SHE could have been back home with her family and friends – but dedicated nurse Natalie Mounter knew there was only one place she had to be on Christmas Day.

As previously reported by The Gazette, 32-year-old Natalie quit her job at Basingstoke hospital in October to join the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership (KSLP) medical team in their battle to tackle the deadly disease which has killed over 1,700 people in the West Africa country alone.

And Natalie will spend the Christmas period out in Sierra Leone, carrying on the daily fight to curb the spread of Ebola and helping those whose lives have been affected, and devastated, by the epidemic.

Natalie is working today and until 2pm on Christmas Day, after which she plans to have a little celebration with her flatmates.

They have made a Christmas tree out of local cloth and have got a tailor to make Christmas stockings.

Natalie told The Gazette: “I would feel quite guilty about being home for Christmas.

“I don’t really know how the people there normally celebrate Christmas but I have a feeling it is usually a big party.

“It is obviously not going to be like that this year but I think people will still be celebrating a bit. Normal life is going on a little bit but parties are banned so people will be celebrating in a little way.

“I have brought out mince pies and colleagues are bringing tinsel so we will have a bit of a celebration, but I am not sure if we will go crazy because we will be working, and it is not the time to celebrate too much.”

Natalie recently returned to the UK for a pre-Christmas break to spend time with her loved ones.

She spent a precious 10 days staying with her mum in Bishops Waltham, and also visited her dad and friends before she returned to Sierra Leone on December 14 to carry on her inspirational work.

The time away from the Ebola frontline allowed Natalie to reflect on what she and her colleagues have experienced in a harrowing and challenging environment where dealing with death is a part of daily life.

“I thought I would be really upset, and crying and I haven’t been like that,” said Natalie, speaking to The Gazette on December 10.

“There have been a few moments where things have been hanging over my head. But it has been all right because largely I have been around my family and it has been really nice and that has really helped.

“It is quite a strange feeling being back home. People ask you how has it been out there and it is hard to know what to say.

“I feel fine at the moment and I am functioning and sleeping, and I feel happy and healthy, but I am worried that everything is going to hit me, whether it's now or in the future, and I am going to end up with some kind of mental health problem.

“I was quite anxious about coming home because I felt that nobody could really understand and it would just be hard to tell everybody what is happening - and it has been.

“Nobody can understand, but I wouldn't expect people to understand. At the same time, it has just been nice being around people like my family - and being around the love of my family has been really nice.”

While it is hard to see her return to Sierra Leone, where she is putting her health and life at risk, Natalie has the unconditional support of her family and friends.

She said: “My mum said to me you don't have to go back out there if you don't want to go, and that has crossed my mind because it has been so intense.

“My mum has been supportive of everything that has happened, and in a way I underestimated my family and how supportive they would be, and that support has been really, really good.”

It is clear to see that the life-changing experience has opened Natalie's eyes, and has made the stark contrast between life in England and Sierra Leone more apparent.

“My eyes are just different now - I have just got a different view of the world,” said Natalie. “Listening to the people complaining about trains being overcrowded or late, I think 'Come on'.

“One thing that I really noticed, which I had not before, is that when you come back you realise the abundant luxury that we live in. You realise how everything we have is so luxurious, and over there, just the basics are important and that's all they are interested in.”

Inspirational Natalie has vowed to stay in the devastated country until Ebola has been eradicated.

She said: “I think I will be there for the next two months, and then I will just take it as it comes.

“At the moment, I just want to get Ebola stopped. It is disheartening sometimes because at the moment, the number of cases continues to rise and you feel like are you fighting a losing battle, but you just have to keep going on.

“The people who I work with are extremely inspiring and very hard working so that spurs me on as well.

“I would definitely want to stay until Ebola can be brought under control. I feel really connected to the place, really involved.

“I think there is going to be a legacy of Ebola for a long, long time and if I could play a role in dealing with that, it is something I would consider.”