I’ve had Better Days (10/29/30)
“Based on our investigation we feel that you have no disability. At this point in time we will be terminating your disability coverage. Since you have been away your position has been eliminated at your employer. Your only options are to reapply for a new position at your employer or look for a new job.”
“Thank you, but at this point in time this conversation is over. It is evident to me that you don’t have my best interest at heart. So any further communication you need to have with me will have to run through my legal counsel.”
“Excuse me?!?!…..”
My disability insurance was canceled leaving me stuck between The Rock and a hard place. I had to track down an Attorney who specialized in the kind of lawsuit that my case fell under, sue my disability insurer, and pray. It turns out that my insurance company was playing chicken. They were playing the odds that I would fold and not seek legal counsel, and boy were they wrong. My condition hasn’t changed from the day I was originally put on disability to the present other than the fact that I have run out of traditional treatment avenues to pursue.
I was taken off chemo by my oncologist because my bone marrow was at a point of permanently destabilizing, I didn’t undergo radiation because it was ineffective in every similar case I read about, and surgery is what got me into my current dilemma. So because I wasn’t receiving treatment in the disability insurer’s eyes I was healthy. The truth is I still only sleep about four and a half hours a night due to pain, eat on average one meal a day (two if I’m lucky), and consume enough prescription medication to be considered intoxicated at all times. However none of that mattered.
That minimum wage associate could have cared less if I killed someone on my way to work because I passed out behind the wheel of my car as a result of a lack of sleep, hypoglycemia and/or intoxication. All he was concerned about was following his script and trying to protect the bottom line.
I have dealt with all of the issues I told that acne scared first year associate recent college graduate I would have to deal with if I went back to work. On several instances on this book tour I found myself drifting off to sleep behind the wheel as a result of a lack of food and sleep. On October 23rd I had to cancel a speaking engagement because I had a minor bowl blockage that took me five days to resolve.
Honestly there are very few limits a human being can’t overcome if he is willing to commit to overcoming them. I know on three separate occasions I worked a complete shift with a 103 degree fever before checking myself into the Emergency Room. However, if you aren’t going to look after my best interests don’t expect me to go out of my way for yours.
That’s all I could think of on October 23rd when I couldn’t drag myself out of my hotel bed.
