[BernieO]

I was injured at work 15 years ago leaving me with chronic back pain. I worked at the hospital 25 years but HR slowly made life so horrible for me that they forced me out. It is much easier to get rid of an employee than to try to accomadate a long term employee with good benefits including 5 weeks annual leave. I could write a book about HR techniques to get rid of disabled persons.

I currently have a management position at a LTC. Any nurse at my LTC is not required to lift, can find opporturnitie to sit or stretch. LTC is a much better avenue for nurses with disabilities.

At present, I have completed chemo for ovarian cancer. The LTC is very supportive and willingly gives me time off for MD visits, etc.

Interesting thread indeed.

[Jay-Jay]

One of the reasons I prefer home care nursing is that I have a serious hearing impairment. It especially causes problems on the phone. My latest hearing aids are great on the phone, BUT the nursing stations in hospitals tend to put their phones beside computer monitors, which cause +++ interference with the hearing aid's telephone coil. I have a moderately severe loss in the one ear, and a severe loss (80-90% in the midrange) in the other.

I was discriminated against by a teacher in nursing college, but I haven't had a problem since, except with the odd private duty patient. And I do a GREAT job with patients who can't talk, because I'm very good at interpreting body language and other visual cues.

[mattsmom81]

Good luck to those of you who are trying for SSD. I did and they told me also there had to be 'something' I could do. I can relate about the whole humiliation of the process.

Currently I am trying minimal work in ICU, a few shifts a week...enough to pay off a few bills and get us into a position where I won't have to work. I have spinal arthritis and chronic pain and it's hard to keep going. Eventually I will not be able to I know. There are lots of us here in the same boat. Aleve and Tylenol only help so much but I'm afraid to take any more now I'm back at work. I'm running on stubbornness now and trying to conserve my strength and be verrrry careful.

TJjam, my acute care job description calls for lifting 75 lbs frequently and 100 lbs occasionally. And I had to prove I could do this prior to being rehired following a car accident and surgery.

[bestblondRN]

Originally posted by mattsmom81
Good luck to those of you who are trying for SSD. I did and they told me also there had to be 'something' I could do. I can relate about the whole humiliation of the process.

Currently I am trying minimal work in ICU, a few shifts a week...enough to pay off a few bills and get us into a position where I won't have to work. I have spinal arthritis and chronic pain and it's hard to keep going. Eventually I will not be able to I know. There are lots of us here in the same boat. Aleve and Tylenol only help so much but I'm afraid to take any more now I'm back at work. I'm running on stubbornness now and trying to conserve my strength and be verrrry careful.

TJjam, my acute care job description calls for lifting 75 lbs frequently and 100 lbs occasionally. And I had to prove I could do this prior to being rehired following a car accident and surgery.

And what happens to you if your back goes out again and you're unable to work? Be careful about what all you do--I haven't had surgery yet, but got worse after returning to work after 6 weeks of Core Stabilization in PT--it set me WAY back and now am finding myself in search of work again. Good luck to you mattsmom!

[bestblondRN]

Originally posted by Disablednurse
I am glad that you started this thread. I am glad that I am not here by myself. I have disabilities r/t failed back syndrome r/t 2 unsuccessful back surgeries. After each surgery, I got worse. At this point I spend 20 of 24 hours in bed. I cannot walk further than 10 ft, sit longer than 20 min, or stand longer than 3 minutes without severe pain. I am on strong narcotics around the clock and all of this prevents me from being able to work. I have applied for my disability, but am fighting for it with a lawyer. My husband is also disabled r/t diabetes, amputation and breathing problems. I get so discouraged with them telling me that they understand that I am disabled but with my young age (46) and my educaation, I should be able to find something. Yes I would love to be able to work, I would love to be able to sit, stand and walk further than I can, but I cannot. I get so depressed about this.

Disablednurse--

I am so sorry that this has happened to you. You are way too young to have to spend your life in bed! Have you looked into having a second opinion regarding your back surgeries? There aren't a lot of docs who will be glad to work on someone else's failed surgery, but I know of some who do it regularly with some good outcomes. There are also the alternatives such as dorsal column stimulators and injections--in fact I had great relief from a caudal injection--couldn't handle the epidural injection because the space was too tight and it actually made things worse again. The caudal gave me total relief for about 3 weeks and some relief for several weeks after that. Just some things to think about.....let me know if I can be of any help to you.

In thinking about why I started this thread.....it galls me to think that we have given so much to society as a group, only to be tossed away when we are in need of help ourselves. It speaks volumes about how "throwaway" our society has become.

[TJjam]

I,m really sorry Disablednurse about your disability and your husband's!Hope you are able to draw your disability soon!You
both are in my prayers!

[IrishElf]

Originally posted by karenG
one of my nursing heroes- Cherry, is deaf. yet she manages brilliantly lipreading! my hat goes off to you all.

Karen

Hi Karen,

I'm hard of hearing and I'm an RN. Please tell me more about Cherry. Sometimes I really get down about my hearing. I just switched from the hospital to home health. This has been great because I don't have all the background noise to deal with!

Thanks!

[Disablednurse]

I am unable to use any steroids that they use because of my diabetes. I am reluctant to have any more surgery at this point.

[kids]

I got my RN in 1990.

In 1994 I blew disks in my back. I was tired, I was 3 hours from the end of my 3rd 12 hour shift in a row, my knees hurt and I just didn't feel like squatting so I bent over to get a med out of the narc drawer. My DNS was standing next to me when it happened, she and an RRT picked me up off the floor.

9 years and 5 failed surgeries (including 2 fusions) later I have a catagory 6 perminent disability rating for severe stenosis from T10 to S2 (I had a functional disk at S1-S2).
I spend about 1/3 of my time in a wheelchair, it used to be because the pain was to much to stand or walk but now it is because I fall down a lot, I don't have enough LE strength to pick up my own feet.
I am not a candidate for artificial disks. My neurosurgeon says I probably would have benefited from Herrington rods and pedicle screws but it is to late, the serial EMG studies and myelograms show the nerve damage is permament. I am enrolled in a pain mgmt clinic. I take a lot of MS. I have failed 2 trials with the Medtronic spinal cord stimulator-it causes painfully intense burning sensations in my legs. I am currently weighing the pros & cons of sciatic abblation.

I have been denied SSD twice, most recently in January. The reason they give is that I am 39 years old, I can be drugged to a tolerable pain level and still function AND I keep finding jobs I can do. My newest job is doing advice. I love it, wish I had tried it years ago. I did not tell my employer about my limitations, I didn't have to. I read the job description before I applied and there is not one thing in it that I can not do. I told them at the interview that I have a doctors appointment every 2 weeks and it can not be rescheduled. When I went for the UA after the 1st interview I took in a copy of my MS prescription and a note from the Doc stating I am a pain mgmt patient. 2 weeks later they called me for a second interview and and made me an offer.

[VickyRN]

As the nursing population ages (average age of a floor nurse is 44-46), we are going to see more and more of this. Doing this kind of work for 10, 15, 20+ years can take a horrible toll. Unfortunately, facilities are not adapting or trying to accomodate the needs of the aging RNs. Even in the face of the worse nursing shortage since WWII. An article on the nursing shortage appeared in JAMA about 2 years ago, and even the doctors were urging facilities to accomodate the aging RN workforce.