I'm so disappointed. My hospital FIRED ME!!

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Specializes in CCU, MICU, SICU, TELE, MED/SURG.

you will not believe the type of year i've been having.

my story begins during my last year in nursing school. i found a lump on my right breast and i went to have it checked out. i didn't have much money and the insurance i had was so, so bad i only had a sonogram. the radiologist told me it was benign but he suggested having a mammogram. since he said it was benign, i opted to wait until i graduated and got better medical insurance.

i graduated may 2005 and started my job in july. i got so busy learning my job that i forgot about the lump but every month i would check it promising i would do something about it as soon as i cought a break.

during that time, my daughter moves in with my grandson because of marital problems. they were welcomed and we squeezed into a 2 bedroom apartment. at the same time, my husband was diagnosed with stenosis of the cervical vertabrea from c3 to c6. he had a laminectomy and took him until september of 2006 to return to work partially healed.

i finally cought that break on september of 2006. i went to my obgyn and had a mammogram and was referred to a general surgeon. december of 2006 rolls in and a fire breaks out in the building where we live. i was watching everything from a patient's room because i was at work, we were short staffed and couldn't leave. my husband called and told me everyone was ok but we were displaced, at least until the fire marshall could deem the building safe. i go back to the apartment to get some clothes and my grandson's gerbil and got caught by tv cameras. i appeared on the local channel and i'm afraid of what i looked like at the end of my shift, after a three-day-in-a-row shift. i never saw the interview but the people at the hotel where we stayed told me they saw me.

two days after, december 13th, i got a call from the surgeon telling me i had breast cancer. (are you thinking "oh, my goodness, can this woman take more bad news?? 'cos i did and i'm not done).

i had a double mastectomy and my husband and daughter were laid off from their respective jobs but i have long term dissability (not short term) and my husband's boss kept him on the job as long as he could. so we spend the next 71 days praying for money because we only had two small unemployment checks coming in. we filed our taxes and the return payed for our rent.

i started chemotherapy and we applied to any service that will help us support our little family cramped in a small apartment. we still have not heard from them but we counted our blessings because i still had my health insurance. april 27th of 2007 comes around and i got the news from my hospital of employemnt that i was being fired (and with that my benefits were terminated) because of the family leave act is 12 weeks nationwide but in my state, is 16 weeks. the hospital terminated me at the 16th week. we had no health insurance and we didn't qualify for state insurance because we had started a 401k when i started working and had a little bit of money put away ($3000) for our retirement. not enough to pay off bills but enough to pay for two more months in rent. i only needed two more months of benefits to finish my treatment and surgery. the hospital was not open to discuss my benefits at all.

it would have been $826 for cobra that we didn't have. what to do? the medical staff was very supportive, my ex-boss was very apologetic and my co-workers gave me the emotional support i needed. my little family kept me alive. there is one nurse's assistant who gave us $175 for groceries. we were so grateful that we were able to have a ham for easter. i am left with an incredible amount of bills and debt which i can only describe as "my fighting gift from the hospital."

needless to say, i am not going back to work at that hospital and instead, i am forced to do travel nursing because of the pay. i need to pay off all these bills. my husband was finally called back to his job and his boss was so apologetic. we were treated with more sympathy from my husband's job than we were from my hospital. my daughter found another job and graduated and is a massage therapist awaiting to put enough money together to get her license. this only discourages me from the nursing profession. i thought that hospitals would be good to me because i was a nurse, i became a good one and because i gave so much to my patients, i thought i would get that in return. i got friends who cared and sent me pictures of babies that were being born to my fellow nurses in my absence. i have to do travel, getting the worst assignments and being treated as an outsider (as i saw them being treated at my hospital) because i need to pay for those bills. i am so turned off by this career i am searching to see what is the best way to stay away from this and other hospitals. i don't wish this on anyone and i wish i had a better employer.

the kicker??? this is a catholic hospital!!!

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I am so sorry for all you have been through. I will keep you in my prayers.

(((((hotomalis)))))

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I'm so glad you felt comfortable coming here to us....so sorry for all you have been through...consider this a great big hug from me.

There are many options open to you; hopefully you will find the right one for you.

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Specializes in CCU, MICU, SICU, TELE, MED/SURG.

I'm already feeling warm and fuzzy!! As I mentioned before, my fellow nurses kept me from an emotional down spiral. I knew this was the best place to come to feel human again.

My hair is coming back slowly and aside from the 30 lbs I put on (r/t steroids) I feel like I am stepping out of a war zone.

Thank you guys!

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

Please accept a hug HUG from me. I am speechless.

Also, you and your family will be in my prayers.

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Specializes in LTC , SDC and MDS certified (3.0).

I'm so sorry for what you have been through!! Holding bad feelings in is no good for your spirit. Try to let it go and be grateful for all your friends you know who's your true friends now. And remember what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.Things can only get better!! You are in my prayers

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Specializes in CCU, MICU, SICU, TELE, MED/SURG.

Gosh, thanks you guys! I'm not holding a grudge. I'm just disappointed that all I gave was not appreciated enough to want to keep me employed (you would think a hospital to be smarter with the nursing shortage). Just two more months. I don't think that will ever go away and believe me, I'm looking for new and better things to learn. Wherever I go, I'm going to be better than I was because cancer taught me how to be even more compassionate and to have patience.

It happened at perhaps the worse time in my life. I got kicked while I and my little family were down. Know what I mean?

Thanks for the prayers, you guys. Those, I always welcome!

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You have GOT to find the money to pay for COBRA, even if it means selling something, anything, borrow it, get a credit card, anything, but you have GOT to pay for that COBRA. Drain every cent you have...but you have GOT to find a way to pay for it.

If you have a 60-day break in insurance (never mind that your new insurance may kick in on day 61), but on day 60, you can be rendered uninsurable for a pre-existing condition, and I guarantee, with your cancer history that no insurance company will touch you and your premiums will go through the roof.

I am so sorry all of this is happening, but not paying for COBRA to bridge over your benefits will cost you more money than paying for it in the interim.

I will be praying SO HARD for your recovery and that the good luck fairy sprinkles some dust on your family!

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Specializes in ICU of all kinds, CVICU, Cath Lab, ER..

I didn't think you could be let go for using the family act?? any lawyers available to discuss this with you? yellow pages...

my prayers are for you

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Specializes in CCU, MICU, SICU, TELE, MED/SURG.

Thanks hopefull2009. I actually have no more savings and no more 401k. I got cobra by borrowing money which is costing me a little over $820 but my husband and I are insured. I am done with the chemotherapy and the surgery just took place. All your prayers must have been heard by the big guy upstairs because my husband was recalled to work and we are getting full benefits as of the beginning of next month.

Walk6miles, you ask about this being legal? This is the question every one asked including ourselves. The American Cancer Society referred us to an attorney and we explained the situation. The attorney said that unfortunatelly it is within their legal right to fire me because I have not showed up to work in more than 16 weeks. Now, a moral right is another thing. The attorney said that because it is such a small amount of money (2 months of benefit pay), I might be able to negociate with the hospital but the hospital was not open to discuss my case. My husband was actually the one who did most of the fighting since I was extremely fatigued.

Well, no one said life was fair so with this, I must press on and do what we have to.

We owe money to a lot of people but I'm not worried about paying it back. I'm just worried about how long it will take.

Thanks for the prayers, you guys. I don't know you but you all bring a huge comfort into our lives. Thank you so much.

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Specializes in Licensed Practical Nurse.

hotomalis, I dont know what to say, I am experiencing difficulty with nursing, but nothing compared to what u went through, huh, I'm so sorry for what has happened to u. Thank goodness you came here to allnurses. You are truly in my prayers, I will prayer persistently for you, because I have found that God always makes a way. Stay positive, you seem so strong, your strength will carry you. Best of the worlds wishes to you, and god bless!!!

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Specializes in Critical care/ER, SRNA.

I too am so sorry for what you have been through. I wish I could say I am surprised about what the hospital did, sadly I am not. I have worked for many, many hospitals in my 11 years of nursing and I can't think of one who would not have done what yours did. In my humble opinion, nowadays, hospitals don't give a crap about their employees. They only care about who shows up to work. If it's a warm body, that's all that matters. I will pray for you and don't stop the faith! Sometimes we go through things in life that are horrible, but God is always with us, good and bad!! Hang in there and keep your spirits up!!!:balloons:

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