I don't know what to do.

[AriGriffin]

It has been almost a week since I hurt my back and it has not improved much. I am able to stand and walk on my own for about two or three minutes before the pain gets too bad. Then I am back to using the walker to get around. It took a lot out of me just going around the grocery store yesterday.

I am supposed to work tomorrow evening from 3-9:30. I really don't think I can stand for 6 hours and then travel up and down the stairs to get to the office (where we count the till down). I can't sit down while running the register.
Mom said I should go in and work. She said I should let the manager know that I can't run the register anymore if the pain gets too bad. That they can't make me work if I am in pain. The manager and I are the only ones on the schedule for tomorrow evening. Most likely if I leave then I'll get fired. As it stands now I won't be able to make it five minutes.

I had a severe anxiety attack along with a bout of acid indegestion earlier this evening. I felt like I swalloed fire and a horse had kicked me in the chest. I called my Mom to take me to the ER. After tossing my cookies a few times (thankfully Mom pulled over in time), on the way there and doing some deep breathing, I was able to get it under control and I didn't need to go into the ER. We ended up stopping at a pharmacy and Mom ran in to get some more medicine.

I hate that my back hasn't gotten better. I've been taking pain pills, putting on ActiveOn, alternating cold & hot, laying down, and leaning against pillows when I sit. The rest of the family are telling me to suck it up and get back to work. I want to go even though I don't like the conditions, but I physically cannot do it. I feel like I am letting my boss & co-workers down and letting my Mom down by not being able to go to work. If they fire me I don't know what I am going to do. I have been looking, but there is nothing else in the town I live in that I can do.

[Pedersen]

AriGriffin, I'm sorry I didn't read this sooner. I'm going to give you some advice that others will disagree with, but that I will stand behind (and have done myself).

You need to get out of that job, and you need to do it asap. It is destroying you physically and mentally. The stress of worrying how you will make money is less damaging to you than the stress of dealing with that job.

As for your back, you have something seriously wrong if you're feeling no difference after a week. You must get yourself to a medical facility, and you must get that taken care of. Failure to do so could result in more damage being done to your back, thereby slowing down the healing even further.

You also may have issues beginning with your kidneys. Explain to whatever medical practitioner you see what you have discussed here about the pain in your sides. If they do find something wrong, that may be covered under worker's comp laws, as the damage there was caused by your work place.

To reiterate: Get out. And get to a doctor of some sort. Without doing both of those things, your condition will only get worse, both physical and mental.

[draftermatt]

AriGriffin, I'm sorry I didn't read this sooner. I'm going to give you some advice that others will disagree with, but that I will stand behind (and have done myself).

I'm sorry I didn't read this sooner too. I have to agree with Pedersen. What are you staying for? The DM just blows you off, HR tells you that it's not their issue (when it would certainly seem to be).

Money isn't anything if you've worked yourself into an early grave.

[Bella_Vixen]

*hugs*

I feel your pain.

I'd like to tell you to quit and deal with the consequences later, but I know that is a tough situation.

I'd also like to tell you to stay and document, but the stress will do you great harm.

The best I can tell you is to get to a doctor. There has to be one somewhere with a sliding payment scale.

*more hugs*

[AriGriffin]

I had to call in and tell them I wasn't going to be able to work. They said I had to bring in a doctor's note by Tuesday afternoon or I'd be fired. They said I didn't bring in a note twice before (the recent time they changed my schedule without telling me was the first, this past week absence was the second), and if I couldn't get a note then I'd be fired.

I looked online and found a few clinics under the rural health programs that might be able to help. One was for migrant farmworkers and another was for the local Native Americans, but there was a third that might see me. I'll have to give them a call on Monday morning. I guess I should call the Employment Security Commission and talk to them as well.

[Naaman]

No, he was trying to ban us from having any water, period. Not even in a water bottle. None whatsoever. Oh, and we're not a compounding pharmacy, anyway.

Ahhh, OK. There's no such beast as a non-compounding pharmacy over here, they're (with tightly controlled exclusions) obliged to fill any script that's presented.

[TheSHAD0W]

Back pain and nausea are both atypical signs of heart issues, and panic attacks can be misinterpreted. Please go see your physician and have that double-checked ASAP.

[AriGriffin]

When I called the clinic, I got a 'we're sorry but the number you were trying to reach has been disconnected' message. The Assistant Manager said I would be fired if I didn't get a doctor's note. So, it looks like I am going to be fired. I haven't called them yet, but she made it clear what would happen. Part of me is and the other is going

I tried the benefit estimator on the Employment Security Commission's website and it said I wouldn't get anything. I made minimum wage, anywhere from 18-29 hours per week. I can't stand unaided for more than a few minutes at a time so I don't know what kind of jobs I can apply for.

I have always wanted to start my own craft business- selling online and at festivals. I also have a few stories for children that I finished writing a while ago but never did anything with. Maybe it is time to brush off the dust and send them to a publisher.

[RavenStarr]

Ari, I really think it is fucked up the way you have been treated. If you do get fired just remember you will be okay. If you don't get out of this job, you are going to wind up in the hospital from physical and emotional stress.

I think making and selling crafts is a neat idea. Also go ahead and send your stories to a publisher. You just might be on your way to becoming a famous author. Time to let your creativity shine.

[HYHYBT]

They're looking for an excuse to fire you, so they *will* find or create one. If you had gotten the note, they'd have just changed the schedule again or something.

Good luck with your stories and crafts... and anything else you may find.

[AriGriffin]

So, after talking with work on Tuesday and them telling me I am fired, I get a call from work this morning. I didn't answer the phone so it went to voicemail. I am glad I did because it wouldn't have gone well.

They want me back. Apparently the new cashier they hired told them off when they started treating her like they did me and she got fired for doing so. They started yelling at her that she wasn't putting up her stock fast enough on truck and senior citizen day [busiest day of the week], and she told them she was doing the best she could considering it was so busy. When they started yelling at her again she told them she only had time to run the register and she'd stock when she could. They yelled at her a third time and she told them to go screw themselves. They then told her to leave. They didn't tell me, my neighbor saw it happen yesterday and told me when I went to go put mail outside earlier. My back is getting a little better, but I still can't stand and walk around for long without pain. I am in no way, shape or form going back to that place. I haven't called them back yet. It is still too early, I'd laugh at them. Besides, the phone company is working on the lines and I can't call if I wanted to.

[poofy_puff]

Isn't that touching? They miss their former door-mat.

Good for you. You'd BETTER not go back there.

But I think you should call in just to tell them to fsck themselves.

And they treat their cashier(s) like that in front of CUSTOMERS? They must have some awesome merchandise that no one can find anywhere else, because that would make me not even want to set foot in the place.

[Binky]

I hope you get better asap! You're better off out of that hole in the ground!

Finish school and get a fantastic job! then go back and tell them ll to go to hell! LOL

But isn't that funny! They find someone that won't put up with the crap they delt and want the one person back who was trying to sort it out with them on a mature level. Go you! Don't call back, and if they do say NO HELL NO FUCK YOU FUCK THE JOB !

[AriGriffin]

My mom is telling me to go back to them because I need the money.
I have been writing like crazy since I haven't been working.

[Elspeth]

No amount of money is worth how they were treating you!!! Your health is A LOT more important.

And you might be able to sell your crafts on esty.com.

Get better soon. And good luck with the writing!