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Employers dont get epilepsy

Mon, 10/28/2013 - 20:42
IS it just me or are other epileptics out there finding it tough to either keep a job or has an employer that just does not get what epilepsy is, what it does to the individual, what kind of life that you have to endure being diagnosed w/ Epilepsy? Please reply w/ answers, discussions, etc. HELP me understand! PLEASE

Comments

Re: Employers dont get epilepsy

Submitted by Lenaorrick on Mon, 2013-10-28 - 21:36
Hi there, I was diagnosed this past January. I am very lucky to have the job that I do have, where full time is 30 hours which is about all I can handle. Luckily most of my co-workers are very understanding of the difficulties that I go through on a daily basis. They are actually more understanding than most of my close friends. My manager doesnt seem to understand and it can be very frustrating. I do always have a fear that I may get fired because the owners of the small business I work for do not seem to care if someone has health problems or not. This past 2 years have been very difficult for me, being very sick before I was diagnosed and dealing with diagnosis of having epilepsy. I find that those around me do not really understand what epilepsy is and how it impacts a persons life. Many of my friends have a lot of their opinions and at times can be very frustrating because I feel as though they do not even try to understand how difficult this is. The other day one of my co-workers ( which is a new employee) made the comment that I make her nervous because of my epilepsy and possibly having a seizure in front of her. I was very hurt my this because not one second did she even consider how it feels to actually have epilepsy. I hate that epilepsy is so underfunded and most people do not even acknowledge what it actually is how it can fully impact someone's life. Lena

Re: Employers dont get epilepsy

Submitted by tlbeck20 on Wed, 2013-10-30 - 01:04
Lena I completely understand whee you're coming from. I work w/ people who have made similar comments about my ailment and it does frustrate me but I just can't afford to worry about ignorant people like that who don't have the courage to even stand in our shoes for one day and see what it's like, so when it comes to them I say fu(k em!!!! I mean I feel as though when I'm At work or home or Out With friends that I'm a walking time bomb waiting to go off and I agree that I hate how under funded epilepsy research is. I mean the research they're doing w/ VNS stimulation therapy, and deep brain stimulation therapy is remarkable but if they're no funds for research how can they continue? Plus I hate how November is National Epilepsy awareness month yet NO OME KNOWS ABOUT IT!!!! In closing just hang I there and ignore those ignorant fools & remember that because you have this is makes you stronger and more courageous to get up & face each day with a positive attitude.

Re: Employers dont get epilepsy

Submitted by Masterjen on Tue, 2013-10-29 - 17:35
I am feeling the same as you right now.  I am currently trying to get back into the work scene after being diagnosed just over 3 years ago, and managed to get a position in a doctor's office  doing what I was trained to do for my previous job.  It has been a great way to keep my skills up, while only working 1.5 days per week.  Seizures (nocturnal) are still not controlled and bad ones causing me to feel completely wiped the next day occur about every 5-7 nights, so sometimes that bad night is going to land on a night before I am expected at work the next day, and I have to call in to cancel.  It fortunately has not happened very often, maybe an average of once every 2 months.  I'm well-liked by patients, staff and doctors and we get along extremely well.  They were aware of the potential "risk" to canceling due to a seizure when they hired me, and just asked that I be flexible and come in another day to make it up.  But all heck broke loose recently when I had to cancel three days in a fout-week period - just extremely bad luck with seizure timing due to inexplicable worsening of seizures during that month.  Suddenly it was no longer acceptable to come in another day as an alterntative and I was given an ultimatum: miss one more day and I was out of there.  I don't remember their exact wording, except that it hurt a lot.  The implication was that the seizures were my fault and inconveniencing them.  I felt like yelling "Inconveniencing YOU??!!  What about the inconvenience to my life!?"  But I didn't say anything because what they said stung so hard I was just trying not to cry in front of them.  For the 10 years of my regular job, I missed only 5 days due to illness so it's not like I call in sick at the drop of a hat, and this much I did remind them of (slightly different words, though!).  And the icing on the cake, as I'm sure you read, the people I currently work for are doctors!!!

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