Researcher Identity Development

I became seriously ill (life-threatening) during the second year of a two-year research contract. After three months full-time salary and three months part-time salary, I had to return to work. Sick leave could not be extended I was told. And I would have no money coming in either. I was still experiencing side effects from the treatment. The hospital said it'd probably be a year before I was back to 'normal'. The funder had agreed to pause the work and resumed paying my salary when I returned to work. I had ten months of my contract remaining. I didn't feel properly like myself until something around four months prior to the end of my contract. I requested the PI request a short three-month extension to my contract to allow for my rehab. This was denied. The PI refused to request an extension because the university didn't have any money. The Head of Department supported that decision and said the department didn't have any money either. Near the very end of the contract, the PI said a three-month extension would have been a "nightmare" for them in terms of their own workload. I think the following detail should be recorded as well: I received my redundancy notice from the university whilst I was in hospital having treatment.