I'm stuck in Puerto Rico for an extra week. It's putting me $3,000 over budget, and I'm worried I'll lose my job.

• Kaci Jane Hansen is a 27-year-old whose flight from Puerto Rico was canceled following the news in Venezuela.
• She spent over 10 hours on the phone with Delta reps trying to rebook her flight.
• By the time she flies, she will have spent at least $3,000 on unbudgeted expenses.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kaci Jane Hansen. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In the early hours of the morning on January 3^rd, I was putting my suitcases in the back of an Uber and heading to the airport in San Juan after a Puerto Rican New Year's celebration with friends. They had all left on the 2^nd, but my flight was early the next morning.

A text came through to say my flight had been delayed by 360 minutes.

Once I got to the airport, it was totally chaotic. People were crying, and there was hardly space to move.

I soon realized my flight wasn't just delayed — I wouldn't be getting back to New York that day. It was later confirmed that my flight had been canceled.

I was rebooked for a flight 5 days later

I got on the phone with Delta to try to rebook my flight, and was told by an automated voice message that it would be a two-hour wait. When a representative finally came on the line, the call was accidentally ended. I phoned back and was told I would have to wait nine hours to speak with someone.

While waiting on the phone, I made my way back to my hotel, where I had a quick sleep because my booking hadn't run over yet. But when I woke, I had to check out. There were people and suitcases in the lobby, everyone trying to get a room.

Delta rebooked my flight for Thursday, January 8^th, my birthday, and five days after my original flight was meant to be.

Just out of curiosity, I checked to see how much it would cost to charter a private flight — it was about $22,000, which is clearly too expensive for me to afford.

I'm worried about losing my job

I managed to book an Airbnb until Thursday. I was really lucky to get somewhere because when I was looking, the availability just kept disappearing.

Although I feel very fortunate to have a flight booked and a safe place to stay, I am terrified about how this may impact my work.

For the last year, I have been auditioning all over the US for a part in a production. I got it. It was going to be my big break. I told everyone about it and planned my life around the filming, which starts on January 6^th.

I'll still be stuck in Puerto Rico when filming starts.

The production team could cut me in two seconds. It would be perfectly justified if they did. That would mean that a year of sacrificing and working endlessly would have been for nothing. And what if I don't get another chance like this ever again, to do a job that I have worked so hard for?

No one is paying for this — for being stuck in Puerto Rico — except for me.

I'm having to spend extra money and won't get reimbursed

I've had to shell out at least $3,000 for the extra five days here. That's a lot of money I didn't budget to spend. Everything I'm spending is out of pocket — I'll never get reimbursed.

And if they drop me from this role, my next paycheck isn't going to come.

Each time I think about the impact this delay in Puerto Rico could have on the future of my career, I get anxious and tearful. I'm trying, I'm really trying, to have a sense of humor and see some bright side in all this, but I'm struggling right now.