Someone talk me down? I'm freaking out about this hip surgery to repair the torn labrum and fix my pain problem. I shouldn't be freaked out, it's the answer, and I'm so glad that it is fixable...but it's also 4-6 months of rehab at AT LEAST 12 wks before I can return to work. Maybe I could return to 4 hr shifts after 8 wks....but I work 12 hr shifts and she's pretty adamant that there's no way i'll be able to sit or stand for that long. I've tallied up all my sick leave, vacation leave, and comp time and it only covers 4 wks off. FMLA protects my job, but i'll still have to go unpaid after that which is a pretty major financial hardship on top of medical bills. Not to mention that my car looks to be about to bite it (the engine failure and IMA lights went on at the same time which likely means that the hybrid battery is shot. It's a 2005 model so that's not at all surprising, just expensive.)

I should have enough savings to float this as long as nothing else goes wrong (dear doG, why would I even *think* such a statement!) but of course something else will happen. Ugh.

I know I should be relieved that there's hope and an end in sight. Instead I'm freaking out about not being able to pay my mortgage.

eta: and i still haven't even scheduled this procedure yet, gotta give mom enough time to book a plane ticket to come take care of me for the 2-4 wks before I can drive myself anywhere. So i still have *plenty* of time to make financial arrangements. I do not need to freak out about this now. Well, i need to cancel all my vacation days so i can save those hours, but that's not freak-out-level necessary.

Shouldn't you be able to go on short- or long-term disability (at least at 1/2 or 2/3 pay)?

Yeah, I was gonna say, no short term disability??

And you won't be able to stand or sit for more than 4 hours for HOW long?? Will you just be....lying down?? Seriously?

{{{Erin}}} That is a lot of information to take in all at once. Definitely talk to someone at work to find out what your options are regarding short term disability.

Yeah, take the time you need to make sure you have all your ducks in a row first.

The only time I could schedule my follow up ultrasound before vacation next week was for right around the same time as my therapy appointment. So, I have to cancel that. I had spoken to the therapist about the miscarriage, so hopefully she will understand. Sigh.

Isn't it her job to understand?

Yeah, but you'd be surprised at how not understanding some therapists can be when it comes to messing with their schedule, and this was supposed to be my first appointment. She did sound nice on the phone though.

Too bad the therapist can't be there with you during the ultrasound. Talk about functional therapy....

and thanks for the mention of short term disability. That hadn't even occurred to me but is clearly one of the reasons it exists. 60% of my income is way better than nothing. Ortho surgeon says that sitting for more than a couple hrs at a time will be super painful. Standing better. Lying down even better. We do have sit/stand stations at work which is encouraging...but I also know that pain has a super negative effect on the quality of my ability to sympathetically process nuisance complaints.