News / Health & Wellness
TB patient apologizes
Andrew Specker became the first person to be quarantined by the federal government since 1963. The Atlanta attorney has a rare case of Tuberculosis that is highly drug resistant. Specker boarded a plane in Atlanta and flew to Paris for his wedding. He then took several other flights before he flew to Montreal with his new wife.
Specker admits that he knew he had TB when he flew to Europe but he said doctors said they suggested he not fly, but they never ordered him not to. Andrew and his father taped the meeting in which doctors mentioned the flight.
"My father said, ‘OK, now are you saying, prefer not to go on the trip because he’s a risk to anybody, or are you simply saying that to cover yourself?’ And they said, we have to tell you that to cover ourself, but he’s not a risk." Specter said.
The attorney was in Europe when he was told that he had a very rare and dangerous case to TB and that he could not fly. "He was told in no uncertain terms not to take a flight back," said Dr. Martin Cetron.
Specker and his wife ignored the order and flew to Montreal where they said they had to sneak into the United States because they were afraid that if he didn’t get back to the U.S. for treatment he would die.
"Before I left, I knew that it was made clear to me, that in order to fight this, I had one shot, and that was going to be in Denver," Specker said.
A border inspector stopped Andrew and his new bride but chose to disregard the warning to stop him. When asked why he would disregard the warning, the unidentified inspector said that Specker looked healthy and he thought the warning was "discretionary".
Andrew Specker pleaded on a TV interview from his hospital room for people to forgive him, he said would never intentionally endanger anyone.
"I don’t expect for people to ever forgive me. I just hope that they understand that I truly never meant to put them in harm," Specker said in the interview with "Good Morning America".
"I’ve lived in this state of constant fear and anxiety and exhaustion for a week now, and to think that someone else is now feeling that, I wouldn’t want anyone to feel that way. It’s awful," Specker said.
Specker, 31, was flown to Denver on Thursday to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center where doctors have put him isolation and will treat him with antibiotics.
