How COVID-19 Feels to an Immunocompromised Person

My name is Anna. I am 20 years old, and I am immunocompromised. I have an autoimmune condition called ulcerative colitis. Put extremely simply and watered-down, my immune system overreacts to normal bodily processes and attacks my otherwise healthy body, causing permanent damage and chronic pain.

To combat this damage, I take immunosuppressive medication. Every other week, I give myself an injection of a life-saving medication that prevents my immune system from attacking my body. However, since my immune system is being suppressed, I am more susceptible to getting sick from unrelated infections and pathogens. 

Due to this, the current state of our world’s public health is absolutely terrifying to me. As most people know, the world is currently experiencing a pandemic of coronavirus, which causes an illness called COVID-19. For most healthy adults, COVID-19, while scary, would most likely not be life-threatening. However, for people like me, COVID-19 has the very real potential to kill. 

I’m sure that in the past couple of weeks, you have either heard or said something along the lines of “Oh, don’t worry about coronavirus. It’s only killing old people and people who are already sick.” That may be your attempt at calming someone’s nerves, but in reality, it’s incredibly dismissive of someone’s fears. 

You never know who falls into the “high risk” category, as many of the health conditions that cause someone to be immunocompromised are invisible illnesses. So in some cases, your attempt to alleviate someone’s fears comes across as, “Don’t worry about coronavirus. It’s only killing people like you.” 

As someone who is at high risk of contracting COVID-19, I am being vigilant in following the recommendations of the CDC. Nothing frustrates me more than seeing people on social media posting about their spring break travels and shopping sprees (for nonessential items) during the height of a pandemic. Is your frivolous Target trip or beach vacay really more important to you than human lives? That’s what your bikini-clad instagram posts say to me. 

I have noticed that young adults have this belief that they are untouchable. Of course, this is a generalization that does not represent the entire young adult population, but it is definitely a trend I’ve noticed. A lot of young people have the mentality that bad things happen to other people, not them. Reality check: the age group in Missouri with the highest number of COVID-19 cases? Ages 20-29. 

We are not immune. No one is immune. COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate. Stop acting like you’re untouchable. Take the proper precautions now so we can slow the spread and save lives. 

If you take nothing else away from this article, remember these lessons: treat people with extra grace and kindness. We are all mourning the loss of something during this pandemic. Stay home. By staying home, you are helping to save lives. 

My hope is that someday these trying times will be a distant memory, and all that will be left is a greater appreciation for our everyday life, a newfound respect for people who are immunocompromised and more grace for the people around us. 

• Coronavirus
• health
• illness
• wellness