“While I was a public teacher, my late husband’s diabetes caused catastrophic health issues. Anything diabetes can do to a person, it did to him. During what turned out to be his last year of life, he had already been in end-stage kidney failure for 5 years, & we were doing peritoneal dialysis at home…” Read the rest of Nancy’s story here.
“When my oldest son was 14 he was misdiagnosed with depression. He was treated with medication that made what we would eventually learn was bi-polar disorder almost unmanageable. It took 2 months to get an accurate diagnosis and level out his medications. During that time I was trying to…” Read the rest of Barbara’s story here.
“When my daughter was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia this last Thanksgiving, I only had access to the federal unpaid FMLA, where i could use up my vacation time to help pay my bills, but that wasn’t going to last long. My husband stopped training at his unpaid training program to stay…” Read the rest of Christina’s story here.
“As a parent of a chronically ill child I currently use FMLA intermittently, although there is job protection I am not paid for time that I must take for appointments or when my child is home sick. As a single mom this can be detrimental to my finances that are needed to pay rent, bills, pay for medications…” Read the rest of Jessica’s story here.
“My mom fought terminal breast cancer. I was able to use sick time to spend Mom’s final weeks with her. I took one month off between her hospitalization, funeral and grieving. It would’ve been better to have had paid leave rather than use sick time.” Jessica, CT
“I take care of my parents. My dad takes care of my mom 90% of the time. If my parents ever get hurt or go through surgery that requires long term recovery, I would need to leave work without pay.” Luis, Newington CT
“I have been lucky to not have to take leave, but I understand that everyone will need to at some point. Paid leave helps to ensure that people are not penalized for taking care of themselves or their families.” Amy, Torrington CT
“I believe that sooner or later most of us may be faced with the need to take care of a loved one and we should not have to choose between family and job. We are human, we may got sick and we deserve time to heal.” Eluisa, Norwalk CT
“My husband and I are both freelancers, so when we don’t work, we don’t get paid. Last month he had a heart attack. I had to stay home and take care of him. Neither of us was earning anything, and on top of this we have high deductible insurance. A triple whammy.” Read the rest of Amy’s story here.
“The last weeks of my father’s life were agonizing. We brought hospice into our childhood home and made final arrangements. During this time, I would still work from the hospital or my father’s apartment so that I could save the days I needed for his funeral and burial. No one should have to experience that additional anxiety about their job security and finances when they are caring for a loved one.” Read the rest of Danielle’s story here.
“We all deserve to take time for our family’s benefit, without worry for our job and the money that comes with it. This is a normal ask for our society. We need to make it happen.” Nija, Milford CT
“I hate the fact that so many people are forced to go into work even though their hearts are grieving for their sick family members, alone at home without care. It’s not fair and it’s not right. Who can focus on work when their loved ones are sick and in need of aid? We must pass Paid Family Leave. Our families need it and we do too.” Read Dvora’s story here.
“My husband has heart failure, he is always in and out of the hospital, or visiting doctors . Sometimes he feels ok to drive by himself but most of the time I have to drive him, I take a lot of time from my job (not paid) to take him to his appointment, send him home then go back to work. It would be good if I was able to get paid when I leave work to take care of my husband because we live on his social security (he is disabled) and my paycheck.” – Nadia, CT
“I’m a single mother of four children. When one of my sons was 10 years old, he developed shingles. They covered his face and his chest. My son was in desperate need of care, so I used up my days off of work caring for him. He still needed care, so I stayed home even though I didn’t have…” Read the rest of JoAnn’s story here.
“My employer, a small firm of under ten people, can’t afford to provide paid family leave for medical emergencies or for childbirth. While my wife was visiting family in California, she suffered an unexpected attack of acute intermittent porphyria (a rare genetic condition that leaves sufferers in debilitating…” Read the rest of Krishna’s story here.
“Children with Neurofibromatosis or other chronic illnesses are already fighting a long, terrifying battle. They need their mothers by their sides focusing on nothing but their care—not how they will pay the growing pile of bills.” Read the rest of Sara’s story here.
“My husband and I are the primary caretakers of our elderly mothers, both of whom are 94, and have a variety of physical and cognitive health issues you would expect for women of that age. My mother-in-law lived with us for a year until she broke her hip recently and had to move to…” Read the rest of Christine’s story here.
“I’ve watched my sister struggle with chronic illness since the age of 10. I’ve seen the toll that illness has taken on her life and the challenges she’s had in caring for her needs while still working full-time. There have been times in her life when her illnesses have flared up and she’d struggle to just have…” Read the rest of Michelle’s story here.
“Several years ago, my sister and I were caring for our parents. My mother has since passed and I continue to help my father. I feel a great deal of uncertainty due to the uncertainty of caring for an ailing elderly parent, especially someone who has a long-term illness. The associated level of time and energy…” Read the rest of Betty’s story here.
