It was February 2008, and the weather was so hot that it made me shiver.
I had been a college student in the summer of 2007 and I was already starting to feel the heat.
But I had my work cut out for me.
I was also working part-time at the local Walgreens and had just started my job at a nursing home.
My roommate was a little girl and she loved to bake.
We had a good rapport and she helped me learn how to make a cake.
One night, after I had finished making the cake, I got a call from my boss.
I told her, “I’ve got a germ problem.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but it was a big deal for me to be honest.
I could tell she was going to be upset.
I didn`t want to be a failure.
I wanted to be her first germ story.
But then the call ended.
When she got home, she told me about the germ problem and how she thought I might have a virus.
I cried.
“No, I’m fine.
It’s just that I have this strange, recurring fear.”
I knew I was a germ person, but the fear of a virus was still a big part of my life.
I kept going to Walgys, and every time I was there, I was scared.
Then one day, my boss called to let me know she was getting rid of me.
We were talking about my health.
She said, “We want you to move out of here.
It is really hard for you to live here.
If you stay here, you will die.”
I was relieved, but I couldn`t tell my boss how much I was hurting.
It was just so hard to move to a new apartment and not have my apartment and the people who lived in my apartment with me.
She told me she knew I hated it and that I needed to move somewhere.
She asked me, “Why are you staying here?”
I told them, “It is hard for me.”
I told my boss, “You can stay but I don`t think it is worth it.”
She said to me, `Well, you can move out but it will take a lot of money and you will have to pay rent on time, so I think you have to stay.’
“When I asked her what she meant, she said, `If you have a problem with it, go away.’
I thought, `Why do I have to tell you?
I am not going to have problems with my job, I`m going to go to Walgyes and have a cake and bake cookies.’
I got the job.
But my roommate was still upset because I was making cookies and I wanted her to eat them.
I never went to Walgreen’s again.
The fear of the virus had a big impact on me.
The next year, I went to a doctor for the first time.
I have never had any symptoms of the germ.
My boss thought I was having a cold.
When I told him I was sick, he was surprised.
He said, “You are the one who has the germ.”
I told me, “No, it is just that the way you feel about the situation is a little different than how I feel about it.
I`ve always felt that way.”
He said to take my temperature.
I took a temperature and then he put me on antibiotics for four days and asked me questions.
I said,“Oh, I don’t know what to do.
It sounds like I should do something.”
He was right.
After four days, he called me to tell me to get my life in order.
He wanted me to make sure I had everything in order, and that my health would improve.
He asked me what I was doing to control my illness.
I explained to him that I was eating better, and had stopped taking medication.
He told me I should go to a dermatologist, but he didn` t think it would be a good idea for me at that point.
So I went back to Walnuts.
My job at the nursing home was to help people with chronic conditions.
I helped people with allergies, and I assisted people with a wide range of health problems.
My health was in great shape and I could do anything I wanted.
My life was good.
I started feeling more and more like a normal person.
The last time I saw my roommate, she was sleeping on a bed.
I sat next to her and she looked at me and said,`You don` t look so good.
You look like a sick man.
You`re not healthy, you`re sick.’
I told myself, `Look, I have been a germ for so long, it didn` te be that big of a deal.
It just happens that I`ll have to move.
If I don t do that, I will lose all