My Journey with Disabilities in the Workplace

in #hive-167922last year

Sharing My Pain

Working with Tinnitus, Bursitis & a Disabled Hand

I currently receive a 10% disability rating from the VA for tinnitus, a condition that causes constant ringing in my ears. As an Audio Visual Technician, my job has been directly impacted by this disability. More than two decades ago, I had to transition from audio work to video only related tasks. This shift resulted in a reduction in my income and slowed my career progression compared to my peers. My employee reviews consistently acknowledge my expertise and have led to supervisory roles, but my disability has held me back from early technical growth.

My journey continued as I transitioned to a career as a camera operator. However, bursitis began causing me severe pain, which escalated in 2014 to the point where I had to kneel during a shoot due to unbearable shoulder pain. I reluctantly gave up my camera work and redirected my focus towards projectionist roles. I served as the UFC projectionist for over nine years, but in June 2023, my direct employer cited my request for increased compensation as a reason for letting me go, particularly mentioning working with my disability.

The demanding hours (5 AM to 3 AM) and physical strain of working in arenas, climbing stairs, and lifting heavy equipment exacerbated my bursitis, leading to frequent days off to recover through methods like salt baths and icing my knees. Another significant setback occurred in 2022 when I fell, dislocating three fingers and fracturing four, along with multiple fractures in my hand. Despite nearly a year of occupational therapy provided by the VA, my four fingers remain impaired and cannot close fully, affecting my ability to perform tasks like climbing scaffolding and handling heavy projectors.

In an attempt to transition towards engineering roles that involve less manual labor, I find myself facing limitations. My bursitis has become increasingly severe, causing pain in my knees, feet, hips, back, and shoulders. At times, multiple areas are inflamed simultaneously. Currently, I rely on copper fit compression socks and knee braces, but my pain persists.

Recently, I was assigned to work in meeting rooms despite being booked as a "standby Video Engineer" at Caesars Palace, a union position that allows for more relaxed responsibilities and coverage for non-union workers. I informed my steward about my disabilities and I continue to struggle with tasks I'm forced to adapt to.

Throughout the years, I've been applying for new job opportunities and positions, fearing that I may no longer be able to perform even simple tasks while sitting down due to the severity of my bursitis. I've also applied to increase my VA disability rating to include bursitis, which I believe is related to my military service.

My current situation necessitates seeking Social Security Disability benefits, although I can't afford to stop working entirely. Today, on 11/8/2023, I'm reaching out to our union's disability representative for guidance and support.

This blog will be my link to share with this disability representative, a disability lawyer and possibly more. My hopes are to collect my pension early along with social security and move where I can afford daily therapy, massages and seek alternative treatments to help make life more comfortable. The dream is a lot of spear fishing, the water seems like it would be the easiest thing on my knees at this point...

I won't tell you the exact words I did Dall-E 3 AI yet I think they conveyed my feelings accurately with this image. Thank you for sharing my pain today, tell me about yours in a comment or a post and share the link, I know many have it worse than me and not looking for anyone to feel sorry for me.

Posted Using InLeo Alpha

Sort:  

so sorry to hear things have progressed to this level.

yes moving to a different climate and line of work seems the best for your health.

Looking forward to reading more about what happens next.

Thank you, hopefully good news someday

Your health should be paramount to you and that's why I sometimes advice people to leave a job when it is stressing them or affecting their health
Sorry about that

Thank you for the kind words.

Hopefully you can find a place where you'll both be productive and get the help you need... @scholaris might have some suggestions for your health issues?

This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project

Thanks !PIMP


You must be killin' it out here!
@dynamicrypto just slapped you with 5.000 PIMP, @wrestlingdesires.
You earned 5.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 2/3 possible people today.

pimp_logo


Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District

I know its cliche thing to say but Health comes first. It might be best to stay clear of anything that furthers any potential harm that affects your long term quality of life. I'm a little ticked to read that UFC fired you and cited asking for a raise as the reason. That shouldn't be allowed but it doesn't surprise me as some of the public moves they made does point to them doing such things. At least they were honest about the reason. Wishing you the best and hopefully whoever is reviewing your case helps you with getting the things cited in your post. ***Edit: I should add, the image you shared can't be seen from all front-ends. When loading images directly from Inleo images are uploaded using Imgur which not all front-ends recognize. What I usually do is upload the image I want to use to Hive.Blog and then copy and past the image url to my InLeo blog. This allows the image to be seen from all front-ends.

Thanks & thanks !PIMP


You must be killin' it out here!
@dynamicrypto just slapped you with 1.000 PIMP, @rentmoney.
You earned 1.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 1/3 possible people today.

pimp_logo


Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District

Congratulations @dynamicrypto! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)

You distributed more than 220000 upvotes.
Your next target is to reach 230000 upvotes.

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

I'm about to start my VA paperwork for medical support and to inquire about housing loans. I'm really sorry about your troubles. I have tinnitus too, but in all my research I only found what I called habituation techniques for the malady.

  • What they did was help you determine the frequency of the tinnitus in your ear.
  • They would then apply, what I believed, was a contradicting frequency that would cancel out your hearing.
  • Another treatment was ear cleaning with a special formula. I never paid much attention afterward because it was an infomercial.

My personal demons were spinal issues, cataracts, and Dupuytren's contracture. I start my second phase of radiation therapy tomorrow.

I don't know you, but I feel for you. I hope you can get to the place you need to go. Eventually, with planning and will, we will get there.

Yikes! Thank you Scholaris, I will keep progressing somehow! I too am sorry to hear about your ailments and upcoming procedure... I can give you my legal representation contact if you need, recommendation from another veteran I served with.

Oddly. I replied to this comment not too long ago. Meh, chaulk it up to the effects of radiation therapy. I don't require legal services at this point, though I will be seeking out VA assistance in matters of a health evaluation and possible home loan. Hopefully, I will be the proud owner of an overpriced and undersized home for my family.

We can only move forward. You're not alone though our problems may be different. If you or any other veteran needs an ear for listening, I'm available with no therapeutic recommendations.