About this series: The Cost of Living explores how Austin became so expensive, who is being squeezed and why, and what local leaders are — and are not — doing to address it.
A s an ice storm closed in on Central Texas in late January, Bricia, a 43-year-old mother battling endometrial cancer, moved deliberately through her Elgin home, deciding what to pack before the power went out.
Pain radiated from her right shoulder, flaring with stress and aggravating skin already raw from radiation treatment. She wanted to lie down. Instead, she kept moving, preparing to flee the cold and the dark…