They Said It Couldn’t Be Done

To some, the United States has turned into a frightful place. It is no longer a place where we can move about freely, and the emptiness of supermarkets, gas stations, movie theaters, and restaurants all show this change.

What is the change?

I know you want me to say that the change is the coronavirus. That this rising pandemic, as it is now being called, is a significant change in our lives but it’s not, the pandemic is vulnerability. We as a nation are experiencing what a lot of us with silent illnesses and immunosuppressed conditions have been living with every day. For us, every venture outside, every sick coworker or invasion of our space is a potential health risk.

What is immunosuppression?

The National Cancer Institute defines immunosuppression as, “suppression of the body’s immune system and its ability to fight infections and other diseases" (National Cancer Institute, 2020). The Institute goes on to state that there are several conditions that are predisposed to immunosuppression, natural and drug-induced. Just think, however cautious you’re being now with hand sanitizer, not eating in public places, that there are people who have been living like this every day.

I am one of these people. Living with lupus, my white blood cell count (WBC) is lower than the average person for several reasons. I take immunosuppressive drugs methotrexate and prednisone. My body naturally produces a lower count because I am of African descent. I have also experienced levels of anemia which mean that my body is also iron deprived and struggling with the production of the blood I need.

I carry hand sanitizer on me at all times. I wash my clothes and surroundings regularly to avoid germs. I don’t eat greens or salad in public that isn’t cooked or prepackaged. Before I sit at desks or tables, I sanitize them first with wipes. Cleanliness is not just close to Godliness, for me, it is a state of liveliness. Yet, the world didn’t see any of that, until now.

When we go to hospitals, doctor offices, is anyone asked to wear gloves? Masks? How often are the seats in the office cleaned? Let’s take it a step further. Why are the seats always so close? Why do automated toilets not flush once the doors close after the user? Why are hand dryers (which spread germs) still being used in hospital bathrooms? If the objective is to prevent infection, shouldn’t these be basic requirements when entering a place where the infections can potentially be the most deadly? Yet, even as that gentleman coughs into his hands, rests his arms on the armrest, the general populace doesn’t see anything wrong with it. When some of us go to the Social Security Administration office, how many sick people are standing or sitting too close to uninfected others seeking help?

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In this country, we make space for this infection to spread because we simply do not acknowledge the sick on a regular basis. We only acknowledge the sick, when we can become apart of that number. During Christmas, Thanksgiving, and other holidays, we feel the need to donate to curing disease. During Flu Season we feel obligated to wear face masks, and wave rather than give handshakes. Only when some new illness hits the scene do feel any need to make changes in our routine. In this new atmosphere the disabled are finally getting the services they need, like the ability to telecommute to work, public online schooling for all ages, masks and gloves provided in public places.

How long have people like myself, begged for these minor changes in our environment? How long have we marched, petitioned, and gone without these services just because the government was satisfied that the ableist majority could get to these services? This pandemic has shown a lot of non-ableist people just where we really stand in our communities. It has shown us that, yes, the United States is capable of making changes to meet the needs of the less able, it just never wanted to. It showed us that America can make the world safer for us but chose not to every year, until now.

Is it harsh to be mad at anti-vaxxers now? Does the climate justify being angry with those who are working sick? Does the climate finally allow us to go home and get well before returning to class, to work, on planes?

I still don’t know how to feel.

I’m grateful, that finally awareness about sterility and clean environments is being raised. I’m happy for the sick and disabled that can now stay and work from home. I’m pleased that more people are caring about their health and getting vaccinated. I’m overjoyed that parents now remove their sick children from daycare and are paid leave to attend to their babies.

Yet, there’s a feeling there, disbelief mixed with anger. When this pandemic is over, are we done caring for the sick? When the ableist society is declared safe, will these telecommute days be over? The fact is, the sick, the elderly, the infirm, they have always been here. We have always needed these things, been forced to go without them, told such things weren’t possible for us. Is it back to hoping for charity donations and drives? Is it back to Gofundmes for medical bills long overdue?

The fact is, America is doing the bare, and I mean, the absolute bare minimum to ensure our society’s rate of infection is being slowed. The fact that even in the face of a pandemic, we still believe that healthcare is a privilege and not a right, shows us how far we must continue to make this a safe country for all. The fact that we overprice medicine needed for the sick, charge exorbitant prices to hold our babies when they’ve been delivered (about 40$), charge for ambulance rides (anywhere between 450–21,700$<<<link to video here), the fact that some things absolutely critical to others’ survival, like insulin (250–300$ cash price) are held for ransom, is precisely why our public suffers now. There were already several pandemics running through America before the coronavirus y’all. Their names? Negligence of the sick, erasure of the disabled, and a turned head toward the poor and disenfranchised.

When this is over, I hope everyone remembers what it felt like to keep everyone at a distance, the sense of fear that you might suddenly become more ill than you've ever been. I hope everyone holds onto that gut fear so that the next time health is discussed for the betterment of others, no one will think, ‘Well, as long as it doesn’t happen to me’, because it did happen to you and you wanted people to care.

Remember this into some form of enacted change. Remember that no one of us will live forever, that we all want to live and die in relative comfort. No person deserves to die painfully, no person should be sick without care. No one should worry about being able to afford the cure, not in a country this affluent. Let us pull together for the health of ALL in this country. Remember the feeling, y’all, and move forward.

References

Morabito, C. (2020, July 10). Why taking an ambulance is so expensive in the United States. Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/10/why-taking-an-ambulance-is-so-expensive-in-the-united-states.html

Musser, H. (2019, November 06). Diversity and Inclusion: What It Is and Why It Matters. Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.agilealliance.org/diversity-and-inclusion-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters/

National Cancer Institute. (2020, August 25). NCI Dictionaries. Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/immunosuppression

Prasad, R. (2019, March 14). The human cost of insulin in America. Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47491964

The real cost of giving birth: '$40 to hold my newborn baby'. (2016, October 09). Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-37555048

Thorn, D. (2019, October 19). [Chronic Illness Tweet]. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://twitter.com/unicornthorn/status/1185636014980599809