Tuesday, October 11, 2005
For the past several months I have been trying to fit my cancer into the three months allowed to employees in the United States in the Family Medical Leave Act. I have now realized that this cannot be done. I have worried about this since February. Thanks to a wonderful lady at my office (she was interim Director of Pharmacy-M.I.S.), I am being afforded time to recover from the effects of all of the treatment I have received since February. This woman is truly an angel. This has been a long tough road...and the thing of it is, it is not over. I have been pretty hard on myself, too. I have expected to be "myself" again shortly after radiation therapy was complete. I'm not the same old me, and frankly, I won't be for some time. I have been depressed about it. It is like I have refused to give myself the time to heal. The truth is that I have been worried about work. You see, even though I completed "treatment" for breast cancer, I am not yet ready to get back to work. Okay, the FMLA is great for pregnancies, maybe or other non-chronic medical issues. But my situation might be a little different than those. I have stage 4 cancer. Don't get me wrong, I do not plan on giving up on myself....I just know now that I need to give myself time to heal. Thankfully, I am being afforded the opportunity to do just that. Work has approved my working from home until I am better. I am blessed with wonderful, understanding people in my life. I am anxious to contribute to my department, although the logistics of getting that underway are not straightened out yet, but I am assured they will be. The wonderful lady of whom I speak is Paula D. Thank you, Paula, for your concern for me. And thank you also for the opportunity to contibute from home while I recuperate from treatment.
4 comments:
I'm so glad you are taking care of you. And yes, there are some truly wonderful and caring people in this world who REALLY understand what it is you are going through. These kind of people think from the depths of their hearts. They take action where action needs to be taken. It's one thing to say, "I'm thinking of you"..it's another thing to take that thinking and put your words and works into action. God Bless Deirdre and God Bless Paula D. I miss you so much..
I am so glad to hear that you
are not giving up...Although at times it seem that you are...I know that you are alot stronger than you think.
Yes, Thanks all those who support you. But, most of all....
Give thanks to our Lord, I know he
is alongside you every step of the way...
We are often surprised by the kindness of others, but really, we should be surprised when it is the opposite. Just last year when I was going through chemo, I was blown away by the amazing generosity of my employer and all of my co-workers. When one person has cancer, everyone around them has it too. When they all respond in kind, it makes the journey bearable. I'm glad you are surrounded by good people! Take care!
Okay, maybe you didn't mean to be funny but your first sentence got me good. You are just too considerate trying to make your cancer behave.
I, too am glad to hear that there are considerate people looking to do what they can when and where they can.
Post a Comment