Breast Cancer Patient 'Humiliated' While Trying to Renew Her License
Joanne Jodry says she was humiliated when she recently tried to renew her New Jersey driver’s license.
Jodry has breast cancer and has lost all her hair because of treatment, but she was still required to take a new license photo at the Motor Vehicles Commission office in Freehold, New Jersey, ABC 7 reported. Not wanting a constant reminder of her ill health, Jodry asked to use her old photo but was denied. Then, she had to argue with workers to even be allowed to wear a scarf on her head for the photo.
“I don’t want to have a picture of myself sick for the next four years,” Jodry told ABC 7.
The experience was upsetting for Jodry, whose 10-year-old daughter Mary had to stand by and watch as her mother cried through the whole thing. She hopes the state will consider revising the law, which requires license photos to be refreshed every eight years, so others can avoid the same traumatic experience.
Melissa McGlensey is the former News Editor at The Mighty. Her writing can also be seen in Ms. Magazine, on the Ms.Magazine blog and in The Huffington Post’s Good News, Comedy and Impact sections. Melissa is also a New York City comedian who does sketch, improv and stand up. She is passionate about social justice, politics, Thai food, literature, disability rights and more. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with her cat, Sneakers, who lives in California. You can follow her on twitter at @OhHeyMeliss.
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