ST. LOUIS — Good news is baseball seems to be back in St. Louis, but the Cardinals won't be playing with all of its roster this year.
Closer Jordan Hicks has decided to opt out of the 2020 season because he has Type 1 diabetes, but not everyone has the luxury of not working during the pandemic.
Cassidy Merano, sister of 5 On Your Side's Brandon Merano, has Type 1 diabetes just like the Cardinal closer thousands of others in the St. Louis area.
"Growing up with a chronic illness definitely made me more aware of sickness and taking care of myself," explained Merano.
She works as a child life assistant at St. Louis Children's Hospital.
"Most of the kids I'm working with also have pre-existing conditions and, you know, some of them don't have immune systems at all," said Merano.
With the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, SSM Endocrinologist Dr. Jerry Thurman says it's more important than ever to make sure those who are immuno-compromised are kept safe.
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"Wear masks, physical distancing and wash your hands," Dr. Thurman said.
Dr. Thurman said if we don't do those things we could see an even greater spike in cases.
"I think people are tired of this and just want to have a normal life back to the way we were in January, and I think — like I said — they're just giving up on it," Dr. Thurman said.
But as summer continues and baseball returns medical experts say now isn't the time to shut out COVID-19.
"People are getting antsy but I think they still do need to realize that this is a very serious thing that's happening and we need to listen to the professionals," said Merano.
