Life had dramatically changed. I went to a hospital about 12 miles away on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an eight-week class regarding lung disease. For the last 45-minutes of the class, we exercised under the supervision of RNs and Exercise Physiologists. We were assessed before and after we exercised including heart rate, oxygen saturation rate, and blood pressure. When the 8-week classes ended, I entered the maintenance program of two exercise sessions a week. After rehab, I would take a nap and use the following day to recover. It was grueling. It was discovered that I needed supplemental oxygen. Every three months, a report is sent to Dr. K.
I was the youngest in the class. By decades.
At work, I had recommended a music teacher to take over my position. We talked several times a day and, quite frankly, I directed him through the entire first year. He needed me less the following year and hardly at all the third year. I never went back onto the campus.
In September 2005, I filed a Workmen’s Comp lawsuit. I also disappeared in the eyes of the school community. No letter was sent home regarding my absence. No thank you celebration for 16-years of hard work. Nothing. Ever.
In October, Dr. K. ordered PFTs and a CT. These were the first tests since I left the portable. Dr. K. told me that the “ground glass” was gone and I had an impressive increase in my PFTs. She turned to us and said that this is the proof that I had been removed from the exposure causing my illness. She said that I would never return to any work, could not fly on airplanes, be very careful about germs, don’t be around groups of people and keep washing my hands. We also ordered oxygen for my home, as I needed it to sleep at night. She also approved two more days of rehab at another hospital using supplemental oxygen. Yippee!
The school had denied my Workmen’s Comp claim; we hired a lawyer and began what turned out to be a four-year odyssey. By now, the people still working in the portable began to worry about their health. One called OSHA.
Next: OSHA
1 comment:
It makes me sad to know the students and parents were not given the opportunity to say good-bye to you.
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