A woman battling stage four metastatic cancer in Maryland faces a terrifying future, not just from her illness, but from the policies of the Trump administration that are directly impacting her husband's federal job and their access to healthcare.
A Devastating Diagnosis and a Remote Work Lifeline
In early May 2025, 57-year-old Michaela (a pseudonym used to protect her husband's job) felt a sharp pain in her hip while watering plants and collapsed. Rushed to hospital, she received the devastating news: a mass on her spine, which was metastatic breast cancer.
"I had no warning that that was going to happen, and I was devastated," she said. Having previously beaten stage one breast cancer in 2014, the new diagnosis was a brutal blow. The couple, who have no children or other family, rely entirely on each other.
Her husband, a veteran employee at the US Department of Transportation in Washington DC, had worked remotely from their Baltimore-area home since the Covid-19 pandemic. This arrangement was a crucial support system as Michaela began her fight.
Executive Order Ends Crucial Flexibility
That lifeline was severed when Donald Trump returned to the White House. On his first day, 20 January 2025, he issued an executive order demanding all federal agencies terminate remote work arrangements. The Office of Personnel Management directed agencies to enact it, despite existing union contracts.
Suddenly, Michaela's husband faced a gruelling 14-hour daily commute. "He was leaving the house at five o’clock in the morning and getting home at seven at night," she explained, noting the exhaustion for a man in his 50s with over two decades of service.
Amid this, Michaela underwent a laminectomy surgery in July, followed by stereotactic radiation. She is now on an oncology regimen called Kisqali and hormone therapy.
The Twin Threats of Job Cuts and Soaring Healthcare Costs
The stress was compounded by the constant threat of layoffs. The Department of Transportation planned severe "reductions in force" (RIFs). A memo indicated the workforce would be cut by approximately 20% from February 2025 levels by the end of the year, equating to over 10,000 fewer employees.
By May, nearly 2,800 staff had already left the agency. Michaela's husband survived these early cuts, but colleagues took early retirement or found new jobs at half their salary. "We were concerned about RIFs... this is always on the table because they ignore the law," Michaela stated.
Then, on 1 October 2025, the longest federal government shutdown in US history began, lasting 43 days. The couple celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary at home, unable to afford a meal out due to the unpaid furlough.
While relieved when the shutdown ended, Michaela now faces another looming deadline: 30 January 2026, when another shutdown could begin. Furthermore, the healthcare premiums for their federal insurance plan have multiplied, adding financial strain to their medical crisis.
"One Drop in a Bucket of Millions"
Michaela describes feeling desperate, destitute, and scared, watching her husband become depressed. "We’re just one drop in a bucket of millions of people who work so hard... treated federal workers like they are enemies," she said, taking personal offence at the administration's stance.
Her future is painfully uncertain. "I’m already battling a life-threatening illness... I could be here for another year or two. I could be here for 10 years," she said. Her fight is now twofold: against the cancer in her body, and against the policies that threaten the stability she needs to survive it.
