Chronically ill and disabled influencers vulnerable to the coronavirus are spreading awareness of why social distancing is so important
Squirmy and Grubs / YouTube
Chronically ill and disabled influencers have been spreading awareness of just how important social distancing measures are to their communities as the COVID-19 coronavirus spreads.
For someone like Shane Burcaw, who has Spinal muscular atrophy, getting infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus could easily kill him.
Keeping a safe distance, washing hands often, and staying in if you have any symptoms doesn't just help keep you healthy, but it could save the life of someone more vulnerable.
Chronically ill and disabled influencers have been spreading awareness of why keeping a distance and isolating yourself as much as possible is so important both to you own health and to theirs.
As per World Health Organization guidelines, maintaining 1-3 meters between you and others, frequent handwashing, and staying in if you have any symptoms at all or have recently travelled are overall a small sacrifice and inconvenience that will ultimately help everyone.
While it feels like the whole world is going into lockdown to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, plenty of people are not taking the pandemic seriously.
There are still groups going to clubs, bars, and restaurants even though governments all around the world are recommending social distancing.
It's not just yourself you have to think about during this time, it's everyone around you. And although you might be young, strong, and healthy enough to fight off COVID-19, others you spread it to might not be.
'It could very easily kill me'
Shane Burcaw, a YouTuber and activist who is one half of the channel Squirmy and Grubs with his fiancé Hannah Aylward, has posted several videos and Instagram posts about what social isolation means for him as someone with Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
"My tiny little atrophy lungs would be completely devastated if I got the coronavirus," he said in his latest post. "Jokes aside it could very easily kill me."
In a change of pace from his usual witty and sarcastic comments, Burcaw said everyone should think about those who cannot effectively overcome an illness like COVID-19, and should "practice social distancing to the best of your ability."
"My ability to stay safe relies very heavily on EVERYONE (especially young and healthy people) making smart choices and doing your utmost best to limit the spread of the virus," he added in a comment underneath.
Putting a face to those who are vulnerable
Molly Schreiber, who runs the Instagram account andthenyoureatjax, is at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus because she has Rheumatoid arthritis, Type 1 diabetes, and POTS.
She cofounded #highriskcovid19 and has shared many people's stories of living through this scary time while having a chronic illness.
Schreiber's posts help put a face to those who are vulnerable to the coronavirus. She's also helping to quell the dismissive response of how the elderly and vulnerable are the only ones at risk.
"Every time you say that the coronavirus is *only* deadly to the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, you are telling me that my life doesn't matter," she wrote.
Caleigh Sarah Haber has a popular Instagram account called fight2breathe where she documents her life with a double lung transplant to treat her Cystic fibrosis.
She shared a detailed post with some advice for others about how she is adjusting to the current crisis. Rule number one of preventing COVID-19 is having no visitors.
"We have cancelled all local and out of town visitors," she wrote. "Friends and family. Symptomatic or asymptotic. We know that some people are transmitters of the virus or have the virus themselves without any symptoms."
She is also not leaving the house to go anywhere but the beach or her back yard, and is keeping her distance from anyone she comes across. She has cancelled all her non-essential health checkups and travel plans and is having all deliveries left at her doorstep without personal interaction.
Other recommendations she has include wiping down packages with disinfectant, washing produce, wearing a mask, stocking up on food, and washing hands for at least 20 seconds.
Disabled artist and writer Karolyn Gehrig reminded her followers that people like her have been living in a way that prepares them for health crises like this for as long as they can remember.
"Through self quarantining, homes become medicalized spaces," she wrote. "We use them differently, and what has been routine is dipped in anxiety. We remain ourselves even in isolation. Disabled and chronically ill people have lived this way for a long time. We are not expendable. We hold the tools for survival."
'My life depends on public responsibility'
Charis Anna Hill, who is a disabled writer, speaker, and model, has been posted about how important it is to "flatten the curve" or the coronavirus.
"Bunker down," she wrote. "Don't go anywhere unless it's vital. My community of folks with underlying health conditions is relying on you to save us by staying home, slowing spread, and acknowledging our existence."
In another post, she shared an intimate photo that showed her exhaustion, pain, and fear during this time.
"My life depends on public responsibility," she said.
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