One young girl from the District is urging people to social distance and stay at home because of what the coronavirus means for her as a cancer patient. News4’s Pat Collins spoke with the child and her family.
Stay home not just for yourself but for people like 11-year-old Orli Wildman Halpern.
The Washington, D.C., fifth-grader is fighting for a normal life after she was diagnosed with cancer, underwent chemotherapy and had a liver transplant. As the coronavirus spreads, that’s doubly difficult.
Orli asked D.C. residents to maintain social distance and abide by the stay-at-home order to help protect anyone who is immunocompromised.
“It’s really important for people to stay home, not only for themselves but for people like me with poor immune systems,” she told News4 on Monday from Boston, where she was undergoing medical treatment.
Orli and her little sister made a series of adorable TikTok videos reminding others to stay at home.
“I know staying in quarantine is hard. But do it for me!” one video caption says as Orli practices ballet and uses a cat ears video filter.
Orli’s mother, Sarah Wildman, echoed her daughter’s plea.
“We need to know that among us there are many people like Orli, some of whom are visible and some of whom are not,” she said. “It’s upon us the first time ever, probably in all of our lives, to really care for those who walk among us.”
