The family of 15-year-old Cristal Ortiz are taking special steps to protect her from COVID-19, due to her being born with a compromised immune system from cerebral palsy and other chronic health conditions.

The Harding High School sophomore recently had major surgery to correct her spine due to scoliosis-related issues. Cristal's mom, Wanda Ortiz, is worried that if Cristal catches coronavirus, it could easily kill her.

"It can be a life-or-death situation because of their immune system. We don't know how their body's going to react to it," says Wanda Ortiz.

Dr. Lee Forest, of Fairfield, says those fears are well founded.

"It's very highly contagious and what really scares us about this one is we have no specific treatment," he says.

Wanda Ortiz says the family is taking special steps to limit Cristal's interaction with people outside the family. By putting one more obstacle in their path, COVID-19 has now made the stakes higher than ever.