Have A Decision To Make

Tropical Wilds · Mar 22, 2020

Isilwen said:
With the coronavirus ramping up here in the states, and me being an EMT, I have a decision to make.

I have an underlying condition, asthma and now they are saying digestive issues can play a part, I also have irritable bowel syndrome. My girlfriend has sjogren's syndrome with is an autoimmune disease and my kids have asthma as well. So, there is a lot of potential for bad things to happen. Hence, the decision to make.

There is no work from home solution for me. It's out on a truck or nothing with my job. So, if I take a leave of absence, there will be no pay coming. I was already struggling, this would make it impossible. There is hope in the government stepping in and giving us a one time or two time payment, that could help, but not really sure.

My girlfriend may end up working from home, but she works for the state and they would pay her anyway.

We have discussed moving in together for the time being, while all this is happening and if I decide to take a leave of absence. I would have a place to live, food in my stomach and a place for my kids to come to when I have them. The situation is not ideal as a Christian, but these are less than ideal times so to speak.

Do I take the leave of absence, which could also lose me my job (I can get another one with another company pretty easily) or do I risk getting covid-19 and possibly end up with pneumonia in the hospital because of my asthma?

Given your financial situation, I wouldn’t leave my current job until I had another one in place. Retail is hiring like mad right now, as are delivery drivers and more work-from-home jobs than I’ve ever seen.

Mountainmanbob · Mar 22, 2020

Isilwen said:
With the coronavirus ramping up here in the states, and me being an EMT, I have a decision to make.

I have an underlying condition, asthma and now they are saying digestive issues can play a part, I also have irritable bowel syndrome. My girlfriend has sjogren's syndrome with is an autoimmune disease and my kids have asthma as well. So, there is a lot of potential for bad things to happen. Hence, the decision to make.

There is no work from home solution for me. It's out on a truck or nothing with my job. So, if I take a leave of absence, there will be no pay coming. I was already struggling, this would make it impossible. There is hope in the government stepping in and giving us a one time or two time payment, that could help, but not really sure.

My girlfriend may end up working from home, but she works for the state and they would pay her anyway.

We have discussed moving in together for the time being, while all this is happening and if I decide to take a leave of absence. I would have a place to live, food in my stomach and a place for my kids to come to when I have them. The situation is not ideal as a Christian, but these are less than ideal times so to speak.

Do I take the leave of absence, which could also lose me my job (I can get another one with another company pretty easily) or do I risk getting covid-19 and possibly end up with pneumonia in the hospital because of my asthma?

Due to you and your family being high risk your doctor should write you a note and for a while put you on medical disability.

Nowadays a doctor's note carries much weight and should also protect your job for when you and your doctor think it to be safe to return to work.

Pull the card which you hold in your hand
get your temporary benefits coming in
and stay home with your family.

M-Bob

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Tropical Wilds said:
Given your financial situation, I wouldn’t leave my current job until I had another one in place. Retail is hiring like mad right now, as are delivery drivers and more work-from-home jobs than I’ve ever seen.

The whole point of going on a LOA is to get out of harms way, so retail and delivery driving wouldn't work.

I have looked into work from home jobs and they require some things I don't have, a quiet work space or experience in an office. I have never worked a desk job before.

I am still looking for that one work from home job that require neither.

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Mountainmanbob said:
medical disability

Are you talking about SSDI or just getting unemployment?

Mountainmanbob · Mar 22, 2020

Isilwen said:
Are you talking about SSDI?

I don't know?
I got off work several times with pay with a doctor's note.
My wife also got a doctor's note some years back and presented it at work and was put on paid medical disability leave for a short time.
M-Bob

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Phoebe Ann said:
Is there no sibling or cousin who would give you a temporary home? Don't move in with your GF. That's putting yourself at risk of displeasing God. Some churches have charitable organiztions; try investigating that option.

I only have half siblings that I don't know and my cousins and I aren't that close.

I have tried the church route before, and no thank you. They all turned me down for help when I was married and we were in need of food and help with utilities.

There will be boundaries in place.

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Mountainmanbob said:
I don't know?
I got off work several times with pay with a doctor's note.
My wife also got a doctor's note some years back and presented it at work and was put on paid medical disability leave for a short time.
M-Bob

Yeah, my job doesn't have that beyond PTO and I only get 1 1/2 weeks of PTO for the year. My job isn't like most EMS companies where you accrue it through the year. You have to work so much during the year and earn it for the next year. If you work 49 weeks out of 52, you don't get PTO for the next year.

Sounds like your talking about short/long term disability, which you have to pay into in order to have that. My job doesn't offer that as an option.

Mountainmanbob · Mar 22, 2020

Isilwen said:
Yeah, my job doesn't have that beyond PTO and I only get 1 1/2 weeks of PTO for the year. My job isn't like most EMS companies where you accrue it through the year. You have to work so much during the year and earn it for the next year. If you work 49 weeks out of 52, you don't get PTO for the next year.

Sounds like your talking about short/long term disability, which you have to pay into in order to have that. My job doesn't offer that as an option.

Seems Workers comp should cover it.
Doctor note required.
B

Tropical Wilds · Mar 22, 2020

Isilwen said:
The whole point of going on a LOA is to get out of harms way, so retail and delivery driving wouldn't work.

I have looked into work from home jobs and they require some things I don't have, a quiet work space or experience in an office. I have never worked a desk job before.

I am still looking for that one work from home job that require neither.

Delivery is contactless now. You get the food, drop it on the doorstep, stand way out of the way as they get it, then go about your way.

Our hospital is repurposing medical personnel to work-from-home phone triage. Dispatch personnel are also ramping up. There are tons of options everywhere popping up left and right.

The reality is, as your doctor will express to you, that home isolation for medical reasons is rather pointless if you’re going out for food and supplies, and doctors are suggesting social distancing for a majority of people who are high risk. While that may rule out being an EMT, it does open up other options. It’s true that unemployment is easier to get and more generous now, if you are opting out over health issues, your doctor will have to order isolation and you will have to prove you are adhering to isolation, and your employer will have to verify to the state that they were unable to accommodate your need to work in a sterile environment.

Again, considering your special financial circumstances and legal concerns, finding alternative sources of income before leaving where you are is absolutely the best course of action.

Tropical Wilds · Mar 22, 2020

Mountainmanbob said:
Seems Workers comp should cover it.
Doctor note required.
B

Worker’s comp is for on-the-job injury. He can apply for worker’s compensation if he gets injured or sick from his job, but not to enforce leave for a preexisting medical condition.

After he burns through his vacation/sick time and short term disability, he can FMLA to protect his job, but he won’t get paid.

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Mountainmanbob said:
Seems Workers comp should cover it.
Doctor note required.
B

Not sure it would as I wouldn't have gotten sick on the job. I am looking to leave before getting sick.

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Tropical Wilds said:
Worker’s comp is for on-the-job injury. He can apply for worker’s compensation if he gets injured or sick from his job, but not to enforce leave for a preexisting medical condition.

After he burns through his vacation/sick time and short term disability, he can FMLA to protect his job, but he won’t get paid.

It would just be my PTO time.

I think even FMLA would be tricky as I wouldn't be sick. I would be leaving my job because of an underlying condition. My girlfriend has FMLA because of her sjogren's, but it's to cover exacerbations. I would be doing a LOA to not get sick.

There may be a difference, but I'm not sure.

Tropical Wilds · Mar 22, 2020

Isilwen said:
It would just be my PTO time.

I think even FMLA would be tricky as I wouldn't be sick. I would be leaving my job because of an underlying condition. My girlfriend has FMLA because of her sjogren's, but it's to cover exacerbations. I would be doing a LOA to not get sick.

There may be a difference, but I'm not sure.

FMLA has been extended to cover people who have to quarantine, self-isolate due to Dr order, and people who have to go on leave to care for an ill family member or a direct family member (pre-national emergency declaration) who has to self-isolate due to medical need, and parents who are unable to work because children are home from school and remotely learning and need support.

Heavenhome · Mar 22, 2020

If at all workable for you, I would say stay at home, you are too much at risk with your medical conditions and it just isn't worth it.
I don't have an answer for your finances as here in Oz we have different social security measures for people. I hope the US government will be able to help people in your situation soon, we are very fortunate here that our gov. is covering all people financially if they cannot work due to Covid19.
Prayers for you and your family.
Please take care of yourself :prayer:

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Tropical Wilds said:
Our hospital is repurposing medical personnel to work-from-home phone triage. Dispatch personnel are also ramping up. There are tons of options everywhere popping up left and right.

I'm not seeing these things where I live.

The dispatch stuff may be good, but with a small apartment and a dog that barks at random times, doing phone stuff from home isn't a good idea.

My other issue is, these things take time to get into. Time I may not have. If our state orders shelter in place within the next week, I will be going LOA.

As a side note. Delivery driving is not for me. My car would not last and it is the only car I own. I would rather not run it into the ground.

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Tropical Wilds said:
FMLA has been extended to cover people who have to quarantine, self-isolate due to Dr order

That's good to know!

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Heavenhome said:
If at all workable for you, I would say stay at home, you are too much at risk with your medical conditions and it just isn't worth it.
I don't have an answer for your finances as here in Oz we have different social security measures for people. I hope the US government will be able to help people in your situation soon, we are very fortunate here that our gov. is covering all people financially if they cannot work due to Covid19.
Prayers for you and your family.
Please take care of yourself

Thank you!

Tropical Wilds · Mar 22, 2020

Isilwen said:
I'm not seeing these things where I live.

Ask your employer. Since they’d have to sign off on unemployment and the state will ask, you might as well be the one to ask them first.

The dispatch stuff may be good, but with a small apartment and a dog that barks at random times, doing phone stuff from home isn't a good idea.

USAA sent emails out saying people are transitioning to working from home and as customers, we need to understand that we may hear kids, dogs, etc in the background and they hope we understand. This is an unprecedented situation and people are flexing all over to accommodate people. Better to ask and be told “no” then not ask and assume “no” when the answer would have been “yes.”

[quite]My other issue is, these things take time to get into. Time I may not have. If our state orders shelter in place within the next week, I will be going LOA.[/quote]

The wait times for assistance are shorter now than they’ve ever been, especially if your employer participates in the process. Interviews are suspended, job placement seminars suspended, and weekly check-in suspended.

I’m on chemo and biotherapy immune suppressors to manage MS and Crohn’s. My Dr told me on a Friday to self-isolate because the mortality rate for people on my immune suppressor was unusually high. I told my employer on Saturday I may need to self isolate, they told me by the end of my shift that they felt for my safety I had self-isolate. Sunday I filed for help online, Monday my employer told them they were paying me X portion of my paycheck, would protect my job, agreed with medical need and supported doctors directives, and next Friday I got my first check from the state. If your employer is cooperative and your Dr says you need it, the process is intentionally extremely fast.

The thing is, Drs are suggesting for all but the highest risk people (even asthma and elderly with no other risk factors) that social distancing is enough.

As a side note. Delivery driving is not for me. My car would not last and it is the only car I own. I would rather not run it into the ground.

Schwan’s is desperate for drivers.

Ronald · Mar 22, 2020

Isilwen said:
With the coronavirus ramping up here in the states, and me being an EMT, I have a decision to make.

I have an underlying condition, asthma and now they are saying digestive issues can play a part, I also have irritable bowel syndrome. My girlfriend has sjogren's syndrome with is an autoimmune disease and my kids have asthma as well. So, there is a lot of potential for bad things to happen. Hence, the decision to make.

There is no work from home solution for me. It's out on a truck or nothing with my job. So, if I take a leave of absence, there will be no pay coming. I was already struggling, this would make it impossible. There is hope in the government stepping in and giving us a one time or two time payment, that could help, but not really sure.

My girlfriend may end up working from home, but she works for the state and they would pay her anyway.

We have discussed moving in together for the time being, while all this is happening and if I decide to take a leave of absence. I would have a place to live, food in my stomach and a place for my kids to come to when I have them. The situation is not ideal as a Christian, but these are less than ideal times so to speak.

Do I take the leave of absence, which could also lose me my job (I can get another one with another company pretty easily) or do I risk getting covid-19 and possibly end up with pneumonia in the hospital because of my asthma?

You signed up for a job that deals with sick people, all hospital staff did. In the back of your mind, you knew the risks and accepted them.

Fear not, have faith, and believe God is with you.

Take precautions but don't quit. If they lay you off or cut your hours, you should be able to get unemployment compensation, but not if you quit. This thing will pass in a month or two (If it doesnt, we are all screwed); and jobs, hours will return and as fast as people were out of work they will go back.
Right now on the average, only 1 out of 1600 people are infected. Understanding you just deal with sick or dying people, keep in mind how many of these people you pick up will actually be coronavirus victims? I don't know, guessing 1 out of 800 given that 2.3 million die every year in this country and so far 26,000 cases reported. That's 00.13 %.
Let me say we are at war with one of many enemies that kill us. You are a soldier. Does a soldier quit when bullets start to fly? He joined the army expecting he could actually go to war, but maybe he thought the odds are he'll just train and 4 years later get out without actually fighting. But he finds himself in a war zone. Does he abandon his post and say, "I could get shot and die ... I'm getting out of here!" No, he prays and pushes on like troops that were barefoot in the winter alongside George Washington. George was the #1 target of the enemy, yet he led many battles in the front line. He had bullet holes in his hat, jacket and they all missed him because God's hand was on him, He had a purpose for George and it wasn't to die in battle.
God has a purpose for you and so you need to have faith in Him, fear not!
As for your digestive issues, get yourself a "FODMAP" list of foods to avoid - they create gas leading to acid reflux and pain; and stop eating after 6pm (a Gastroenterologist's advice for my wife who has the same issues).

Isilwen · Mar 22, 2020

Ronald said:
You signed up for a job that deals with sick people, all hospital staff did. In the back of your mind, you knew the risks and accepted them.

Fear not, have faith, and believe God is with you.

Take precautions but don't quit. If they lay you off or cut your hours, you should be able to get unemployment compensation, but not if you quit. This thing will pass in a month or two (If it doesnt, we are all screwed); and jobs, hours will return and as fast as people were out of work they will go back.
Right now on the average, only 1 out of 1600 people are infected. Understanding you just deal with sick or dying people, keep in mind how many of these people you pick up will actually be coronavirus victims? I don't know, guessing 1 out of 800 given that 2.3 million die every year in this country and so far 26,000 cases reported. That's 00.13 %.
Let me say we are at war with one of many enemies that kill us. You are a soldier. Does a soldier quit when bullets start to fly? He joined the army expecting he could actually go to war, but maybe he thought the odds are he'll just train and 4 years later get out without actually fighting. But he finds himself in a war zone. Does he abandon his post and say, "I could get shot and die ... I'm getting out of here!" No, he prays and pushes on like troops that were barefoot in the winter alongside George Washington. George was the #1 target of the enemy, yet he led many battles in the front line. He had bullet holes in his hat, jacket and they all missed him because God's hand was on him, He had a purpose for George and it wasn't to die in battle.
God has a purpose for you and so you need to have faith in Him, fear not!
As for your digestive issues, get yourself a "FODMAP" list of foods to avoid - they create gas leading to acid reflux and pain; and stop eating after 6pm (a Gastroenterologist's advice for my wife who has the same issues).

Thanks, but I will go LOA if my health is at risk.

This may be the kick I need to get out of this career anyway. Been doing it for 18+ years and it is taking its toll on me both mentally and physically.

Have A Decision To Make

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