This is part of CNBC Make It's My First Day Back series, where people share their stories of what it's like to return to the office after working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. Are you planning to return to the office soon? Share your stories with us here.

Name: Alexa Dectis 
Age: 29
Office: Netflix's Los Angeles office 
Working home since: March 13, 2020
Returned: April 19, 2022 
Return requirements: Proof of Covid-19 vaccine and negative Covid-19 test 

There's a lot to dread about returning to the office: waking up late, hitting traffic, meeting co-workers for the first time — the list continues. 

But as Alexa Dectis recalls, her return-to-office fears boiled down to "physical survival." 

At 16 months old, Dectis was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a progressive neuromuscular disease that weakens the muscles and can make activities such as speaking, walking, breathing and swallowing incredibly difficult or, for some, impossible. 

"I realized from a really early age that the only way I could make something of myself would be if I used the power of my brain to overcome the weakness of my body," she tells CNBC Make It. "I also knew that I needed a career that solely relied on my intellect — that's what brought me to the legal profession, because you can be a really great lawyer without needing to move any muscles in your body." 

Dectis is unable to walk and uses a motorized chair to travel. She can comfortably speak, eat and type, but relies on caregivers to assist her with other physical needs, such as showering and dressing. 

Since the start of the pandemic, Dectis had split her time working on Skydance's legal team from her apartment in Los Angeles, where she lives alone, and her parents' house in Pennsylvania. 

Earlier this year, however, a recruiter from Netflix reached out to her with an offer to join the streaming giant's minors, immigration and diligence team as a legal associate. 

She accepted the job with the expectation that she would go into Netflix's Los Angeles office three days a week, and work from home the other two days. "You don't say no to Netflix," Dectis says. "And this was the job, and the team, that I've always dreamed of working in." 

CNBC Make It: How did you prepare to return to the office, and how did Netflix help?

Alexa Dectis: It required a lot of planning and scheduling — I had to plan out who would get me ready for work in the morning and which commute worked best for me, because I can't drive. It's easier to take public transit — I prefer the bus — because it allows me more independence, but it adds time to my day because it almost doubles my commute.

Even when I'm in the office, I have to plan out when I drink water, because a care assistant needs to take me to the bathroom. So every day at lunch, I have to arrange for a caregiver to come to Netflix's office for 15 minutes, help me use the bathroom once, and then leave. 

Having spinal muscular atrophy impacts my workday a lot. But it's also taught me excellent time management, and it's taught me to  make the most of every opportunity because so many people with disabilities are unable to work, and the fact that I get to have this incredibly fulfilling career is something that I will always be so thankful for.

Netflix has an accommodations team, and they made sure I had an adjustable desk as well as a laptop that syncs to my computer at the office, so I don't have to carry too much work equipment between my apartment and the office. 

How did the first day go? 

I woke up at 6 a.m. and one of my care assistants helped me get ready for the day, then I took some calls with colleagues in other time zones from home. 

I took the bus to work and arrived around noon, met my manager in person for the first time, met the team and got to work. Something I was super nervous about, when lunchtime rolled around, was if I would be able to reach things in the cafeteria. 

I'm always a bit nervous about who I can ask for help, because people naturally have unconscious biases about people with disabilities. 

However, the cafeteria is where I became assured that I was going to be OK in my new job, because I had lunch with my team members and they were so kind in asking if I needed help reaching or getting anything. It made me feel so good about the company that I chose to go work for. 

All day, co-workers instinctively held doors for me, moved chairs away from the conference table so I had a space to sit and offered to reach things for me throughout the day. 

None of these contributions were official company accommodations. They were acts of kindness from my colleagues. I think sometimes compassion is so much more valuable than an accommodation ever could be.

I took the bus home around 4 p.m. and met one of my care assistants at my apartment to help me prepare dinner and get ready for bed. 

What surprised you the most?

I forgot how much fun office banter is, even though sometimes it can be a huge time suck. I worked in isolation for about two years, so I forgot how much fun it is to actually interact with your teammates in person. 

Which work set-up works best for you — remote, hybrid or in-person — and how often do you plan to be at the office? 

I think a hybrid set-up is ideal. There's a lot of benefits to working in-person: you build stronger connections, it's easier to talk through certain ideas, there's more chances for team building. But working remotely for someone with a disability is, quite frankly, easier. 

As a lawyer, too, I think it's easier to accomplish a lot more when you're not in a loud office because you're reading and writing, which requires a quiet environment and serious concentration. 

My team decided to try out three days a week in the office and two days at home, so that's we have been doing right now.

I've been going to the office Tuesday through Thursday, but that varies week to week. I might stick to that schedule for the foreseeable future, but that could change in a month depending on my workload or my team's needs.

Check out:

People with disabilities still face barriers finding work during the pandemic—here's how companies can help

I started working at Zoom remotely almost two years ago—here's how my first day at the office went

I returned to the office for the first time since the pandemic began—after having a baby. Here's how it went

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