ST. PAUL — The Minnesota widow of the first American to die from Ebola is struggling to get her husband’s remains and his death certificate from Nigeria.

Decontee Sawyer says she cannot get Social Security benefits for her family without the death certificate. Her husband, Patrick Sawyer, frequently traveled between Minnesota and his native Liberia. He died in July.

Decontee Sawyer, of Coon Rapids, says she has asked the hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, where her husband died, and has contacted the Liberian finance minister, but hasn’t made any progress.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s office has been working with Sawyer. Franken spokesman Marc Kimball tells Minnesota Public Radio News the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria has sent a note to the Nigerian ministry of health asking to make the case a priority.