Nine-year-old Carolyn Austin was diagnosed in June 2020 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Carolyn’s health has been put through the wringer in just over a year’s time, and catching COVID-19 would be another complication, her mother Elizabeth explained. Carolyn's Pennsylvania school district began the year with a mask-optional policy — which led her mother to opt homeschool the young cancer patient. She noted that for students with peanut allergies, other students are asked to leave nut-free products at home, and questioned why a similar mask accommodation couldn’t be made for her daughter battling cancer. Since then, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has implemented a masking order requiring facial coverings on K-12 campuses.