I can still remember the moment a doctor said, “you appear to have an immune deficiency.” My heart raced because I thought he was telling me I had AIDS. Rather, he was informing me that I’m immunocompromised. I’d have greater trouble fighting viruses and infections.

I immediately I thought about David Vetter. You might remember him as “David the bubble boy.” I imagined that I’d be stuck living behind plastic sheeting, only feeling the touch of another person through gloves. Of course, that wasn’t my fate. With great care for my health, medication and doctor’s visits, I’ve been able to go to work and be a part of the world every day.

I wash my hands with antibacterial soap. I use hand sanitizer. I clean my countertops with Clorox wipes. I clean my sheets and anything else that touches me often. I disinfect my desk every morning. I only put out individually wrapped candy. I stay away from community food in the newsroom. And, I touch/hug very few people. But, recently, I realized that my efforts might not be enough to protect me from the Coronavirus while commuting on mass transit, working in an office with people covering the outbreak and battling other illnesses.

So today, after consulting with my doctors and supervisors, I began writing scripts for our daily news shows from home. I got up, took a shower, made my tea, sat at my computer and worked safely.

#journalism #tvnews #coronavirus #nyc #invisibleillness #chronicillness #chronicpain #autoimmunedisease #spoonie #workfromhome