I received a call from Metro HR today. The call was regarding my Americans with disabilities paperwork. The form was left rather vague by my physician, and she wanted me to list what accommodations I think I may need. I explained to her that the medical team expects me to be able to function close to 100% by August and I won't know what, if any accommodations I may need until I am actually attempting to do the job. I also found out that they will be working with EMS to decide if it will be "detrimental or infeasible for the service to make arrangements in my employment." This all seems to me to be a very nice way of saying, HR is leaving it up to EMS to decide if you have a career here. So, I continue my uphill battle against the grain here. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to return to LMEMS, I sure hope to continue my career there. It seems that nobody knows when or if I'm being terminated. Nobody knows the date they have chosen to use, as a refresher, I was injured in May but was able to work light (modified duty) for a little while in October. So, which date they choose will make the date I'm terminated. If I am let go I have had several people tell me that "you can just reapply," I'm just not sure I can do that. If they want me, if I'm family, then why not just give me the time? I'm just hoping that the Dr and Physician's estimates are correct and I am ready by August. I am able to put all my weight on the prosthetic side now. I'm able to walk a few steps, the problem is they aren't pretty by any means. I'd rather take 3 perfect steps than take 1,000 ones that aren't perfect. My goal is to get to the point where when I walk you can't distinguish that I'm walking on a prosthetic. An integral part of being a paramedic is gaining the trust of your patient. I don't want anything to get in my way of forming that trust. In a matter of seconds a patient has decided if they are going to trust you or not, all patient care is derived from that trust.
Another day of PT tomorrow. Still no word from the Mayor's office, remember this Sunday April 15th I'll be in the Courier Journal
Follow along on the adventures of an amputee Paramedic. I have now fell into activism/advocacy work for Insurance Fairness for all amputees. I occasionally do some Motivational Speaking, I'm writing a book, and of course blogging all that stuff here. Follow me through all my wins and losses in the fight to break the stereotype of what amputees are capable of. I may write about EMS, Healthcare, Amputees, or Nonsense. Follow the blog and see what today brings!
Still thinking of you Joe. Everyday. I know we don't talk much anymore, with school, life, work..well, you know what it's like. I just wanted you to know that I'm thinking about you. Love ya!
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