Two days before a scheduled hysterectomy, a woman lost her husband and was forced to make a difficult decision while navigating the first days of her grief. Chris had metastatic colon cancer after being diagnosed in 2019 and died earlier this month. Karin told Newsweek if she canceled the surgery to remove her uterus then she'd have to return to work within five days or take unpaid leave.
By proceeding with the surgery, however, she would be entitled to eight weeks of approved leave for recovery. She said: "It made me feel that I had to choose my mental health over my physical health." "Five paid days is all I would get to grieve and create a new normal for myself and my 13-year-old daughter." Because she already had paid leave approved through disability insurance, she decided to proceed with the surgery. Karin, who works as a people leader, said Chris had been participating in a clinical trial.
The drug's severe side effects, combined with his weakened physical condition, "caused him to die from severe malnutrition." "I considered delaying it once Chris came home in hospice care on September 3," she said. "I didn't know how long he was going to be with us and if he had made it to my surgery date on September 8, I didn't want to not be home when he passed." After Chris died on September 5, Karin began questioning whether it was "safe or healthy" to undergo major surgery while grieving. She said: "[I started to think] what additional complications might I encounter going into this surgery in such a headspace and being so exhausted from the weeks before it, when I was at the hospital with him during the day, taking care of my daughter in the evenings, and not sleeping well at night?
"I ultimately decided that having the six to eight weeks of medical leave for my physical healing would be the best way to give myself time for some mental healing too, to be available for my daughter and support her." According to WorkforceHub, Florida does not have bereavement leave laws that differ from federal regulations. "Lack of compassionate leave is an issue that does need to be addressed in the U.S.," Karin said. "I have worked for my employer for 19 years and I have wonderful support within leadership and good benefits (for the U.S.).
"Offering five days of paid bereavement is considered a very generous policy in this country." Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Sirena Bergman and Liz Perkins
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