CNA-07-10-2015

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REUNION SEASON

LANGE DOMINANT

The Creston High School class of 1954 held its class reunion over the Fourth of July weekend. See full list of reunions and club news on COMMUNITY, page 5A. >>

Lenox hurler Caleb Lange tossed a one-hitter to lead the Tigers to a 4-2 victory over Nodaway Valley Thursday evening. More on this victory in SPORTS, page 7A. >>

creston

News Advertiser WEEKEND EDITION

SHAW MEDIA GROUP SERVING SW IOWA SINCE 1879 BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE AT WWW.CRESTONNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015

GV Lake Creston grad works with Ebola patients, wins awards microcystins return to safe level By BAILEY POOLMAN

CNA staff reporter

bpoolman@crestonnews.com

OMAHA, Neb. — Meagan Freml, MSN, RN, CCRN, works as a nurse, an ordinary job at an ordinary hospital in an ordinary town in the Midwest. But, Freml is anything but ordinary. Freml, formerly of Creston, was part of the team that cared for Ebola patients after it hit the United States, and was a recipient of two awards for her work. “I was kind of an accident-prone kid, and I remember after one particular accident a nurse being in Dr. Mansour’s office with me, and she was so wonderful,” Freml said. “I was so concerned that my shorts were ruined. She recognized this was more distressing than anything for me, and calmed my fears over something as small as shorts. I chose a career based on my ability to get to know people. I want to be the person who can fix the complex problems while recognizing there is a person that needs treated as well.”

Ebola But, things changed when she got the call her team was being activated to care for an Ebola patient. “My heart skipped a few beats, and I thought, ‘This is it. This is what we have been training for. Here we go,’” Freml said. “I then picked up the phone to call my parents so they knew we were activating. I think it is safe to say they were concerned.” After receiving a ‘Just be careful’ from her mother, Freml began work. Freml, a staff nurse in the surgical intensive care unit at Nebraska Medicine, formerly known as The Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha, and part-time in the post-anesthesia care unit in the recovery room at

Contributed photos

Meagan Freml talks with two coworkers during work at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha.

Midwest Surgical Hospital in Omaha, was on call 24/7 with the bio-containment unit. “The first days are chaotic in the best way,” Freml said. “The team is all together for the first time in awhile, and we are excited. ... There are moments in your career that you will never forget — certain patients, your first code — and for me, another was the day I got in the gear and walked down to care for our first patient for the first time.”

Work Freml was strictly part of the bio-containment unit, rather than with her teams in the surgical intensive care unit and recovery room. At this point she no longer worked with unstable surgical patients, liver transplant patients or trauma victims. She cared for patients diagnosed with Ebola. “A proud moment I can think of was the day we were able to release our first patient,” Freml said. “National news crews were posted outside the hospital, and in our press conference we came out to be introduced

WHAT IS EBOLA? Ebola is a disease in humans and primates caused by an ebolavirus. It causes symptoms such as fever and muscle aches between two days and three weeks, before more severe symptoms like vomiting occur. Some people by this point begin bleeding both internally and externally. It is spread through contact with bodily fluids of the infected, and has an average death rate of 50 percent. The index case of Ebola was traced to a toddler in Guinea, Africa, in December 2013. It wasn’t until March 2013

These ladies are all smiles. Meagan Freml, left, poses for a photo with Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert.

Please see FREML, Page 2A

Furry friend:

South Carolina’s Confederate flag comes down today COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A crowd of thousands gathered Friday among security officers and news crews to witness the historic removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds — a day many in the state thought would never come. The state planned a simple, short ceremony at 10 a.m. to quickly and quietly remove the rebel banner, which was surrounded in its final hours by ropes and

barricades. Authorities said a Highway Patrol honor guard would take down the flag but didn’t give other details. Outside the Capitol, people who supported removing the flag — many chanting “take it down” — vastly outnumbered those who were upset about the move. “It feels so good to be out here and be happy Please see FLAG, Page 2A

Drenched:

CNA photo by BAILEY POOLMAN

CNA photo by BAILEY POOLMAN

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Copyright 2015

bacterial blooms can form in warm, slow-moving waters that are rich in nutrients. They most often occur in late summer or early fall. Both humans and animals can get microcystin poisoning from exposure to contaminated water, either by intentionally or accidentally swallowing water, by having direct skin contact (as when swimming, wading or showering) or by breathing airborne droplets containing microcystins during boating or waterskiing. Microcystin poisoning cannot be spread from one person to another, nor from an animal to a person.

Connor Giles, 18, dumps a bucket of icy water onto Makenna Jones, 11, both of Mount Ayr, after a water balloon fight in the park at the Ringgold County fairgrounds Thursday in Mount Ayr.

Alaina Whittington practices holding her mini lop rabbit before her rabbit show at Ringgold County Fair in Mount Ayr Thursday.

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that World Health Organization (WHO) officials declared their concern with the spreading disease. United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials sent a small team to help WHO medical staff, and several months later they pulled Peace Corps volunteers from the infected areas in Africa. The first known case in the United States hit in August 2013, when a doctor on a missions trip to Africa was medically evacuated and treated at Emory Medical Center in Atlanta, Ga.

It’s safe to swim again at Green Valley Lake near Creston. Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported this morning that microcystins levels have dropped below warning level at Green Valley Lake. However, levels may again rise throughout the late summer and fall. Signs will be posted when tests exceed safe levels. (Posting will only occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day). The News Advertiser will also post information when levels are high. Microcystin toxin is released by blue-green algae or cyanobacteria. Cyano-

Volume 132 No. 30

2014

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Weekend Breaking News at www.crestonnews.com

The most up-to-date news in Southwest Iowa


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