Posted by Deb (24.66.95.13) on June 21, 2000 at 20:30:55:
In Reply to: All Things Being Equal Which... posted by Jack on June 21, 2000 at 16:22:25:
I agree with what you said about this but there is always in this life the big IF.
IF they can stay gainfully employed.
I think that applying and qualifying for short term disability during bad cluster cycles may have helped some of us stay gainfully employed.
I was permanently "laid off" shortly after a cycle last year because my employer failed to see how "headaches" could prevent me from arriving on time each and everyday. How they could affect my job performance and why I looked "drugged" all the time. (I was practically ODing on OTC, had no serious pain meds and was severely sleep deprived, can anyone here relate :-)) The consensus on their part was that I was having a myriad of personal problems and may be drinking heavily, partying and/or drug using.
Had I applied for and been granted short term disability I feel there would have been no room for inaccurate speculation etc., about my "condition". I feel I would have remained gainfully employed at a job I loved and did well. Instead it was a lose/lose situation. I had to rely instead on unemployment benefits and my employer had to incur costs to retrain.
As we all know, CH is a bonafide neurological disorder that causes debilitating pain. Some of the meds that work for us to ease the pain also add to our inability to perform well.
To say that someone with MS who is temporarily out of remission and hasn't the ability to lift their arms to their keyboard or what have you is deserving of disability but that a Clusterhead under attack should try to "tough it out and work through it" is to say that "they" are right after all, it isn't as bad as we make it out to be.
I think an Employer who were to "let go" a diabetic for administering insulin shots or an MS patient for going out on disability would be quickly brought up to speed on wrongful dismissal charges. Why are these afflictions afforded that "safety net",credibility and respect and we are subjected to sideway glances, undeserved innaccurate speculation, and ultimately humiliation when we lose but yet another job.
I agree that to be gainfully employed should be high on our priority list, but how to actually accomplish that while suffering with this may need a little assistance from the laws and programs that were designed to help "the disabled" from being discriminated against by employers.
I am also aware that alot of the posts about this are referring to long term disability as opposed to short term but I also know that alot of us suffer this on a long term day to day basis and continually asking employers to "bear with us" when we are late, re-arranging our hours to compensate for missed time, expecting co-workers to pick up our slack etc., when you know there may be no end in sight, can hardly be expected to add to anyones ability to feel better about oneself for any sort of long term basis.
Just my Canadian 2 Cents which is worth about zero.
Cheers