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In early May 2025, Michaela felt a sharp pain radiate from her hip as she leaned down to water some plants. Then she fell over and was unable to rise.

Her husband called an ambulance and she was admitted in a hospital, where, at 57, she found out she had a mass on her spine. The diagnosis was metastatic breast cancer.

"There was no indication that that was going to happen, and I was heartbroken. Initially, I wasn't fully aware that it was a recurrence of my breast cancer that had metastasized to my spine, a location was a common place for it to go," she said.

"If I were to die prematurely, I could not imagine leaving [my husband] here. We really don’t have any family. We don’t have any children."

Following the victory in the 2024 presidential election, Michaela’s husband prepared to be forced to return to in-person work at the Department of Transportation in Washington DC. He had been teleworking since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, from their home outside Baltimore.

On Trump’s first day in office in January, he issued requiring all federal agencies end all telework arrangements. The office of personnel management instructed agencies to enact the order irrespective of collective bargaining contracts.

"My spouse is a long-time employee in government service, and he is highly skilled in his field. He’s been doing this for 20 years now, so it is draining for him. We’re in our 50s. He was leaving the house at five o’clock in the morning and returning at seven at night," Michaela said. Her real name is withheld as her husband remains employed at the Department of Transportation and fears retaliation.

During the summer, she underwent an operation, a laminectomy. A few weeks after that, she had stereotactic radiation, and is now taking an oncology regimen called Kisqali alongside hormone therapy.

She was previously diagnosed with stage one breast cancer a decade ago, but was able to treat it, as it was caught early, with a partial lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy and tamoxifen. With consistent monitoring, she managed her health, prior to her recent diagnosis of advanced metastatic breast cancer.

Surviving Job Cuts and Reorganization

Throughout this year, Michaela’s husband survived layoffs at the DOT. By spring, nearly 2,800 employees had left the agency, due to the cuts as well as retirements and voluntary resignations.

According to a memo on its plan for staff reductions and restructuring, the agency estimated that by the end of next year, its staffing levels would be reduced by one-fifth from earlier levels.

This translates to over ten thousand fewer employees at the department. Government workforce reductions have exceeded goals, with hundreds of thousands of workers leaving the federal government and a small number of replacements.

"We were worried about layoffs. We understand based on the way things are operating, that this is always on the table because they ignore established rules," Michaela explained.

She added that jobs for specializations at the agency are difficult to find and contractors often want to pay lower salaries.

Facing a Federal Closure

As the Department of Transportation was shedding employees, on October 1st a closure of the federal government began, continuing for over a month, the longest in US history.

The couple celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary in early November, while the shutdown continued, but remained home because they couldn’t afford to dine out due to her husband going without a paycheck for several weeks.

She is relieved the federal closure concluded as she was worried about medical bills, but laments the rising costs in healthcare premiums she and her husband have experienced, as well as for those who rely on insurance through the ACA exchanges.

"I felt hopeless. I felt destitute. I felt flabbergasted, scared, and I observed my husband and there were a few times where he sat at his desk and he gazed out the window. He was becoming despondent," she recounted.

A Personal Offense

"We are merely one example in a bucket of millions people who strive diligently to achieve their positions, who attempt to do the right thing, and those who are making all the decisions are seemingly dismantling and managing the government and viewing government employees like they are enemies, that they are lesser citizens, and that they deserve targeting. And I take personal offense to that," she said.

Future Uncertainty

Her current concern is a potential approaching government shutdown on 30 January 2026, with the bulk of government funding set to expire again without a permanent agreement.

"The continuing resolution is up for renewal again on the 30th of January and I fear this will repeat once more. We have endured multiple closures. This by far was the worst," she stated. "I am already fighting a life-threatening illness, and I am uncertain what the future holds. I could be here for a couple more years. I might live for 10 years."