My Kid Is Immunocompromised. Here’s How Life Has Changed During COVID-19

I never used to be the mom who worried about germs or exposure to illness. I figured all kids got sick sometimes, and that germ infestations were inevitable at day care and preschool.

It’s just how kids build their immune systems, right?

Then my daughter’s immune system started attacking her.

She was 4 years old when she was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), an autoimmune condition that affects her joints. Treatment involves a chemo medication I inject her with at home every week.

Because of both her condition and her medication, she was suddenly considered at heightened risk for everything.

Not only could the flu easily land my formerly healthy child in the hospital, every minor illness meant facing down a potential flare of her condition.

Her immune system, meant to protect her, had become the enemy. But fighting it down, saving her joints and long-term quality of life, meant making her susceptible to everything else.

It took me a long time to come to terms with what that meant and to find a way to live our lives without forcing her in a bubble.

Everything we did became a calculated risk. But over the years, I learned how to balance it all and allow her to have a childhood that wasn’t constantly shadowed by fear.

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