[Jackie07]

I feel your pain, Laurieanne.

Every time I had a major surgery, I would lose my job. In Texas, we've been told, the only thing we can do is to file for unemployment compensation. And we have to certify that we are available for work and capable of working full-time.

I was undergoing chemotherapy while I was doing my internship teaching special education (as an inclusion teacher) at the high school in the nearby town. I needed the job so I could have insurance. But when the principal found out I was going through treatment (my husband had to pick me up one time after school when I had cellulitis and wasn't aware of the danger of it), she started to document me.

There was another veteran teacher on campus who was also undergoing cancer treatment (lymphoma). Her husband is the president of the local chamber of commerce. And she received 'teacher of the year' award for being a cancer fighter. I couldn't really say if the different treatment has anything to do with my being a 'disabled (my two brain surgeries) foreign born female minority' (my teacher training program director did not think it's humorous at all) But I knew that there's no way she would have hired me if I had told her about my cancer treatment.

The law says we have one year to return to our original job. I always needed to get a note from the doctor certifing that I could go back to work. But then I always lose my job after a year.

I am taking some math courses on-line right now and hope to become a math teacher in a year or so. Read it somewhere that the Chinese term for crisis is 'dangerous point' which leads directly to 'turning point'. And the Chinese character used here for 'point' is the same word for 'opportunity'.

Even though I've gone through the routine many, many times, it still gets me depressed. We are only human. And I think confronting the feelings is a healthy way to deal with it.

It is tough. But I always come out with better jobs. So I am confident my family will weather the storm again. (and again, and again...)