COVID-19 and Transplant Patients

My husband has dementia so I am his caregiver and the one to do the shopping. However, I think what difference does it make, because if he did the shopping and caught it, then I be exposed. Luckily, we have family that don’t live with us, that we can rely on if need be. I’m an almost two year kidney transplant survivor.

Any transplant patients here who are also healthcare providers? As of now, I have 1 week off, when who knows. I'm working in a county where we have 8+ confirmed cases and up to 100 others under consideration. I work as a nurse practitioner in both a busy hospital and in a busy outpatient clinic. I am on a Cellcept/sirolimus/prednisone regimen. I know I am part of a high risk population, and likelihood of more severe symptoms in the immunocompromised is high. My employer told me to wear a mask and stay out of the hospital. A mask alone is not so reassuring to me, nor 100% evidence-based given so many unknowns. Our clinic currently has no policy in place for adequate screening of patients, and we have 100+ patient coming and going from our clinic daily. I feel like I am being pulled in two directions between self preservation and job preservation. As health care providers, we are trained to more or less "do and die." We are made to feel guilty if we make a selfish decision. But frankly, I'm currently scared to go to work and feel like I need to be selfish right now. Any input, thoughts, or words of reassurance?

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Thanks, my concern is the delivery. I think I am going to zap the food before I put it on the table.

I often heat takeout food just to be safe. Our favorite Asian restaurant undercooks their vegetables so I microwave my portion for an extra 2-3 minutes until it is steaming hot. I've even tossed pizza under the broiler if it looks like it could be doughy in the middle. I try to avoid any unnecessary risks to my transplant.

My dear son is driving me crazy by telling me restrictions. He said I should not buy any fresh fruit or vegetables, that if someone sneezed on them that cannot be washed off with water. No salads, no strawberries, and he says I should not go to the grocery store despite going in very non-busy hours and the only person I am close to at all is the cashier.
Has anyone else thought about these restrictions, and if so what are your thoughts? Of course I want to be safe, but do I really need to not buy fresh produce? He thinks even the produce that I cook could be a problem! He is a worrier, for sure. My daughter is too. She can work from home and would like to visit but her husband's sister is a Boston doctor and he would want to visit her so that could introduce germs here. On that, I think I do have to say no, not to visit.
Our doctor friend, when he heard that I went to the grocery store very early this morning told my husband to take my keys away!
JK

my wife buying fresh fruits but she wash it carefully.

@contentandwell JK - Here's how I deal with well-meaning but over-the-top advice:
Ask, "Would you please give me the citation of the CDC or Public Health Web site where you found the information? Then I can read it carefully and decide what to do. Thanks for caring." I also use it when presented with crazy internet-based or "John Jones said" info about Covid-19 (or anything else.) Maybe you can try it?
Sue

Thanks for your response, @sueinmn I just looked up fresh produce and coronavirus and found a number of websites that addressed it. I have sent them to him. He tends to really worry about my husband and me. He's a very caring son, but as you put it, he can be over the top. He was getting impatient with me on the phone when we discussed this.
We have a woman who comes in to clean every other week and he was upset that we let her in too. I was never close to her but he was concerned that she touched things.
Here are the websites I sent to him:
https://www.usda.gov/coronavirus
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2020/03/13/coronavirus-how-best-handle-food-protect-yourself/5046324002/
https://www.nbc-2.com/story/41872435/coronavirus-could-live-on-fruits-vegetables-at-the-grocery-store
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-concerns-is-it-time-to-change-the-way-shoppers-handle-produce-1.4850278
I hope they will alleviate his concerns.
JK

@sueinmn
Great idea, this is the perfect way to address unusual and unwanted medical advice.