Surviving a stroke meant leaving her career behind

People leave the workforce for all sorts of reasons, like for retirement or to care for family members. Another common reason: health and disability.

According to a 2025 study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which looked at Census data surveyed in July, 2024, around 30.7 million people age 16 to 75 have what’s considered a “work-limiting health condition.” Among that population, the labor force participation rate was around 27%, compared to 74% for people without.

“It's been really difficult to look at a screen for extended periods of time,” said Sarah Turner, who had a stroke caused by a pulmonary embolism in 2024. “Also I have a lot of post-stroke fatigue, so it's just really hard to make it through a day.”

Turner, who lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, worked as an English as a Second Language program advisor at a community college before her stroke. She made the decision to quit due to the extreme screen fatigue. While she now volunteers as an ESL tutor and occasionally works at an after school program, she isn’t sure she’ll be able to go back to full-time work again.

“The woman that I'm tutoring, one day she asked me, ‘are you retired?’” said Turner. “I'm 43 and didn't think that I'd be at the end of my my work life.”

To hear the rest of Turner’s story, click the play button at the top of the page.