My whole experience with LOA has been one that I can honestly say I hope I never have to go through again. As I have stated, I never imagined I would be gone such a long time. I do know that I would never have made it without a family member to help me.
Everything has a purpose, but there really should be a better system. Some of it is federal regulation, some is clearly company policy. All of it is annoying to those who are sick and to the healthcare providers who do a lot of work & are not financially reimbursed for it. You can say thank you, but some days it seems to go in one ear and out the other.
Mountains of paperwork, a specific number of days to fill it all out, employees who ‘don’t think it’s their job’ and could care less if I lose my job if they don’t fill it out on time. Stress? Stress is knowing that if it isn’t completed & returned on time, you just lost all those benefits. I wonder if the parties involved would like to pay my hospital bills or provide a paycheck. Through begging, pleading, and literally sitting outside in the lobby (not me), the paperwork was rushed to arrive at the final hour. I am thinking that did not help with my initial physical healing, but we aren’t supposed to hold on to those things. I think I am a little frustrated over that because of an appointment yesterday with a physician scratching their head, asking why this has been such a severe attack. And he doesn’t know about the things going on internally.
I then wait to see if it has been approved. They have an allotted number of days, and you are to be notified in a specific manner. In fact, in two very specific manners. One is through your local office. They ‘forgot’. Yes, that is the word that was used. Forgot. Then I would learn that everything I had signed up for the previous year as options to come out of my paycheck keep coming out. Everything. Because we had so much mandatory overtime & I had a ton of deductions, my paycheck was now 1/3 of what it was before.
Until my STD was approved, I had to call in sick every day. If I missed one day, it was over. No job. So every day that the medical office delayed turning in my paperwork, I had to get up at a very early hour to notify them of what they already knew ~ I wouldn’t be there that day. My SO (to remain anonymous) was out of town or trying to keep the kitchen stocked with food that I could prepare myself during the day. Pay bills, maintain all household responsibilities, take me anywhere I needed to go (I still haven’t driven anywhere yet). It was suggested that he make the calls. Yes, he needed one more thing to do. Wait, no he didn’t.
I think I started resting about the 4th week. Just in time for my first followup appointment.
leave of absence
