"I am a woman in my mid-50s who after being trained and working in multiple sectors since I was a teenager is (finally) in a field I truly enjoy. It doesn't pay much but gives me one of a few reasons to wake up everyday knowing I am there to make someone's life a little bit better. However this job is physically demanding."
"I have been dealing with nerve pain before I accepted this position. The colder the temperature gets, the more pain I feel. It intensifies after most work days that involves me pushing patients in wheelchairs that double, sometimes triple my weight. There is no one else that can regularly take on this aspect of the job as it is a requirement."
"Some mornings I cannot get out of bed because I hurt so much. I tend to call out. And then again when I have my menstrual cycle because it is getting heavier than lighter. My doctors ran tests that came back fine. They offered a prescription for steroids for the pain and birth control for my periods to end. I am not keen on either after learning the risks and the reactions I had to a few in the past."
A mid-50s worker finds deep fulfillment in a low-paying, physically demanding caregiving role. The worker experiences longstanding nerve pain that intensifies in cold conditions and after pushing patients in heavy wheelchairs. Pain episodes can be so severe that mornings are immobilizing and absenteeism follows. Menstrual cycles have become heavier, compounding time off. Medical tests returned normal, and physicians suggested steroids for pain and birth control to stop periods, both declined due to prior adverse reactions and perceived risks. The worker previously left a loved job because of similar symptoms and currently faces difficulty finding alternative employment.
Read at Slate Magazine
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