Woman says she's belittled for not wearing mask, despite being medically exempt
TACOMA, Wash. - Living through the pandemic is challenging for everyone. Perhaps especially difficult for people who are considered high-risk and know if they get the virus, they might not be able to fight.
But some people with certain medical conditions are having other challenges you might not expect.
"This is such a big deal for other people because this is scary, and that’s why I try to be as empathetic as I can to someone else because they don’t live in daily fear like I do, that this is new for them to handle," said McKenzie Swider.
Swider has been living with a condition that makes it impossible to breathe without being hooked up to her oxygen tank. She's also on the waitlist for a double lung transplant.
She's long been used to living under strict precautions, social distancing rules and being fearful of her fragile health. So in a way, this way of life isn't all that new to her. Except for one thing.
"The new issue has been the mask, that’s the biggest change," she said.
Swider said it's already hard enough to breathe as is, the mask making it too challenging to breathe.
"It puts me into a panic, it makes me feel like I’m being suffocated when I have it on."
She said one of her doctors has instructed her not to wear one, and because of her visible oxygen tank that's attached to her, she figured going into public without one wouldn't be an issue. She was wrong.
"I’ve been yelled at, I’ve been verbally assaulted and told that I’m disgusting, I’ve been called all sorts of names, I've been told to go home," said Swider.
Swider said she mostly stays home unless it's going to the grocery store. Over the weekend she did go to a Tacoma restaurant for the first time where she said staff denied to serve her unless she wore a mask. Something she wasn't expecting given her medical condition.
"It has turned into I’m an outcast and people are afraid of me, when these mandates, and guidelines are supposedly to keep people like me safe and slow the spread of this virus," said Swider.
It's a tough spot for businesses to adapt to mask mandates for those with medical conditions, one that the state doesn't offer much guidance on.
According to the governor's face covering proclamation, if a customer indicates they're exempt due to a medical condition, the proclamation does not require any additional steps be taken to enforce they wear one. Essentially, the way the situation is handled after that is up to the business.