of her friends from the scientific community, Doctor Gary Kobinger, the chief of the Special Pathogens Lab of the Public Health Agency of Canada who had been involved with ZMapp production for over ten years, Larry of Zeitlin of Mapp Biopharmaceuticals, who make ZMapp, and other of their colleagues, and they gave me a crash course, if you will, about ZMapp. They told me all the experiments they had done, that the macaques had done exceedingly well with this drug.

I also was informed about a few other experimental medications, but after prayer and much contemplation, I had a real peace about ZMapp. And so on Wednesday, we were going to give…we had one course, and we had two patients, and so we had to make a decision. On Wednesday we decided, Kent and I decided that we would give the drug to Nancy because at this point he was clinically stable. This was on the 30th of July. The next day I peered in the window, and to my dismay to say the least, Kent had the look of a few hours left to live literally, and it was then I immediately changed my mind.

And I was informed, they said whatever you do, don’t split the dose, the course of therapy, because they were concerned. This is very, very limited medication, and they were concerned that they wouldn’t get another course, and you needed the full course. But at that moment, I just had this peace, split it, and so I looked in the window, I said, “Kent, I’m going to give you the antibodies.” And at that point they were still frozen.

Glenn: Okay, so now let’s make sure, like attorneys and everybody else said don’t do this, right? Because this has never been tried on humans before. Quite honestly, I don’t understand that whole thing. I mean, if I’ve got cancer, and I’m dying or I have Ebola, and I’m dying, load me up with shoe polish if you think it’ll work. You know what I mean? What have I got to lose? And this is frozen. It has to be kept what, a couple hundred degrees below zero, right?

Dr. Plyler: Minus 20.

Glenn: Minus 20, and explain how it comes in.

Dr. Plyler: So the story…I wish I had time. The amazing part is it came in from Sierra Leone. They did not elect to give it to the physician up there, Dr. Khan, and so we requested it, and it flew to us and made its way. It came through Sierra Leone to the Guinea border. We brought it across on a canoe over a river. We entered it into Liberia. We flew it from Liberia to Monrovia, the capital, and it arrived to us in a Styrofoam package about this big.

And Glenn, honestly, I was scared to death when I got it because now I had to do something with it. But as I said, when I looked in that window, and I saw Kent’s condition, as you said, I had no other choice. We had no other choice.

Glenn: So how did you thaw it?

Dr. Plyler: Glenn, honestly, I was putting it under my leg. I was doing everything I could, but the amazing thing is God gets the credit. Several hours earlier we had put one of the doses under Nancy Writebol’s arm, you know, to defrost it. And I suddenly remembered, and I ran…I was at Kent’s house, got in my truck. I went across as quickly as I could to Nancy’s, and another doctor, Dr. Eisenhut, she went in and got it because I wasn’t in PPE. I didn’t have anything but on gloves, and she put it in three bags, sprayed it with chlorine. We put it in a bucket. I threw it in the back of my truck. I rushed over back to Kent’s house.

Glenn: Suited back up?

Dr. Plyler: I never was suited. I only had gloves. I didn’t have any time. And I handed it to a Dr. Mobula [ph.], and she hung the antibodies.

Glenn: He’s hours within death.

Dr. Plyler: I think so, absolutely.

Glenn: How long before he started to turn, and what was that like?

Dr. Plyler: It was the best thing. It was one of the best thing that’s ever happened to me because I was so sure. I said, “God, you cannot let him die.” And within an hour, Glenn, his vital signs…he had 104.7 temperature. It came down. His respirations came down. He hadn’t walked in a day and a half. He walked to the bathroom.

Glenn: Within an hour?

Dr. Plyler: Within two hours, and in fact, I’ll never forget, I texted Lisa Hensley of the NIH, and I said, “Lisa, Kent is dramatically better. Is that possible from the antibodies?” And she said absolutely. Gary, referring to Gary Kobinger, said that the macaques would get better within hours. In my 25 years of medicine, it was the most dramatic anecdotal experience I’ve ever experienced.

Glenn: Not a public company, so you can’t invest in this, because I’m looking up stock. This is a really good investment. How much do they have of this?

Dr. Plyler: Very, very little.

Glenn: With the world’s resources, if we got serious, could we make this in abundance?

Dr. Plyler: They’re working diligently now. They’re reaching out to other companies that have capacity to, because it’s complicated, Glenn, how they make this.

Glenn: Is it really like tobacco leaves and mouse blood?

Dr. Plyler: That’s a simplification, but that’s correct.

Glenn: I mean, honestly, somebody was like I don’t know, let’s try some mouse blood and tobacco leaves. I mean, that sounds like something a drunk man would come up with. Okay, let me just go through a couple of things, and I think the audience wants to ask some questions. What should we be doing that we’re not doing? Does it make sense to close the airspace and say look, if you’re there, you’re there; if you’re not, you’re not coming in here or at least literally quarantine people for at least 21 days if you’re in that area?

Franklin: Glenn, I think those are decisions that somebody needs to make. One of the things that we need right now, and in Liberia the logistics is under the UN for helicopters and getting to rural areas, and it takes weeks to schedule a helicopter through them. Once they schedule it, they can cancel it like they did on us today for just no reason. They decided we’re not going to fly today.

The United States military needs to come in and take care of the logistics for organizations like us that are there working to help us save the lives of people. If we don’t save the lives of the people in Liberia, this thing is going to get worse. We’ve got to find a way to treat people and get them healthy and get them better.

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

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Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

Glenn Beck is once again calling on his loyal listeners and viewers to come together and channel the same unity and purpose that defined the historic 9-12 Project. That movement, born in the wake of national challenges, brought millions together to revive core values of faith, hope, and charity.

Glenn created the original 9-12 Project in early 2009 to bring Americans back to where they were in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In those moments, we weren't Democrats and Republicans, conservative or liberal, Red States or Blue States, we were united as one, as America. The original 9-12 Project aimed to root America back in the founding principles of this country that united us during those darkest of days.

This new initiative draws directly from that legacy, focusing on supporting the family of Charlie Kirk in these dark days following his tragic murder.

The revival of the 9-12 Project aims to secure the long-term well-being of Charlie Kirk's wife and children. All donations will go straight to meeting their immediate and future needs. If the family deems the funds surplus to their requirements, Charlie's wife has the option to redirect them toward the vital work of Turning Point USA.

This campaign is more than just financial support—it's a profound gesture of appreciation for Kirk's tireless dedication to the cause of liberty. It embodies the unbreakable bond of our community, proving that when we stand united, we can make a real difference.
Glenn Beck invites you to join this effort. Show your solidarity by donating today and honoring Charlie Kirk and his family in this meaningful way.

You can learn more about the 9-12 Project and donate HERE

The critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

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When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) recently delivered a lecture that should alarm every American. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he argued that believing rights come from a Creator rather than government is the same belief held by Iran’s theocratic regime.

Kaine claimed that the principles underpinning Iran’s dictatorship — the same regime that persecutes Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and other minorities — are also the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

That claim exposes either a profound misunderstanding or a reckless indifference to America’s founding. Rights do not come from government. They never did. They come from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims without qualification. Jefferson didn’t hedge. Rights are unalienable — built into every human being.

This foundation stands worlds apart from Iran. Its leaders invoke God but grant rights only through clerical interpretation. Freedom of speech, property, religion, and even life itself depend on obedience to the ruling clerics. Step outside their dictates, and those so-called rights vanish.

This is not a trivial difference. It is the essence of liberty versus tyranny. In America, rights belong to the individual. The government’s role is to secure them, not define them. In Iran, rights serve the state. They empower rulers, not the people.

From Muhammad to Marx

The same confusion applies to Marxist regimes. The Soviet Union’s constitutions promised citizens rights — work, health care, education, freedom of speech — but always with fine print. If you spoke out against the party, those rights evaporated. If you practiced religion openly, you were charged with treason. Property and voting were allowed as long as they were filtered and controlled by the state — and could be revoked at any moment. Rights were conditional, granted through obedience.

Kaine seems to be advocating a similar approach — whether consciously or not. By claiming that natural rights are somehow comparable to sharia law, he ignores the critical distinction between inherent rights and conditional privileges. He dismisses the very principle that made America a beacon of freedom.

Jefferson and the founders understood this clearly. “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” they wrote. No government, no cleric, no king can revoke them. They exist by virtue of humanity itself. The government exists to protect them, not ration them.

This is not a theological quibble. It is the entire basis of our government. Confuse the source of rights, and tyranny hides behind piety or ideology. The people are disempowered. Clerics, bureaucrats, or politicians become arbiters of what rights citizens may enjoy.

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

Kaine’s statement reflects either a profound ignorance of this principle or an ideological bias that favors state power over individual liberty. Either way, Americans must recognize the danger. Understanding the origin of rights is not academic — it is the difference between freedom and submission, between the American experiment and theocratic or totalitarian rule.

Rights are not gifts from the state. They are gifts from God, secured by reason, protected by law, and defended by the people. Every American must understand this. Because when rights come from government instead of the Creator, freedom disappears.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

POLL: Is Gen Z’s anger over housing driving them toward socialism?

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A recent poll conducted by Justin Haskins, a long-time friend of the show, has uncovered alarming trends among young Americans aged 18-39, revealing a generation grappling with deep frustrations over economic hardships, housing affordability, and a perceived rigged system that favors the wealthy, corporations, and older generations. While nearly half of these likely voters approve of President Trump, seeing him as an anti-establishment figure, over 70% support nationalizing major industries, such as healthcare, energy, and big tech, to promote "equity." Shockingly, 53% want a democratic socialist to win the 2028 presidential election, including a third of Trump voters and conservatives in this age group. Many cite skyrocketing housing costs, unfair taxation on the middle class, and a sense of being "stuck" or in crisis as driving forces, with 62% believing the economy is tilted against them and 55% backing laws to confiscate "excess wealth" like second homes or luxury items to help first-time buyers.

This blend of Trump support and socialist leanings suggests a volatile mix: admiration for disruptors who challenge the status quo, coupled with a desire for radical redistribution to address personal struggles. Yet, it raises profound questions about the roots of this discontent—Is it a failure of education on history's lessons about socialism's failures? Media indoctrination? Or genuine systemic barriers? And what does it portend for the nation’s trajectory—greater division, a shift toward authoritarian policies, or an opportunity for renewal through timeless values like hard work and individual responsibility?

Glenn wants to know what YOU think: Where do Gen Z's socialist sympathies come from? What does it mean for the future of America? Make your voice heard in the poll below:

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism comes from perceived economic frustrations like unaffordable housing and a rigged system favoring the wealthy and corporations?

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism, including many Trump supporters, is due to a lack of education about the historical failures of socialist systems?

Do you think that these poll results indicate a growing generational divide that could lead to more political instability and authoritarian tendencies in America's future?

Do you think that this poll implies that America's long-term stability relies on older generations teaching Gen Z and younger to prioritize self-reliance, free-market ideals, and personal accountability?

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