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When you're self-employed, I've been freelancing for the last eight years of
my life, so when you're really on your own
it doesn't become a priority to go out and get health insurance
My name is Javier Perez-Karam and I am a film producer based in
Brooklyn, New York.
I have been working in film for the last uh... ten to twelve years of my life
and most recently I started my own production company. I do what I do
because I love storytelling, I love production
I've been doing photography and video since I was very young in high school and college and you
know, life just unfolded on to that.
For the most part it's not like I intend to put my
health in the back
of my priorities or that my business and career are more important than my
health
It's just that really
uh... when you're working constantly and trying to get the next
job done or trying to reach a deadline
It's hard to really gain perspective on how much your health
can affect
your business or your career unless you really step back for a second or somebody calls
attention to that.
So if I were to get sick or have an accident and really be disabled, out
of work
or out of the possibility of working for
really just a few weeks not even a whole month, it would hurt my business a lot.
basically because my business is just
me running it
and a few friends assisting it
but and
If i'm not out there getting the job started or trying to bring the money in it
doesn't happen it would take me a few more months to get back on my feet if I
don't have them an income for a month or so
I
definitely feel unsafe sometimes and there are certain
activities that I don't do,
There's certain
jobs that I don't do
because I can put myself in risk if I
break either of my hands, that would be a problem because I'm constantly on the computer working
or operating a camera
The thing is that for the last few years
I haven't had any health issues and I've been really staying away from
potential accidents. I wouldn't really say that I necessarily have
like a whole holistic approach to health uh... but in general I eat well
and
if I'm
feeling any kind of
my body reacting catching a cold or something instead of going straight to
medicine um... I try to go
the natural route and consume vitamins
in more of a natural form
so I try lowering that risk. I mean, not all alternative
medicine practitioners or health practitioners
can really do everything
uh... for your body but for the most part I find that it's more in tune
with what my body needs and what my mind needs than going into a very
sterile
weird relationship with a doctor I don't know.