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Posted on: Tue, Aug 5 2008 2:12 PM
Posted by: Cannoli Posts: 502
With the exception of walking awkwardly during flare-ups, nobody would know that I am disabled. I was "let go" on my last two jobs, after working for decades with no problems. Now, I really need to work. My dilemma is how do I explain being fired without mentioning my medical situation? I just jumped through all the hoops of signing up with an employment agency. I was totally honest with the counselor, and I knew when I left that office, she would never contact me for any position, sedentary or otherwise. Her attitude made that obvious.
Should I just keep my mouth shut with any prospective employer, or lay it on the line honestly? Any advice from you veterans out there is greatly appreciated; disability to this extent is all relatively new to me.
Less pain.....more joy
Posted on: Tue, Aug 5 2008 2:30 PM
Posted by: sandyfreytag Posts: 1,416
Hi Carol, Sandy here. I know how you feel. I lost my job also because of this invisable disease. I couldn't collect unemployment, because of my back surgery wasn't caused by my job. I am filling for SSD, because of my Fibro. and Arthritis. I know I can't work anymore. It can take years to get SSD so I am lucky to have my husband to take care of things until then. I hope someone can give you more advice then I can, but I just wanted to let you know how I understand what you are going through. Sometime I wish Fibro. had some sort of sign or look. Take Care Now My Fellow Fibromite, Sandy
Posted on: Tue, Aug 5 2008 5:41 PM
Posted by: Christopher Hill Posts: 257
Hi. I have had an invisable illness for six years in the form of Mental Health. I recently found myself with a physical disability as well. Now i can be seen to be disabled, many people treat you differently.
I symathyse with your employment issues. In the UK at Employment Agencies there is a specific member of staff allocated to helping people with Disabilities and Life Challenges back into work. I would of thought your country would have something similiar. There are also some charities here which help with the job search too. It may be worth looking to see what help there is in your area.
Hope i help in some way, Chris x
Posted on: Wed, Aug 6 2008 2:31 AM
Posted by: ArizonaSherry Posts: 381
Hi Carol,
First, Chris we do have vocational rehab here to help those with disabilities get back to work but there's not a dang thing they can do to help someone with severe, intense pain 24/7 to work. What employer will say yes to hiring us if we cannot keep the schedule because the pain just about killed us all night so we might be able to work depends how we feel when we wake up, if we slept and we might have to leave after 2 hours because our brain is suddenly in a complete fog. Sometimes we can focus and remember and other times we cannot. We must lie down and sleep for 2 hours at noon or we will get disoriented. We are hypersensitive to any chemicals in the workplace, noise and bright lights so if we encounter this on the job we would need to go home with flu-like symptoms. They'd have to treat us like a 1st grader. I have found no way to work. It's insane.
Carol, I decided it's impossible unless my own mother owned the company. Even then maybe 3 hours a day on a good day. We could work at home. Work around the Fibromonster symptoms. No schedule to keep. No pressure. You may need to do something different than you did in the past, something simpler. That is all I could ever come up with. Now finding work that is legit might be the difficulty. Well it is because there's all the online scams. I hope maybe that helps a little my Fibro pal.
Peace to you and prayers from me,
Sherry
Carol
Posted on: Wed, Aug 6 2008 2:57 AM
Hey Sherry,
Your words are helping me out of the denial stage with the whole fibro enchalada. I've been beating myself up over being fired. It really hurt my feelings; however, I heard through the grapevine that everyone at the call center liked me and said that I fit in well there. In fact they wanted me to come back to fill in for an executive assistant out on maternity leave. I just couldn't keep up with so much multi-tasking, pressure and the 8 hour days with the incoming call center. There is no way in hell that I would be able to handle the stress of working for upper management in a 9,000 employee strong company. But I'm learning more and more that my experience is not unique.
Thank you so much for the support. I wish you less pain and more joy.....Ciao, Carol
Posted on: Wed, Aug 6 2008 8:19 AM
Posted by: squabwithfibro Posts: 1,122
Carol,
Who wouldn't like you? You have such a great personality!!
My neurlolgist suggested once doing medical transcripting from home. She said her office had someone who did it for them from home. I haven't much idea of how to go about getting into such a thing. She said it was not necessary to take a class to learn how.. I guess that would depend on who was willing to hire you. This might be something to consider.
Coding and billing can be done from home too. I don't know how one gets into this either. But, it can be legitimate work from home.
Whoever of you described we fibromites as, "this sleepless bunch of people", were right on the mark. Perfect, to me, would be, if I could do work when I cannot sleep!
My son set me up to do remote calling from home as work from the call center where he works.. You are a remote agent. It didn't work out for me, because it was telemarketing. I made an entire $64 dollars. Money is money, so it is appreciated, however, that doesn't pay too many bills. Would you feel comfortable contacting the call center and asking them if they do such a thing? My son says more companies are doing this, rather than outsourcing to India for instance. Customers like to speak to people they can understand! You get to work from home. Downside, is they usually require you work within the parameters of a "shift" which can be problematic for we fibromites!
I agree with Sandy and Sherry, to be careful of the online scams. I think they are mainly just good at taking money from people who are desperate. Disgraceful.
Good to hear you say, "we can do this" again. I was getting worried about you kido. Try to remember that no matter how hard it is not to, worrying doesn't help. We cloud up our already fibro fogged heads!
My husband has been going to classes to prepare easing back into the work force through "Ticket to Work". They had a class that dealt with the exact question you asked, re: being fired, how much to say about your health, etc. I'll ask him what they said and get back to you. He goes to that class this morning in fact.
Less pain, more joy and we can do this!
Valerie
Posted on: Wed, Aug 6 2008 10:22 AM
Posted by: Wheelin Rev Posts: 837
Cannoli:Now, I really need to work.
Not trying to be "testing" Disaboom but...
Why not put Disaboom Jobs (http://www.disaboomjobs.com/) to the test? Perhaps start a new thread where anybody using this new resource could document how they find the website. The folks behind Disaboom Jobs would probably be grateful of constructive feedback on a real-time basis.
Dave
Posted on: Wed, Aug 6 2008 4:47 PM
Said I'd get back to ya, so, I'm here...
Cannoli:Should I just keep my mouth shut with any prospective employer, or lay it on the line honestly?
Ticket to Work,( my hubby is using MERS Goodwill to place him, or assist him in rejoining the work force).Folks say, "don't lie, but, don't offer any information you don't need to. An employer is not entitled to your life history."
This may be more info than you wanted, but, if not useful to you, perhaps to someone else.
Here in the good ole' USA, these are illegal interview questions
Federal and state laws prohibit prospective employers from asking certain questions that are not related to the job they are hiring for. Questions should be job-related and not used to find out personal information. Employers should not ask about any of the following, because to not hire a candidate because of any one of them is discriminatory:
Race
Color
Sex
Religion
National origin
Birthplace
Age
Disability
Maritial/family status
samples:
1) How old are you? I am over the age of 18.
2) Are you a US citizen? I am legally authorized to work in the United States.
3) How many days were you sick last year? I can meet your attendance requirements. I do not have an attendance problem.
4) Do you attend church regularly? I can (cannot) work weekends. (Sunday/Saturday). I have open availability. I am not avaiable to work Sunday mornings but I can work anytime after noon.
5) Are you able to perform the essential functions of this job with or without an accommodation? Yes
6) Why are you working with MERS Goodwill? It is like an employment agency. They have resources like computers and fax machines that assist me in my job search.
Answer the "Intent" of the question.
I hope this information is helpful to someone.
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