The College where I work informed me that I needed to apply for FMLA which is the Family and Medical Leave Act because of my major medical event. Completing these forms would basically protect my position at the College while allowing for me to maintain my health care benefits and to take time for my recovery. This is very important since recovery can be very different for each individual depending on the impact of the major medical event that has been experienced.
While my recovery was still unknown when I applied for FMLA, I did receive the full allowed amount of time which is 12 weeks of unpaid leave, or the equivalent of 450 hours of time in total. Coming out of the hospital I did know that I would be going into cardiac rehab for a period of time, but at this date I did not know for how much time. My cardiac rehab assessment wasn’t scheduled until later in December, a full month and a half away. Getting any appointment in a timely manner with a medical rehab practice, even a specialist doctor, was pretty much impossible going into the holidays. For me, I felt like time had become much more precious and very valuable now. I really wanted to know how I was doing and I felt that only those in the cardiac medical practice field could tell me. This long period of waiting does not help with your mental health either. And while you want to make your physical body better, you really don’t fully understand the impact to your mind. This is what I was now beginning to experience. My body was functioning, but at what level I honestly didn’t know. And my mind had not caught up with where my body was at 5 days post event.
I do have two doctor’s appointments scheduled for tomorrow. These will be my post discharge visits. My first appointment is with the cardiologist and my second appointment is with my primary care physician. I am hopeful that both appointments will yield good results and give me more confidence that I am progressing. For me, this first week home is a scary time and I am trying to address the many unknowns in surviving a major cardiac event.
While I am sure that many countries around the world have similar programs like this one in my country to help protect families living there from experiencing employment impacts when there is a major medical event, or when there is a new member being added to the family. One thing I am now learning from my experience is to recommend that you should seek out any available help and support for both your physical wellbeing and for your mental health as well. The mental health part was not clearly discussed at the hospital and I believe that it should have been. More on this later in my story.
I am very happy the College where I work was very supportive and encouraging. I think that this was the first deeply important support I received and would prove to be most beneficial during my recovery.
“If you have had any experience with FMLA in the US or similar programs in the Country where you reside providing support for medical and family leave, please share with me in the comments box or by email. I am looking to learn more.”