'Conscientious' Ebola Nurse Amber Vinson Stayed Close to Home in OhioThe Ebola-stricken nurse who visited Ohio last weekend to plan her wedding spent most of her time at home but did go out to meet five friends, who are now in voluntary quarantine, officials said Thursday. Summit County Health Commissioner Gene Nixon said Amber Vinson, 29, had no symptoms during her short trip but avoided public places because she had been in contact with Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan at a Dallas hospital where she worked. "She was not at football games," Nixon said of her visit from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13. "She was not at pizza parlors." He said Vinson visited a "retail establishment," which the owners closed on Thursday while health sleuths try to figure out if it posed any risk to the public. Authorities also tracked down the five friends she saw at that time and they have agreed to stay home until they get the all-clear. Two other family members in Ohio are self-monitoring, and Vinson's mother is under supervision in Dallas, where she flew to be with her daughter. Those infected with Ebola are contagious only when they have symptoms. Vinson was not sick when she flew to Ohio but she had a low-grade fever when she boarded a flight back to Dallas with permission from the Centers for Disease Control. "She was a very conscientious person. She did not take undue risks," said Margo Erme, the Summit County Public Health medical director. "She seemed to limit her activity here, which I am very grateful for." Vinson came under public fire on Wednesday after CDC Director Tom Frieden told reporters that she should never have gotten on a commercial aircraft, but hours later it was revealed that the nurse had sought guidance from CDC before boarding the Dallas-bound flight with a slightly elevated temperature and was not grounded. Some of Vinson's friends from nursing school at Kent State University — where three of her family members work — have rallied to her defense. "In my eyes she is a Hero!" friend Falisha Lee said in a statement to NBC News. "As a fellow nurse, I will say that I believe that she followed the precautionary processes known to her as any prudent nurse would have done. "Nurses are the ones at the bedside, sacrificing their own lives to care for the ill, so that their loved ones can continue to live their day to day lives. The world needs to take a step back and for a second try to understand the care that nurses provide day in and day out." Isharon Reynolds, another Kent State nursing grad, said Vinson is a "trailblazer" in a situation where policies and protocols are rapidly changing. "I just want people to know Amber is someone's daughter, someone's fiancé, someone's cousin and someone's friend. She is a loving, caring and nicest person you will ever met," she said. "I admire her courage and strength to take care of the unknown. I admire her ability to uphold the responsibilities and role of a nurse. "I am in consistent prayer for my friend, fellow nurse and KSU nursing graduate. We love you and we support you." Vinson grew up in the Akron area, earned two degrees from Kent State and worked for several years at Summa Akron City Hospital before moving to Texas. "Amber is a kind, caring, intelligent, beautiful soul who comes from a beautiful loving family," Lee said.

The Ebola-stricken nurse who visited Ohio last weekend to plan her wedding spent most of her time at home but did go out to meet five friends, who are now in voluntary quarantine, officials said Thursday. Summit County Health Commissioner Gene Nixon said Amber Vinson, 29, had no symptoms during her short trip but avoided public places because she had been in contact with Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan at a Dallas hospital where she worked. "She was not at football games," Nixon said of her visit from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13. "She was not at pizza parlors."

He said Vinson visited a "retail establishment," which the owners closed on Thursday while health sleuths try to figure out if it posed any risk to the public. Authorities also tracked down the five friends she saw at that time and they have agreed to stay home until they get the all-clear. Two other family members in Ohio are self-monitoring, and Vinson's mother is under supervision in Dallas, where she flew to be with her daughter.

Those infected with Ebola are contagious only when they have symptoms. Vinson was not sick when she flew to Ohio but she had a low-grade fever when she boarded a flight back to Dallas with permission from the Centers for Disease Control. "She was a very conscientious person. She did not take undue risks," said Margo Erme, the Summit County Public Health medical director. "She seemed to limit her activity here, which I am very grateful for."

Vinson came under public fire on Wednesday after CDC Director Tom Frieden told reporters that she should never have gotten on a commercial aircraft, but hours later it was revealed that the nurse had sought guidance from CDC before boarding the Dallas-bound flight with a slightly elevated temperature and was not grounded.

Some of Vinson's friends from nursing school at Kent State University — where three of her family members work — have rallied to her defense.

"In my eyes she is a Hero!" friend Falisha Lee said in a statement to NBC News. "As a fellow nurse, I will say that I believe that she followed the precautionary processes known to her as any prudent nurse would have done.

"Nurses are the ones at the bedside, sacrificing their own lives to care for the ill, so that their loved ones can continue to live their day to day lives. The world needs to take a step back and for a second try to understand the care that nurses provide day in and day out."

Isharon Reynolds, another Kent State nursing grad, said Vinson is a "trailblazer" in a situation where policies and protocols are rapidly changing.

"I just want people to know Amber is someone's daughter, someone's fiancé, someone's cousin and someone's friend. She is a loving, caring and nicest person you will ever met," she said. "I admire her courage and strength to take care of the unknown. I admire her ability to uphold the responsibilities and role of a nurse.

"I am in consistent prayer for my friend, fellow nurse and KSU nursing graduate. We love you and we support you."

Vinson grew up in the Akron area, earned two degrees from Kent State and worked for several years at Summa Akron City Hospital before moving to Texas.

"Amber is a kind, caring, intelligent, beautiful soul who comes from a beautiful loving family," Lee said.

(NBC)