I can't pay for my daughter's medical treatment on McDonald's wages

I’m facing a situation no parent should have to go through. My 3-year-old daughter Samiya suffers from frequent seizures due to epilepsy. She has as many as 6 seizures per week. My heart sinks every time my daughter has an attack. I cry a lot, have sleepless nights, and feel depressed. Samiya also has partial deafness, which has led to developmental learning disabilities. When she turned three, she became ineligible for subsidized early intervention therapy, which I just can’t pay for out of pocket. The worst part is that even though I work for McDonald’s, one of the richest companies in the world, I cannot pay the bills that have stacked up because of my daughter’s situation and cannot afford the treatment she needs to get better.

I only make $10 an hour, and I’ve been a full-time employee at McDonald’s for five years. On top of that, McDonald’s doesn’t provide any benefits like health care, sick days, and maternity leave. I use food stamps and Medicaid, yet I still struggle to provide for my daughter. I can barely pay for my rent-assisted apartment in Hyde Park, and I struggle to pay my bills on time or get anything additional my daughter needs.

This isn’t right. McDonald’s made $4.8 billion dollars in profit in 2014. I should be able to pay for my daughter’s treatment & medicine without government assistance. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to cover for McDonald’s greediness. Yet, all over the country, parents like me are struggling to pay for our kid’s childcare, food, and medicine.

Please stand with me & demand that McDonald’s provide quality, affordable healthcare, raise pay to $15, and respect our union rights so that fast food workers and their families don’t have to struggle to survive. I know McDonald’s has enough money to pay their workers a decent wage. We need this so I can get Samiya the treatment she needs.