Page 2: It’s Not Just the Illness, It’s What It Disrupts

By: Brandon Matthew Deen, Sr.

When someone with a suppressed immune system gets sick, it’s not just about a runny nose or a sore throat. It can mean missed work. Delayed treatments. Worsened symptoms of the disease itself. That “little cold” you gave them at the office can trigger weeks of fatigue, brain fog, weakness, and inflammation not to mention the mental toll of having to hit pause on their already carefully balanced life.

Even worse? They usually see it coming.

They hear someone coughing in a meeting or showing up to a gathering with that classic “It’s just allergies!” excuse and immediately start doing the mental math: Will I be okay in three days? Will this cost me a treatment session? Should I cancel that family trip I’ve been planning for weeks?

The week before a scheduled infusion or injection is often the worst. Fatigue hits harder. Energy plummets. And getting sick during that window can mean missing the dose entirely, which delays everything. It’s a domino effect most people don’t think about because they don’t have to.

It’s not about being overly cautious or asking for special treatment. It’s about survival. It’s about trying to live a full life without being knocked down every time someone else decides to “tough it out” and go to work sick.

The world doesn’t pause for people with compromised immune systems. So they plan, adjust, and stay quiet until a preventable illness takes that fragile routine and grinds it to a halt.