Teacher Runs Out Of Sick Days So Her Peers Donate 154 More

What would it take to use up all of the sick time you’ve accumulated at work?

Carol Clark, a 6th-grade teacher from Cudahy California, is a breast cancer survivor. According to the Los Angeles Times, in just a year’s time, she had used up 17 years worth of sick days and vacation days in order to see doctors, and undergo surgeries, and chemotherapy.

After many treatments and a mastectomy, she returned to her teaching job at Jaime Escalante Elementary School.

Only 2 months later she was hospitalized due to a severe reaction to chemo. The hospitalization created another set of problems, she was running out of time left on the books and was struggling to keep her salary benefits and medical insurance.

Her husband, Dave Clark, was also a teacher at Escalante Elementary School, and after doing some research he found the Catastrophic Illness Donation Program. This program was designed to allow teachers to donate up to 20 of their own sick days to other teachers who really need them. Clark placed a sign-up sheet in their teacher’s lounge and the results were astounding.

Donations poured in from both teachers the Clarks knew and those they had never met. Carole received 154 sick days in total: Enough to recover some of her salary lost, and have some for future medical needs.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Carol is back at work, and while she gets tired early she is reported to have said, “It’s hard to get back in the swing of things, but I do enjoy being back and interacting with the students, that’s been good for me.”

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