Chief Cushie ~MaryO~ Posted October 9, 2008 Chief Cushie Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Susan (SusanM), October 9, 2008. 7:30PM Join us as Mary O'Connor (MaryO) and Robin Smith (staticnrg) interview long time Cushing's patient Susan (SusanM). Susan writes: As you may have read in my other post, I retired from a 28-year career at a major health insurance company (one of the big five) on March 31. 2008. I am happy with this achievement, however, much more proud of the actions I took to reach that achievement. Why so? For 27 of those 28 years, I had faced Cushings and we all know what difficulty that may bring. In 2003, I had the pit surgery and became quite ill in 2004. It wasn't until November, of 2005 that I had the BLA which brought about some relief. During all of this, I worked full time consistently until 2004 when I had to take some time off of work. I was GH deficient and had the episode of congestive heart failure. Once back at work, I applied for a work accommodation to work at home on Monday and Friday under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was granted and I was provided with a full computer set up at home as well as the one at work. This made a great difference in my being able to work or not. Not driving the 26 miles each way to work as well as being at home continued my work. Another thing I did was to work with my PCP to be accepted into the Physical Rehab at the local hospital. It provided medically-monitored exercise (up to 5 days a week) and my muscles recovered well during this time. I had difficulty with shortness of breath due to the weak muscles around my lungs and this was a positive step to correct that situation. What else did I do to keep myself working during this timeframe? I worked incredibly hard on achieving a positive mental attitude! I meditated, performed self-hypnosis, and found a support system that worked for me. This foundation made the better days better and difficult days a bit less difficult. Can someone with Cushings continue working? In my opinion, YES. What it takes, however, is the drive to keep going and a bundle of enthusiasm. I became an expert at 'hiding' this disease at work, but knew that the weekends were going to be 'horizontal' (on the sofa). I wasn't ok with letting my house chores go, but I did. Today, I am able to do them a bit at a time and am so grateful. If anyone wants to chat on this topic, let me know and I will be glad to help you think through options that may be helpful to you. Take Care. Location : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/CushingsHelp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SusanM Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Thanks for the reminder, Mary! I look forward to the interview and questions that folks may have! Let's get those calls coming on Thursday evening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.