She's Battling Stage Four Breast Cancer. Her Husband Works as a Federal Worker. Will She Endure This Political Era?
In early May 2025, a woman experienced a sudden, stabbing ache radiate from her hip as she leaned down to tend to her garden. She collapsed and couldn’t get back up.
Her husband summoned emergency services and she was admitted in a hospital, where, in her late fifties, doctors discovered she had a mass on her spine. It was metastatic breast cancer.
"I had no warning this would occur, and I was heartbroken. Initially, I wasn't fully aware that it was part of my breast cancer which had spread to my spine, a location is common for it to go," she explained.
"If I were to die prematurely, I could not imagine leaving [my husband] here. We have little family. We don’t have children of our own."
Following the victory in the 2024 presidential election, Michaela’s husband prepared to be forced back into the office at the DOT in Washington DC. He had worked remotely since the onset of the global pandemic, from their home outside Baltimore.
On Trump’s first day in office on 20 January, an executive order was signed requiring all federal agencies end all telework arrangements. Federal personnel officials instructed agencies to enact the order despite existing union agreements.
"My spouse is a long-time employee with the administration, and he is highly skilled in his field. He’s been doing this for two decades now, so it is draining for him. We are in our fifties. He was leaving the house at 5 a.m. in the morning and getting home at 7 p.m. at night," she stated. Her identity is protected as her husband still works at the agency and is concerned about retaliation.
In July, Michaela had surgery, a laminectomy. Shortly following that, she had stereotactic radiation, and is currently on an cancer treatment called Kisqali and hormone therapy.
She had stage one breast cancer a decade ago, but successfully treated it, due to early detection, with a partial lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal medication. Through regular checkups, she stayed on top of it, before her latest diagnosis of stage four metastatic breast cancer.
Navigating Job Cuts and Restructuring
Over the past year, her spouse avoided layoffs at the Department of Transportation. By May, thousands of employees had left the agency, due to those reductions as well as retirements and voluntary resignations.
Per a memo on its plan for reductions in force and reorganization, the agency estimated that by the end of next year, its staffing levels would be reduced by one-fifth from levels at the start of the year.
This would correlate to over ten thousand fewer employees at the Department of Transportation. Government workforce reductions have exceeded goals, with a significant number of workers leaving the federal government and a small number of new hires.
"We were concerned about RIFs. It is clear based on the way things are operating, that this is always on the table because they ignore established rules," she elaborated.
She noted that jobs for specializations at the agency are difficult to find and private firms often want to pay lower salaries.
Facing a Federal Closure
As the Department of Transportation was shedding employees, on 1 October a shutdown of the federal government began, continuing for 43 days, the longest in American history.
Michaela and her husband celebrated their 18th anniversary in early November, while the shutdown continued, but stayed at home because they couldn’t afford to dine out due to her husband going without a paycheck for multiple weeks.
She is relieved the federal closure ended as she was anxious over medical bills, but laments the increases in insurance premiums she and her husband have experienced, and for those who rely on healthcare through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
"I felt hopeless. I felt impoverished. I felt flabbergasted, frightened, and I watched my husband and there were a few times where he was sitting at his desk and he was just staring out the window. He was getting depressed," she said.
A Personal Offense
"We’re just one drop in a bucket of millions people who strive diligently to achieve their positions, who try to do the right thing, and those who are setting policy are just ransacking and leading the government and treating government employees like adversaries, that they are lesser citizens, and that they should be attacked. I find this personally offensive to that," she expressed.
A Looming Threat
Her current concern is a potential approaching government shutdown in late January, with the bulk of government funding set to lapse again absent a long-term deal.
"The continuing resolution comes up for a vote again at the end of January and I am thinking this is going to happen all over again. We have endured several shutdowns. This was decidedly the worst," she said. "I’m already battling a serious disease, and I don’t know what the future holds. I may survive for another year or two. I could be here for 10 years."
