As we are in the middle of a particularly bad flu season, a reminder to some:
Please, if you are sick, stay home. If you must go to work or out shopping or for whatever reason, please be considerate and take every precaution to keep from infecting others.
Thousands of people like myself who are on chemotherapy or other medications that severely compromise our immune systems.
We cannot fight off infections like the average healthy person can.
While a cold or the flu is very annoying to you, it can be deadly to us. With compromised immune systems, they can easily morph into pneumonia or respiratory failure.
When you go to work or out anywhere else, remember: We touch the same things you touch and breath the same air you do.
Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands often, and use hand sanitizers. We do constantly. And please don't be offended if we refrain from shaking your hand or hugging you. We are not being rude. We're just practicing self-preservation.
Finally, remember, it’s not just people with compromised immune systems who are at risk. Very young children and older adults do not have strong immune systems and are also very vulnerable.
So please, stay home if you are sick, and if you must go out, limit your contact with others to decrease the chance of spreading the infection.
Michael Sternberg, Port St. Lucie