OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Swerving in and out of traffic, Jimmy Mitchell made a mad dash to get to the Oklahoma state Capitol.

After a quick stop at a department store for a change of clothes and a risque fitting in the parking lot, Mitchell walked into the Capitol to find his partner and hearing interpreter Jacob Alexander with just minutes to spare.

“I sped so fast to get here,” Mitchell signed to Jake. “You’d think I had found the last stash of toilet paper in the city.”

Mitchell had received a call from Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office about 35 minutes before that the governor was scheduled to hold his first news conference to address Oklahoma’s coronavirus preparations.

At the time in early March, Oklahoma didn’t have any confirmed cases, but COVID-19 was already spreading throughout the United States.

Mitchell, now known for his elaborate facial expressions during Stitt news conferences, had only recently finished a workshop about interpreting American Sign Language during emergency situations just like this.

But still, he was shocked when he got the call from his contracting agency that he was needed to interpret live.

“We were just taking that training to have in our back pocket,” Mitchell said in an interview with The Oklahoman translated by Alexander. “But they called and said ‘We need somebody and nobody else was available.’”

“How fast can you get to the Capitol?”

After a quick conference with Alexander, who gave Mitchell his jacket to wear, Stitt emerged from an office and strode toward the podium.

Mitchell took his spot next to Stitt at the podium while Alexander, 28, took a seat in the front row.

“It was showtime,” Mitchell said. “I was just thinking ‘What are we telling Oklahomans today?’”

For the past few weeks, Mitchell, 39, has become a familiar face for many Oklahomans as he stands and delivers the words of Gov. Stitt, interpreted into American Sign Language. Mitchell has delivered the news of the first few cases of COVID-19, the need for social distancing and the orders for at-risk Oklahomans to stay at home.

For the thousands of Oklahomans who are deaf or hard of hearing, Mitchell and his partner Alexander have become a lifeline to vital information.

“If there’s no interpreter then there’s no access,” Mitchell said. “We need to have the same access too. Especially considering what we are dealing with right now, it’s very important that we get that message to the whole community.”

Mitchell — who grew up in California and became deaf at age 5 after contracting spinal meningitis, an infection of the fluid around his brain — has turned helping his community into a career. He works primarily as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, helping those with hearing loss get jobs and advising on other career opportunities.

Mitchell said he had done a few interpreting roles before. He had worked primarily for small groups or individuals who needed an interpreter for anyone needing ASL help for one-time appointments or events.

But his work as an interpreter for Stitt would have been nearly impossible without Alexander, his partner.

Alexander sits in the front row of news conferences and works as Mitchell’s guide. Alexander not only acts as Mitchell’s hearing companion, helping sign the governor’s words for Mitchell to then translate back to the cameras, but he also conveys the emotion and emphasis that is translated through body language.

Mitchell said he’s seen the comments about his facial expressions throughout a news conference, often displaying an animated scowl or a wide-eyed smile.

But without those expressions, the deaf community following along at home would be confused if the governor or another health expert told a joke or tried to emphasize the importance of their message.

“We basically have to be painting a picture visually,” Mitchell said. “If we were just signing just word for word, then that’s not an interpretation and that’s not the full picture.”

While Mitchell said it’s been difficult to adjust to the live aspect of the governor’s briefings, he tries to remain focused and remember the people at home counting on him to deliver a clear and accurate message.

“It’s not like you can stop and say ‘Hey Gov, can we do that part again?/” Mitchell said. “I always just find myself during the interpreting process focusing on getting the message out to the community. That’s what it’s all about is making sure that it’s not about me and not about my opinions and not about whatever is going on in the back of my head.

“This is information that could save lives.”

It’s information that’s been too hard to come by according to Howard A. Rosenblum, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf.

Rosenblum said while the Federal Communications Commission mandates television captioning, the rules for live broadcasts are different. National news must be captioned, but there is no such requirement for local news broadcasts. The FCC requires live captioning in emergencies and disasters, but that requirement is not always fulfilled.

President Donald Trump has not included an ASL interpreter at any of his daily White House press briefings and for the more than 32 million Americans who report some trouble hearing, the lack of interpreters or captions can mean they don’t have vital information to keep them safe.

Struggling to understand and communicate at such a young age, Mitchell said he grew frustrated with the hearing world around him.

Mitchell blew out the speakers on the family TV attempting to watch his favorite show, school became a scary place for fear of being treated as inferior and he struggled to make friends.

“I knew sound and I had that memory,” Mitchell said. “But it was a huge process and it was really emotional. It took years to adjust.”