The Foreign Service Journal, May 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2019 39 and practice a stretching-cum-yoga routine every morning. I have an agenda of support groups I assist and PD clinical research in which I participate. Of course, there are also many medical appointments to keep. And exercise remains the foundation of my PDmanagement program. I have come to a standoff with the disease: Parkinson’s may in part define what I am—a stubborn 18-year survivor—but it does not define who I am. Issues for State Despite having achieved a small personal success, I often think about how the department manages employees with long-term medical challenges—or fails to do so. With the aging population of the United States, more people are working years longer to save for retirement. The incidence of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, lupus, Parkinson’s, MS and others is increasing, particularly as the workforce ages. In time, State may find it has some responsibility to FSOs whose occupational duties exposed them to environmental toxins and hazardous conditions, just as the Department of Defense now acknowledges the role that the chemical defoliant Agent Orange may play in its retirees’ Parkinson’s diagnoses. Beyond duties to the individual, the issue of whether physically challenged Americans should be recruited and accepted as FSOs remains. If we have confidence that America’s ethnic and racial diversity represents us boldly abroad, why should persons with handicaps, limited mobility or those managing medical chal- lenges be driven from the Service? Clearly, outstanding professional competence must be the paramount consideration; but to ignore the capabilities of those who want to serve and have the capacity to contribute is unfair to the candidate and shortchanges the department. State’s laudable efforts at diversity in the Civil Service workplace have yet to be realized on the Foreign Service side. n Despite having achieved a small personal success, I often think about how the department manages employees with long- termmedical challenges—or fails to do so.