Texas emergency room doctor self-quarantines in his kids' backyard treehouse

CORPUS CHRISTI – Many healthcare workers are taking precautions to protect their families from exposure to COVID-19, but a Corpus Christi emergency room doctor is taking self-isolation to another level.

Jason Barnes, 39, is a physician at Christus Spohn Hospital Beeville and Christus Spohn Hospital South. He couldn't risk exposing his wife, Jenna, and sons, Stiles and Bentley, to the coronavirus, so he packed his things and made his kids' backyard treehouse a temporary home.

Working in the emergency room, Barnes has treated patients who came in for problems, such as a hurt leg, only to find out they were infected with coronavirus.

"The main reason I'm isolating from my family because I've been treating patients with the virus," Barnes said. "My wife and kids often get sick with things I bring home from the hospital, and many times in the emergency department, we get caught off guard with patients."

Barnes has spent nearly three weeks in the cabin treehouse. He often shouts down to his kids or sometimes goes up to the glass door of their home to ask for something.

"They're within yelling distance," Barnes said. "But I can call or go up to the glass. They know not to open the door and risk catching something."

Barnes said his sons, ages 6 and 9, miss their treehouse, but know there's a bigger reason behind their eviction.

"They love that thing, but they understand so they're not missing the treehouse, per se," Barnes said. "They tell me they miss me once a day."

Barnes purchased the treehouse from Tiny Town Studios, a Houston sculpture company.

Initially Barnes considered moving into a travel trailer or apartment, but found the treehouse to be a lot easier – and a lot closer.

"Luckily the WiFi reaches the treehouse, so I have my laptop and my own little command center here," Barnes said.

Barnes' living situation is similar to camping. He started with a bucket as a toilet, but now has a camping toilet with biodegradable bags.

"It's much more comfortable," Barnes said. "I leave that on the porch and take it into the (tree)house when I need to use it for some privacy and then I just put it back on the porch."

Barnes says showering is the hardest part.

"Christus leadership has made it easy for us to shower at work, but when I'm off for a few days I don't want to go to work to shower, so my oldest son will rig up a water hose," Barnes said. "He's got a nozzle he created with one of those water balloon things that fills up like 30 balloons at a time and he'll set it up and I'll take a quick cold shower.

"My wife won't let me touch the hose, so he sets it up and I take a quick shower. Luckily my fence is pretty tall."

He keeps Tupperware full of dry food and snacks, like crackers, peanut butter and bagels, but still eats home cooked meals.

"My wife will make breakfast or dinner and leave it on a table and I'll grab it before the dogs can get it," Barnes said. "I also bring home food from local restaurants when I'm out. We try to support local businesses."

Barnes hopes he can safely return home by the end of April.

"We're always looking at the CDC and Gov. Greg Abbott's direction, but the final determinator is the wife," Barnes said.

Barnes isn't the only physician isolating from family, though he may be the only one living in a treehouse.

"Many people are doing this quarantining," Barnes said. "I just happen to have a more quirky way, but I'm not doing this to be funny. I'm taking these precautions to be safe."

Follow Ashlee Burns on Twitter: @ashleevburns

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Coronavirus has Texas ER doctor self-isolating in kids' treehouse