“Woah, Get in here you gotta see this!” – my PT guy today… Not something you ever want to hear.
I had a workplace injury L4-L5 disc herniation, 8 months ago, and I have had a single cortisone shot. That's it. They have done nothing to take care of me or help me in any way.
A month ago, they failed to send me a disability check, failed to notify me there was an issue, and now after pestering them over and over, they sent the check for the wrong amount, and I'm missing 11 days.
Between no treatment, my boss refusing to return a simple email or contact me now that I am cleared for work, and now the runaround on money, I have ZERO faith in the medical system.
I am so desperate for help I can't even formulate it into words. Please, if anyone has experience with a back injury at work, navigating the 'medical system'… is this normal? I am a young man in fairly good shape, I never expected to become a bed/chair ridden hermit who only comes out for medical appointments. I'm so frustrated and in so much daily pain I can't think straight anymore.
For those who find this later, here's a few things I've learned, that I wish I knew earlier:
– DOCUMENT EVERYTHING, take pictures and send it to yourself on email immediately, somewhere down the line someone will lose something and then it's magically going to be your fault and responsibility to provide even medical documents later.
– Call people out on lying or misinformation, because no one is going to help you, or do anything for you, unless you do it yourself. There is no advocate group or magical supervisor checking these people's stuff.
– Never schedule anything around noon. Doctors, nurses, check in people, Physical therapist, and anyone in the medical industry, all get food crazy and slow at lunch time. I've sat in waiting rooms from 12-1, countless times. I've had a PT person, LITERALLY and without exaggeration order grub hub in front of me, while 'doing my PT'. This same person said to me, “you have to be careful what you do with this injury, or one day you'll sneeze and you could paralyze yourself”, on my first ever PT appointment. —- this is wrong, misleading, and purposefully mean.
– When possible, record any and all things on video/audio. Your own notes/thoughts, along with phone conversations or meetings. I even write down a quick email, to myself, every time I have an appointment, with thoughts, just to make sure I remember it vividly.
– MOST IMPORTANTLY::::: *** Don't get hurt. No one cares. *** None of your friends will come to see you months after you are hurt. No co worker will even remember your face. Work, is work, and you should take advantage of them any way you can, and do to them, before they can do to you.
That's what the medical system has taught me.