The Cupertino Courier

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Donated sick leave soothes cancer patient

By ANNE WARD ERNST

It's never easy to be locked in a battle with a deadly cancer. But sudden, strong and unexpected support can help.

In the first week of January, Sylvia Conklin, the president of Cupertino's chapter of the California School Employees Association, put out a short memo to union members. The results were immediate and impactful for fellow member Linda Uno-Sum, a secretary at Kennedy Middle School since 2001.

Uno-Sum's accrued sick leave would be exhausted because of her many cancer-related absences. Conklin's memo told members they could donate their accrued sick leave to Uno-Sum. All they had to do was fill out a form.

In one week, 107 members donated 1,600 hours to a woman some wouldn't know if they passed her on the street.

"I'm completely amazed at how people pull together in times like these. People I don't even know donated," Uno-Sum said.

The largest single donation was 100 hours.

The CSEA union is made up of custodians, food service workers, secretaries, bus drivers and other classified employees who work for Cupertino Union School District.

"These gifts of time came from the hearts of people who make the least in terms of money, many of whom work less than five hours per day," Conklin said.

She asked district officials if employees from other unions, or non-union employees, could also participate in the donation drive, but because of contractual restrictions, they couldn't.

Diagnosed with colon cancer three years ago, Uno-Sum has had several operations and has weekly chemotherapy treatments. Her cancer battle has seen the malignancy spread to her ovaries and liver as well. Doctors appointments and what she calls her bad days have used up much of her sick leave.

Now, the bad days outnumber the good, but she did get hopeful news with her latest CT scan. At least one tumor is shrinking. And, she says, the extra hours of sick leave donated by good-hearted people she doesn't even know give her a measure of peace of mind.

Uno-Sum does not know who came up with the idea of the donated sick leave.

"I have a lot of guardian angels," she says. "I don't know who they are."

Conklin refuses to accept any credit for the idea, saying only that she was approached by a couple of co-workers who asked what could be done to help Uno-Sum.

"All I know is, I'm just grateful," Uno-Sum says.