SPRINGDALE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — An Arkansas teacher shares her story on the extremes her family is taking to teach your kids and keep their at-risk son safe as she heads back to the classroom.
Between 56 chemotherapy treatments and 16 surgical procedures, Zach and Ali Spilman have been through more than most parents.
They have three children. Their seven-year-old, Heiden, is battling cancer.
“We want him to live to be eight and we want him to live to 58 and 108,” Zach said.
Since their son’s diagnosis, Zach has stayed home with their kids, while Ali has continued to work as an art teacher for Springdale Public Schools.
With no other choice than to continue teaching, this deadly virus is causing their family to go the extra mile in protecting their son.
In the classroom, Ali wears a lab coat, a shield, and double masks.
“An outsider looking in probably thinks it’s overkill, but if you know about my situation then it really isn’t,” she said.
At home the measures are equally intense.
Ali masked and gloved up when cooking or near the kids. 
Our bleach wipes and sprays are hospital grade 1 or 2 minute contact time antiviral, antibacterial, anti-fungal cleaners that also kill Methyl-resistant strains like MRSA. 
We use bleach wipes to wipe down all surfaces touched by us, focusing on anything with buttons or handles, including fridge and dishwasher. We do a weekly cleaning regularly, but also wipe down any surface that we have touched with dirty hands. 
Ali has tubs into which she puts her clothes from school. They sit on racks for 72 hours before coming inside for washing. We also have dedicated latex gloves for her, face shield PPE, and NIOSH approved N95 masks. She placed them on hooks, one for each day. By manufacturer instructions, they can be used up to 5 times each. We have a 5 day rotation which we will use for 5 weeks. Then we will switch to new masks. We bought enough N95 masks for the school year. 
If we leave the house and return home, we put our clothes into a box, and they stay there for 72 hours to kill any germs. All shoes are lined up in the garage at a “clean line” to avoid tracking germs into the house. 
After a 72 hour period we place clothes in a load by themselves, and use Lysol laundry sanitizer on the washer’s hottest setting. We will then dry 2x through on the hottest setting. 
Segregated laundry. We do Heiden’s laundry by itself away from everyone else. Ali also does segregated laundry from the rest of us. Hers is out in the garage, 
We use CDC approved sanitizing spray on all door handles and any surface touched after Ali, Heiden, or I leave the house and return. 
Doubled masked with N95 and N99 masks, with face shaved for a tight seal. Double gloved so I can strip off gloves to avoid bringing germs inside.
“We actually eat separately right now,” Zach said. “We want her to be in and out of the kitchen as soon as possible and back into her half of the house.”
Ali stays in the master bedroom.
“We’ve segregated our home,” she said. “There’s lots of separation right now.”
Ali recently shared this post on Facebook — asking if anyone has a camper, rent house, or even a barn, so she could have an exit plan if after the start of school things take a turn for the worse.
She said one of her friends has offered her a place if needed.
They are doing everything they possibly can to make sure your kids are safe and their kids are protected.
“I know that my students need to be in the classroom, but I also recognize the dangers for them,” Ali said. “Try and be proactive and think beyond your own household, we’d appreciate it.”
During this unprecedented time for everyone, the Spilman’s said they want to use their story to stress the importance of social distancing and wearing a mask.
Below is some links the Spilman’s wanted to share about preventing infections:
