Keep Marley and Skye smiling

On the 7th December 2021 my little girl was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia completely out of blue. Our world was ripped apart and our lives turned upside down in a split second and we had a very long (2 and a half years) awful journey ahead to save her life. As any parent would do, I dropped everything to be by her side 24/7. Adjusting to life as a full time carer to a seriously ill child, was so much worse than I could ever put into words. My life was now medication, chemotherapy, non stop hospital appointments, general anaesthetics, lumbar punctures, bone marrow biopsies, sickness, temperatures, countless admissions to hospital, blood infections and the list goes on and on and worst of all, I had to watch my little girl go through things no child should ever go through.

Before Skye was diagnosed I worked in a job I loved, for 19 years. As a single Mum it was perfect and fitted nicely around my 2 children.

I quickly learned that there is NO law in this country for your employer to keep your job open, should your child be diagnosed with a life threatening/serious illness that requires you to be there 24/7. I was absolutely shocked to say the least and extremely worried. There is also NO law that your employer has to pay you, at all, for any amount of time, which is equally shocking.

My employer did keep my job open for a year, but with a two and a half year treatment plan in place to save her life, constantly having to isolate due to her very low immune system, several hospital admissions etc. there was no way I could return after that year. I lost my job. An absolute nightmare, while already dealing with utter heartbreak. I now have no financial security ahead. The anxiety, fear and emotional strain put on parents, already fighting for their children’s lives, could easily be avoided.

For my daughter who is still in treatment for leukaemia and has been through the most horrific year and a half already, for my son, who has suffered more than any sibling should and for myself, who is at breaking point, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sign this petition and help me make it absolutely mandatory that employers keep your job open while you care for a child that needs urgent life saving treatment!

Not all children need treatment for that long, but some need it for much longer, sadly, some children lose their chance of a life, which is utterly heartbreaking beyond words.

From a Mother, who is fighting every single day, just so my daughter gets a chance at life! Losing my job and jeopardising my family’s financial security should not be part of this awful journey.

This needs to be addressed immediately and is the responsibility of the Government. Please please help me, help other families. Thank you for reading

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/638449