FWD: Medical Disabilty/Contracting/Jobs

[TECHWR-L Administrator]

Forwarded anonymously on request - please respond on list.
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A few years ago, I started having medical problems that turned out to be 
adult onset of asthma. I thought "Oh, all I need is an inhaler and I'll 
be fine." But I continued to have attacks that sent me to the emergency 
room a few times a year. I went to a specialist and testing showed that 
my asthma was very severe. The effect of this is that I have chronic 
problems with fatigue and have periods of absolute exhaustion when it is 
difficult to wake up early in the morning. Two years ago, I had to go on 
short-term disability for a few months because my lungs were severely 
inflammed. When I went back to work, I had to have a workplace 
accommodation that said that I couldn't work more than 50 hours a week. 
This was fine for awhile, but when the accommodation was in place for 
six months, HR asked how much longer I would need it. The doctor said 
that it had to continue indefinitely. My manager then proceeded to end 
my job because she wanted someone in the position who could work more 
than 50 hours a week. I was also getting sick quite often because asthma 
affects your immune system, so I had used up all my sick leave and 
vacation time for sick days which is considered bad.

I started contracting while I looked for another full-time job and I've 
basically worked five contracts in the last 1 1/2 years without finding 
a full-time job. I've had a few contracts that were supposed to lead to 
full-time jobs, but as soon as the managers figured out that I get sick 
a lot, they ended my contract. One manager told me it was a big red flag 
to get sick the first month on the job. At first, when I filled out the 
job applications, I didn't say that I was disabled, but after a few jobs 
were ended due to my illness, and after talking to my doctor about it, I 
started marking the box that said that I was disabled. I thought that 
would keep people from hiring me if they had a problem with an employee 
with medical problems. But so far, it doesn't seem to have helped me.

The problem is that I only have nine months until my Cobra medical 
insurance ends, and at the rates that are charged for private medical 
insurance in my state, I wouldn't be able to buy the medical insurance 
and still pay my other bills. My income has also gone down because of 
sick days that I have to take, which I don't get paid for (although I do 
often make up much of the time during times when I'm not sick). I'm not 
sure what to do.

The way that my medical condition affects my work:

1. I sometimes come in late in the morning during weeks when I'm having 
problems with exhaustion
2. I catch everything that goes around the office and I get sicker than 
other people
3. I can't work more than 50 hours a week or more than 10 hours a day

Luckily, I write faster than other people so I have been able to get all 
my work done in spite of all the illnesses. But I think that managers 
get frustrated that I get things done very fast, then get sick, then get 
a lot of stuff done again, etc., because they see that if I didn't get 
sick so much, I would be producing at a much higher level than the other 
people. But there isn't much that I can do about it.

I've tried to find jobs that will let me work from home because that 
keeps me from being exposed to people who are sick, so I have many fewer 
sick days that way. But I haven't had any luck finding a job like that. 
My finances aren't good enough right now for me to take a part-time 
position, although I might be able to do that in late 2008 when I have 
my bills paid off (I was a single mother for many years and I'm just now 
getting the last one out of the house). Or, I could try to find a 
manager who would let me work fewer than 50 hours a week and doesn't 
mind that I have a flexible schedule--my personal version of chasing 
windmills.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for what I can do? Does anyone know 
if there's a Web site or agency that helps people search for jobs when 
they have a disability? I have so many years of experience as a tech 
writer and such a broad skill set that it doesn't make sense to start 
over in another field at this point in my life. Besides that, I have an 
English degree, so what else can I do?