Out on disability... just got fired

[Ms. Toad]

71. My two personal experiences with it have been pretty pain free

Minimum wage job (daughter) at a chain grocery store, teacher/administrator at a university (me).

In both instances, the employer initiated the FMLA, and exercising it has been painless - both of us just identify the leave as FMLA when we need to take it. My daughter uses it at least one day every 8 weeks, with probably 5 more appointments throughout the year. Mine is for a single major medical incident (spiral fracture of the tibia). But neither of us is anywhere close to 12 weeks in a year, so I don't even know whehter we are on a calendar year or a rolling year. (That would matter to the OP - who would be over 12 weeks in a rolling year, but under in a calendar year)

But - since before FMLA there was no guarantee that any of us would have a job to return to after a major family medical incident, even though the details are complex, it is a significant improvement.