When I was 15, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. I missed a month of school after my first treatment, and my mother took unpaid time off from work at a childcare center. A few months after my initial surgery, my cancer progressed. I went through 5 weeks of radiation in the summer before my senior year of high school. My mother continued to take unpaid time off to take care of me.

By 2016, I was 22 years old and I had been battling cancer for 6 years. I had to have intensive surgery to amputate the tissues of my right arm, shoulder, breast, ribs, sternum, and clavicle. It took months of recovery to heal. Again, my mother took an extended unpaid leave from work to help me through my recovery. She helped me learn how to live independently and took care of me as I learned how to live my new life with a disability. My father worked longer hours to help balance our depleted income, but we struggled.

I’m doing well now. I work full time, and I want to continue to do so. But I worry about my complex medical history and the likelihood that at some point, I’ll need to take time from work to take care of myself. I support House Bill 712, and ask the Governor to not veto this bill. Now more than ever we need to support families trying to stay financially stable while going through the Covid-19 crisis. It has always been important. But now, with so many worried about how they’ll fare without paid leave from work should they or their family members get sick, it is imperative that we get this done.