First Came the Sickness, Then Came the Fame
For a random few, posts about their coronavirus experiences on social media have taken on a viral life of their own
Justin Wilhite always wanted to be famous, and after his second trip to the ER on March 16 he got his wish. “I have it. Don’t sleep on this thing people,” he tweeted. “I’m a very healthy Type 1 Diabetic. My body is fighting it very well but it’s kicking my ass. Don’t be a moron. Stay home!”
Attached to the tweet is a hospital bed selfie, the kind that have become so distressingly familiar during the coronavirus pandemic. Wilhite’s eyelids are heavy behind his glasses; a flower-spangled clinical gown slumps below his neckline, a surgical mask sits on the bridge of his nose, an Oakland Athletics beanie is pulled over his frizzy brown hair.
Maybe Wilhite, who is 39 years old, was young enough that his warnings carried a sharper weight. Maybe the image of an ordinary American coping with a severe infection was frightening enough to draw our attention during a time when the NBA season was suspended and inbound flights from Europe were canceled. Maybe we relished an unbiased, straightforward account of an unnerving medical trial we will all likely face. Whatever the case, his story caught fire on social media. Wilhite says over 16…
