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.
I wanted to PM you but it did not let me. I only read your post quickly cause I am at work and no patients to prep but noticed your in Conn. I live in New York. Firstly so sorry for all that your have been through and I pray you get some needed relief with all my heart I pray that may be the case.
I noticed you say your still working but doing traveling. How come you dont commute to NY They pay well and as a nurse you should not be suffering financially. If your a CCU nurse you should have a strong cardiac background and hopefully that should open doors.
If you want to leave Bedside Visiting Nurse of NewYork in the Bronx has opening for Case Managers that pay in the 70,000-80,000 a year . If your looking for CCU Presb Columbia in NY (hospital President Clinton gets treated at pays high salaries to CCU nurses.
Post your resume on Career Builders and you will get lots of offers and learn more about how marketable you are through agency work. I did that and found a great perdiem job in the Bronx as a walkin triage nurse that I love. Never thought I would say that about a nursing job since so many times we get treated mean at our jobs. At This perdiem position every one is nice all the time. From patients to staff my whole 11hr shift. I thought I was dreaming.
I know maybe I read to quickly through your post and maybe I missed something but just thought you should not give up. Nursing still has lots of options.
I even got offers from pharmaceutical companies that were paying really well and from insurance companies both of these where desk jobs. So I hope you post your resume and maybe you find something that will meet your needs , time schedule and appropriate location.
I wish something I said helps but I know after all you have been through I am a lost for words other than to say may the Lord open a door, may you not loose hope
Take care sweety.
With my heart Angela
I just celebrated my first year of clean and free of cancer!!! and the fight continues. I wanted to say thank you for being so kind. NY may be the place to be but I am going to school to get my master's degree. I'm very disappointed with the way nurses are treated but love the profession. So the best thing I can do is become a NP and work in a clinic where I will make a difference and will give my patients the care they deserve. :redpinkhe But always in my heart and year after year celebrating health, I will keep you and your words very close to my hear.:redbeathe
Travel is helping me to pay for debts but I can't leave the state because of school, family and my husband's work. Otherwise, I'd be there in a heart beat... I:redbeatheNY!
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to be of assistance. Do you have a site where I can make a donation to help with your past bills? I am so glad that things are finally getting better for your now.
I hope that reporter follows through and exposes that pathetic excuse for a hospital!
You know this is pretty random but when I worked at a catholic hospital there were nuns and fathers on the board of directors. I wonder if that is the case with your hospital. If so, you may want to contact one of them and let them know what is happening.
Like all the other amazing folks here, I share your anger and tears and send you many hugs.
Take care,
Lexi
Bluesky, you fill me with joy and happines that I can count on my fellow nurses without even seeing my face and this is the joy that makes me feel better day after day. I am happy to report that I just celebrated one year after my last chemotherapy. I'm still having some issues with the surgery but nothing I can't handle.
In regards to money, I have the perfect way for you to make a difference. There is an organization that takes care of nurses which have the same issues I had.
This organization was founded by a nurse and left all her money for when we nurses are in need. Make a donation! Tell your fellow nurses to contribute. Ten dollars buys milk and bread for someone out there and this is how we can help each other. The Nurse's House was not able to help us because by the time my application was looked at, my husband had returned to work. But nevertheless I am grateful that this organization is there for us.
From the bottom of my heart, Thank you, thank you, thank you for ever! Your kindness is what I strive to give everyday to my patients. For that I will ask God everynight to give you everything you wish.
Hi Hotomails, How are you and your family doing now, and the press and Attorney General, I am dying to hear the outcome. I am praying for justice for you and all of us nurses that have experienced similar injustice. Are still traveling? Continue to be strong and brave.
I received a call from the State Attorney asking me in more detail about my case. Since the hospital did nothing wrong, nothing was ever done. The press actually called me to talk a little more about it and then I never heard back from them. I keep writing and telling anyone who will listen about the treatment to nurses in general.
I have gotten a lot of criticism from other nurses but in general, most will celebrate this crusade. I had to lighten up a bit because I'm going to school now and my free time is dedicated to my studies but I will not forget the terrible time we went through and the wonderful words I found in this forum.
I am amazed of the kindness of other men and women whom I don't know but the positive oozes from their typed letters.
Thank you and I'll keep posting for as long as I can.
I gotta wonder ... if you qualified for disability payments from insurance, would you also be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act? Might be worth a call to the US Justice Dept. or Consumers' Union, if you get bored.
Insurance companies dropping clients when they get diagnosed with serious illness has been an issue lately ... and I'll bet that this is where it all started. Either the insurance company pressured the hospital or the hospital didn't want the extra cost of your benefits. Probably both. What a mess! I hope things improve for you soon.
I gotta wonder ... if you qualified for disability payments from insurance, would you also be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act? Might be worth a call to the US Justice Dept. or Consumers' Union, if you get bored.
Insurance companies dropping clients when they get diagnosed with serious illness has been an issue lately ... and I'll bet that this is where it all started. Either the insurance company pressured the hospital or the hospital didn't want the extra cost of your benefits. Probably both. What a mess! I hope things improve for you soon.
Heron
Thank you Heron:
I am proud to say that it's been 1 year since my last chemotherapy and doing well. In regards to the legal action su suggest, it was not the insurance company that dropped me, it was the hospital who "let me go" because I couldn't do my job. It was the way they worded the document they gave me "unable to perform the duties for which he/she was hired" that made it legal.
I consulted an attorney and she told me that we could go after them with the disability card. However, because of the legal "resources" they had, it was a huge gamble for not much money and a system that is already in so much need would become worse.
I didn't sever the ties with that hospital but I have made my mission to help change the way they treat nurses. Now, they are offering short-term disability and they have a separate document that obligates them to disclose any discrepancies in healthcare after the extended leave runs out.
Thanks for your well wishes Heron. I'm so glad we are nurses...
Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
Wow hotamalis- what a wonderful testimony of a survivor. You are amazing to have not only gone through this, but to use it to make things better for others who may follow after you. You're an inspiration, and we're fortunate to have you here. :redbeathe
PS- and I agree about The Nurses' House. It's a great organization.
Wow hotamalis- what a wonderful testimony of a survivor. You are amazing to have not only gone through this, but to use it to make things better for others who may follow after you. You're an inspiration, and we're fortunate to have you here. :redbeathe
PS- and I agree about The Nurses' House. It's a great organization.
Thanks BBFRN! I think that the kindness I've seen in this forum allows me to pass it on to someone (anyone) else. However, I have to say (and you probably heard this before, I know this is the disease that will eventually put me underground and until I get there, I would like to know that I did something good for someone (you know, not as a job...)
Your heart is filled with goodness:redbeathe. It oozes kindness toward me.
I work for a Catholic Hospital too!! It makes me wonder what would happen to me if the situation was mine? I have never had cancer and cannot begin to understand all that you have been through. I cannot believe you where fired!! I will include you in my prayers. I am so glad you have some insurance benefits now. I work with a nurse who travels an hour from where she lives b/c she had a similiar situation as yours. She worked for the hospital in her home town for several years and she claims she loved that job. She said one of the doctors begged her to leave the hospital to work in her office. She kept passing it up b/c she didn't want to give up her benefits. Finally, after much convincing she left the hospital to work for the doctor. Not long after she found out she had breast cancer. She said, "when the doctor found out she was more worried about her practice than her and what it would cost her to pay for her new employee to continue her benefits while off on leaver for chemo and so on. Needless to say, she is fine and cancer free now but does not wish to see the doctor who she left a job at the hospital that she loved to work for who wasn't there for her in her desperate time of need. So she travels an hour to work with us. She is such a good nurse too! I was speechless when she told us this story. I didn't even know what to say after she told us. I was the one who asked her, "Why dont' you work in your towns hospital since you loved it so much? When she came out and told us why??" I felt like sticking my foot in my mouth! May God continue to heal you and your family and bring many more blessings your way.
I work for a Catholic Hospital too!! It makes me wonder what would happen to me if the situation was mine? I have never had cancer and cannot begin to understand all that you have been through. I cannot believe you where fired!! I will include you in my prayers. I am so glad you have some insurance benefits now. I work with a nurse who travels an hour from where she lives b/c she had a similiar situation as yours. She worked for the hospital in her home town for several years and she claims she loved that job. She said one of the doctors begged her to leave the hospital to work in her office. She kept passing it up b/c she didn't want to give up her benefits. Finally, after much convincing she left the hospital to work for the doctor. Not long after she found out she had breast cancer. She said, "when the doctor found out she was more worried about her practice than her and what it would cost her to pay for her new employee to continue her benefits while off on leaver for chemo and so on. Needless to say, she is fine and cancer free now but does not wish to see the doctor who she left a job at the hospital that she loved to work for who wasn't there for her in her desperate time of need. So she travels an hour to work with us. She is such a good nurse too! I was speechless when she told us this story. I didn't even know what to say after she told us. I was the one who asked her, "Why dont' you work in your towns hospital since you loved it so much? When she came out and told us why??" I felt like sticking my foot in my mouth! May God continue to heal you and your family and bring many more blessings your way.
Perhaps we should open a forum of nurses who have been greatly dissappointed by hospitals and medicine. I love being a nurse but I really don't like the way nurses are being treated. Tell this other nurse that I am proud of her for being a fighter, courageous and a true grit woman. There has to be a place for us somewhere, where we can practice without prejudism. The reaction of the MD does not surprise me.
Thanks for your post GILF. It makes me feel better I'm not alone and there are people like you who understand our situation.:loveya:
hotomalis
58 Posts
I just celebrated my first year of clean and free of cancer!!! and the fight continues. I wanted to say thank you for being so kind. NY may be the place to be but I am going to school to get my master's degree. I'm very disappointed with the way nurses are treated but love the profession. So the best thing I can do is become a NP and work in a clinic where I will make a difference and will give my patients the care they deserve. :redpinkhe But always in my heart and year after year celebrating health, I will keep you and your words very close to my hear.:redbeathe
Travel is helping me to pay for debts but I can't leave the state because of school, family and my husband's work. Otherwise, I'd be there in a heart beat... I:redbeatheNY!
Stay cool and sweet dear Angela!