The Energon Pub

Hey guys, just thought I'd give an update/rant on how my life is currently going.

As most people know, I had an accident last December where I fell off a truck. As it turned out, I had two fractures in my talus.

By this picture, you can see what the talus is.

One fracture did heal, but the other did not. Currently, there is a chunk of my talus that has broken off on the top side, towards the toes, that is floating around inside my joint.

Well, today the doctor finally ordered surgery. We have been waiting a long time in hopes of it healing by itself, but it has not worked.

Basically, the surgeon is going to have to cut a chunk of my leg bone (tibia) out so he can get to the talus and put pins in it to reconnect the piece. Then he will have to re-attach the chunk of my tibia to my leg.

The major problem with this is that I will be on crutches for the next 3 months (the surgery is on Nov. 1).

Some people know this, but last Tuesday I was forced to resign from my job as a Security Guard. Apparently I spent too much time talking to employees, but nobody talked to me about it before the forced resignation. So currently I'm trying to find a job.

So because of the surgery, my options to find a job are limited now. I need to find a job that involves sitting (like customer service in a call center or something) or else I won't be able to pay my bills.

Add on the fact that my financial aid is all gone, and I will have to drop out of school is really stressing me out.

I just don't know what I am going to do. Seems like everything had to go wrong all at once.

Don't let it bring you down. that's all I can really say. Try to keep a positive attitude about things. If you can keep finding that little ray of sunlight in the dark then you just might find hope for the future.

sorry to hear it man, I'm kind of in the same boat myself. Busted my back on a construction site, spent 3 years getting better but now it's hard to find and keep a regular job since I move slower now and can't lift lots of weight or be on my feet for 8 hours. I got computer certifications but the thought of being trapped behind a desk for 8 hours is pretty horrifying as well.

Hope the surgery goes well and things work out better for you in the future.

The security job sounds rather unfair as well.

My advice is keep looking, and unless its a job like construction or something physically demanding, then they can't not hire you because you need crutches

Read up on the Americans with disabilities Act in the mean while as people will try to screw you in interviews, and if they do something illegal then you can at least report/sue them

Wish I could offer advice or words of inspiration, but I can't. Life ain't so grand on my end either, but I try to be positive about things.

We get these hardships in life, but we make it through. I'm sure someone here can help with finding a job or something that may help you.

that's the catch-22 though, you can't lie in the interview or on the application and say you have zero disabilities that may interfere with the job, you have to be truthful of they can fire you once they realize you do have a disability.

But at the same time, while still being an "equal opportunity employer" they don't have to hire you. They just hire someone else.

When I got hurt I was running a 4 man crew, had lots of responsabilities and made good money. Once I was permanently injured and was able to walk again I took whatever job I could get since money was badly needed at that point.

The first job I got was a Janitor in a church. Really bruises your ego to go from running your own crew to being a janitor. But anyway I told them upfront I broke my back and some days hurt more then others so I move slower on those days, they said, "no problem we understand-blah blah blah." They hired me part time and I worked for about 3 months. One day I went into work and they called me in and said there just wasn't enough work to be done around the church to warrant having someone on staff just to keep the place clean and keep an eye on it during the day, so I was "let go."

2 weeks later they hired another guy FULL TIME. All I got for 3 months was part time then get told there's no work, but 2 weeks later there's so much work to be done they need someone full time? Bullsh*t I say. They were nothing but a bunch of liars.

Never went back to a church after that either.

My point is, yes the law says disabled people have the right to work equally. The reality of it is, if you get disabled you're screwed.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do for a career since I invested almost 10 years in my old one. Now I have to settle for having a 'job' instead of anything that will actually pay well or have any future. Which is why I've got to work 3 jobs just to struggle to keep a roof over my head.

Life can be a total b*tch at times, all you can do is keep waking up and trying again.

and collect TF's in the meantime.

Like others have said, try to stay positive. It really bugs me the way a lot of employers try to justify themselves with the reasons they "let go" employees. A few months back I was let go because they saw that I was unhappy with my job. They claimed it was so I could collect unemployment and find a job I could enjoy. That was back in May. I worked for their company for 7 years as a manager. It's kind of funny because a few months before upper management had hired a extra person to work under me, now he has my job for $5 an hour cheaper. Karma definetlty comes around though. They ended up closing that section of the store, and now that bastard is out of a job too.

Well, I'm expected to make a full recovery, so there shouldn't be any disability afterwards. It's just going to be hard to find a job in the first place while limping around on crutches.

Hell, I can't even get a McJob while on crutches. So these next couple of months are going to be tough unless I find a job. I don't want to add "car repossession" and "eviction" to my list of troubles.

It could be worse. You could have pink hair...

Oooohhh...

Sorry to hear about all of your problems dude. Things had seemed to be picking up for you a while ago.

This may sound a bit silly but look into receptionist or office assistant jobs. You're mostly in front of a computer all day, it doesn't pay too badly, and the works not all that hard. I did it for a while when I was really hard up. It turned out to be a really good gig for a while.

Good luck to ya.

Dude, It doesnt pay the greatest but Target will hire you for customer service or as the operator.

Hey Fender, not much i can do on my end except to say sincerely that i feel for you, and i'm hoping AND praying that you will find a job that will complement your current situation.

Hey buddy try to keep your sprits up........I'm not one to complain much but I would give my right leg to be in your posision.I'll most likly never be able to go back to work....at least your over all prospects are better that mine.So good luck 11/01/07

There's always telemarketing, too.

::runs away::

Unfortunately, this isn't a rare thing. Even without a disability, the employers just want to screw you up when you leave. My dad received a notification of being fired for misconduct on the day he was in another city working (truck driver), on the exact day he was leaving to go to another company...

You just need to stay positive and keep on looking...

That's sad news, FB. I'm sorry to hear it. It sounds like a bit of a cheat but is there anyone (parents, friends) who can help you out finanically just for the next 3 months. It's not going to make you feel great but it's worth considering as a kind of last resort.

Fender Bender wrote:Hey guys, just thought I'd give an update/rant on how my life is currently going.

As most people know, I had an accident last December where I fell off a truck. As it turned out, I had two fractures in my talus.

By this picture, you can see what the talus is.

One fracture did heal, but the other did not. Currently, there is a chunk of my talus that has broken off on the top side, towards the toes, that is floating around inside my joint.

Well, today the doctor finally ordered surgery. We have been waiting a long time in hopes of it healing by itself, but it has not worked.

Basically, the surgeon is going to have to cut a chunk of my leg bone (tibia) out so he can get to the talus and put pins in it to reconnect the piece. Then he will have to re-attach the chunk of my tibia to my leg.

The major problem with this is that I will be on crutches for the next 3 months (the surgery is on Nov. 1).

Some people know this, but last Tuesday I was forced to resign from my job as a Security Guard. Apparently I spent too much time talking to employees, but nobody talked to me about it before the forced resignation. So currently I'm trying to find a job.

So because of the surgery, my options to find a job are limited now. I need to find a job that involves sitting (like customer service in a call center or something) or else I won't be able to pay my bills.

Add on the fact that my financial aid is all gone, and I will have to drop out of school is really stressing me out.

I just don't know what I am going to do. Seems like everything had to go wrong all at once.

Sorry to hear about your trouble. I would also suggest trying to keep your spirits up. It's the only way to get through tough times like these.

Fender: First off, sorry to hear about both the job situation & impending surgery... Sucks on both accounts, but I'm sure you'll pull through!

I can't really say much regarding the surgery (although I did have some Army docs put me under the knife regarding a unicameral bone cyst in my tibia, right above my ankle), but I'm sure you'll be back up and mobile in no time -crutches or no!

As for the job situation, why not try applying at aother location in need of a securtiy guard? Some ideas that I thought of, where the guard is usually sitting include:
-hospitals, where the guy's sitting behind a desk at the main entrance, usually seen reading a book...
-somewhere like Target, where the security guard (or "Loss Prevention associate" is sitting in a room full of video screens, watching all the cameras)
-Try getting in contact with a temp. service! I'm sure they would be able to get you into a job (of some sort) that would allow you to stay seated/light movement until you recover enough to get into a cam walker... While this might be some sort of data entry-type position, it'd still be a source of income, and TEMPorary anyways! *A temp service is how a friend of mine got a nice, easy job that pays quite a bit more than I make, and his job is a bit easier than mine to boot! He started out with the company via the temp service, and was asked to stay on afterwards!*

Anyways, those were just a few quick ideas... Either way, good luck with both the healing & job fronts! Keep us updated on your progress!