![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/jsc2023e064757.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>They might be surprised to learn that Baker juggled these responsibilities and more while also caring for her late husband, Chris, as he fought a terminal illness for 16 years.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hard taking care of a loved one with cancer and working full-time,\u201d Baker said. \u201cMy husband was also disabled from a brain tumor surgery, so I had to help him with reading, writing, walking, and remembering, while managing the household.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Baker worked closely with her manager to coordinate schedules and get approval to telework so that she could work around her husband\u2019s medical appointments and procedures. She also took medical leave when her husband entered hospice care in 2020. Baker said her manager\u2019s flexibility \u201csaved her job\u201d and allowed her to continue providing for her family. She was even able to advance from project engineer to test director to project manager during this time period.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/figure>Baker is one of the many Johnson employees who are or have been a caregiver for a loved one. These caregivers provide help to a person in need who often has a medical condition or injury that affects their daily functioning. Their needs may be temporary or long-term, and they could be physical, medical, financial, or domestic in nature.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Recognizing the challenging and critical role caregivers play in their families, the Johnson community provides a variety of resources to support team members through the Employee Assistance Program. Additionally, Johnson\u2019s No Boundaries Employee Resource Group (NoBo) supports caregivers through its programs and initiatives.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Baker participates in both the support group and NoBo activities and takes comfort in sharing her and her husband\u2019s story with others. \u201cI would do it all over again,\u201d she said of her caregiver role.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Now she looks forward to future missions to the Moon, when NASA astronauts will conduct spacewalks on the lunar surface while wearing new spacesuits. \u201cThen I can say I helped make that possible!\u201d Throughout all of her experiences, Baker has learned to never give up. \u201cIf you have a dream, keep fighting for it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a> Many team members at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston may recognize Alicia Baker as the talented flutist in the Hispanic Employee Resource Group\u2019s Mariachi Celestial band. Or, they may have worked with Baker in her role as a spacesuit project manager, testing NASA\u2019s prototype spacesuits and preparing Johnson\u2019s test chambers to evaluate vendor spacesuits. [\u2026] Continue reading
\nLinda E. Grimm <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"