Don M
Active member
- Jan 8, 2010
- 2,254
- 14
Some of you know that for the last year, work has been getting exponentially worse, until August, at which time it became intolerable to deal with anymore. I was due to retire on March 31, 2023, but as August became September, I just knew that if I tried to stay until then, it would literally kill me from stress.
I sent my Dr an email prior to my September 30th appointment, outlining EVERYTHING in great detail that has been occurring. Come the day of the appointment, he started by asking me a few questions, then looked me straight in the eyes and said: "You're done." He put me on medical leave on the spot until October 27th, when he would 'reevaluate me.' I didn't make it that long. Within 3 weeks of being away from the job, I felt in my gut that I could never return. I was just as sure that if I went back, it would be fatal. I'd been keeping my Dr updated on my condition through emails, he responded by making my appointment on the 27th for TWO hours, instead of just the usual hour.
I also contacted my retirement system and requested they send me the required paperwork for a disability retirement. I previously checked on just flat out retiring early, but the earliest they could process me out would be November 30th, 2022. And what's WORSE is that by straight retiring just 4 months early would mean a $14,400/year LOSS in my retirement. God bless my wife, she DID NOT tell me I couldn't do it, that it was too much money to lose. She simply said: "We made it work through worse, we can make this work too." I don't know what I would do without her.
I received the disability paperwork, filled out my part and sent the Dr his portion to complete. I never made the appointment on the 27th. That morning, my wife had to call a squad for me, because I was having some nasty chest pains. I spent two days in the hospital, being poked, prodded and having tests run. Day two they did a heart catheter and were POSITIVE they were going to find a blockage or clot. To EVERYONE'S complete shock, they found NOTHING, just some minor plaque build up, no clots or blockages at all. Because of these results, I was released a few hours later and set up with another heart exam TWO MONTHS away, not ASAP as you would have thought. While yes, I do have several risk factors for heart disease, I felt all along that this was a delayed reaction to what's been going on at work. The hospital refused to commit, but they did say that the work stress COULD be a contributing factor.
My Dr (who if you haven't guessed by now is my Psychiatrist) got me in the very next day to make up the appointment I missed. HE ALSO BELIEVES that the episode was caused by work (but did tell me to work on my risk factors). He extended my leave until December 22, 2022 (that's as long as I can stay off on FMLA). My disability paperwork was completed, checked over and faxed to my retirement system. I'm supposed to call them in the morning to make sure they received all the pages and everything is to their liking. As long as everything is OK, all I have left to do is wait for their decision.
This is where I'm asking for everyone's well wishes. I really need this to go through as smoothly and quickly as possible. I am currently still receiving a paycheck from using up my accrued time, but that will run out before the end of the month. I fully believe God has this well in hand (just like he did when I lost my job for ten months from a wrongful termination), but the human in me needs reassurance and would like to know that others are pulling for me.
A few of you have reached out to me after picking up on some of the clues I gave in a few posts earlier in the month, and you cannot know how much that means to me. To have people who don't know me from John Doe on the street, reach out and actually let me talk and get it out, before the poison can do any more damage.
Thank you all.
I sent my Dr an email prior to my September 30th appointment, outlining EVERYTHING in great detail that has been occurring. Come the day of the appointment, he started by asking me a few questions, then looked me straight in the eyes and said: "You're done." He put me on medical leave on the spot until October 27th, when he would 'reevaluate me.' I didn't make it that long. Within 3 weeks of being away from the job, I felt in my gut that I could never return. I was just as sure that if I went back, it would be fatal. I'd been keeping my Dr updated on my condition through emails, he responded by making my appointment on the 27th for TWO hours, instead of just the usual hour.
I also contacted my retirement system and requested they send me the required paperwork for a disability retirement. I previously checked on just flat out retiring early, but the earliest they could process me out would be November 30th, 2022. And what's WORSE is that by straight retiring just 4 months early would mean a $14,400/year LOSS in my retirement. God bless my wife, she DID NOT tell me I couldn't do it, that it was too much money to lose. She simply said: "We made it work through worse, we can make this work too." I don't know what I would do without her.
I received the disability paperwork, filled out my part and sent the Dr his portion to complete. I never made the appointment on the 27th. That morning, my wife had to call a squad for me, because I was having some nasty chest pains. I spent two days in the hospital, being poked, prodded and having tests run. Day two they did a heart catheter and were POSITIVE they were going to find a blockage or clot. To EVERYONE'S complete shock, they found NOTHING, just some minor plaque build up, no clots or blockages at all. Because of these results, I was released a few hours later and set up with another heart exam TWO MONTHS away, not ASAP as you would have thought. While yes, I do have several risk factors for heart disease, I felt all along that this was a delayed reaction to what's been going on at work. The hospital refused to commit, but they did say that the work stress COULD be a contributing factor.
My Dr (who if you haven't guessed by now is my Psychiatrist) got me in the very next day to make up the appointment I missed. HE ALSO BELIEVES that the episode was caused by work (but did tell me to work on my risk factors). He extended my leave until December 22, 2022 (that's as long as I can stay off on FMLA). My disability paperwork was completed, checked over and faxed to my retirement system. I'm supposed to call them in the morning to make sure they received all the pages and everything is to their liking. As long as everything is OK, all I have left to do is wait for their decision.
This is where I'm asking for everyone's well wishes. I really need this to go through as smoothly and quickly as possible. I am currently still receiving a paycheck from using up my accrued time, but that will run out before the end of the month. I fully believe God has this well in hand (just like he did when I lost my job for ten months from a wrongful termination), but the human in me needs reassurance and would like to know that others are pulling for me.
A few of you have reached out to me after picking up on some of the clues I gave in a few posts earlier in the month, and you cannot know how much that means to me. To have people who don't know me from John Doe on the street, reach out and actually let me talk and get it out, before the poison can do any more damage.
Thank you all.
Wish you the best man!
