So two days ago I broke my foot, and I'm honestly pretty sure I need surgery on it. At the very least I'm non-weight bearing for at least 6 weeks, and at the moment even putting my foot below my heart causes it to swell up and hurt. In other words, I am basically a bed vegetable being taken care of by my boyfriend who, while amazing, also has to work 40 hours a week.
Anyways, my job is not necessarily intensive on me being on my feet but working from home is not really an option and I can't drive or really do anything. I imagine in a few weeks from now when I'm in a normal cast or boot or something maybe I'll be able to carpool to work with a co-worker but right now I'm a lot more worried about my own physical health and wellbeing.
Anyways, I called my boss to let him know that I broke my foot and would probably need to take off for a while. My boss is about as textbook “modern boss” as it gets — comes from family wealth to become the CEO of a mid-sized company that he takes way too seriously in every sense. pre-covid he would essentially refuse to give you time off for any personal/health-related reasons unless you had, in his words, “an extremely damn good reason not to show up to the place that signs your paycheck.” I will give him credit that he pays decently well, but you get the picture. Anyways, without even asking FOR A SECOND if I'm ok, I could hear an immediate tone shift to frustration and anger. He goes on and on about how i'm the only receptionist they've got and my injury is going to ruin us and once I told him how I hurt my foot (I dropped a fucking salad bowl on it, I promise you that's enough to break your foot, source: me bc I broke it) he starts guilting me for being clumsy. I explained to him that I literally can't use crutches without pain and he started asking if I could show up to work in a wheelchair. I told him I can't drive, my boyfriend works an hour in the other direction, and I can't imagine there's a co-worker of mine that would have the car space or time to consistently pick me up and bring me and my wheelchair to work and back, all so I can maneuver myself through a three-floor building to run messages and give mail to our partners who have two working legs (I worded this much nicer). For some reason my boss' tone slightly shifted, and he offered me paid leave until I have my follow-up appointment… which is two days from now, then it will be all unpaid until I can “get on my feet again.”
I feel stressed and rushed. I'm going to lose my source of income while I'm hurt and everyone I've talked to told me this there is nothing I can do. A friend of mine had a similar injury to me and even without surgery it took him over two months to recover to the point where, say, walking around a large building doesn't end up with heavy amounts of pain at the end of the day. I don't want to re-injure my foot by rushing back but I don't want to lose my source of income — I can't afford that. Is there anything I can do?