Stuck, distracted and confused

[DawnS]

Daff, that makes perfect sense, thank you. My partner is going to the meeting with me, this is allowed because he attended all the meetings on my initial return and HR advised that they were happy for him to attend this one. It helps me because I get so flustered, I forget what's been said or even find that I cannot understand and absorb what is being discussed.

 

Kris, your ironing comment made me laugh out loud and was perfectly timed as I was considering getting the ironing board out until I read it. That idea was swiftly amended and I sat in the garden with a book instead. I was interested in your comments about being fatigued in advance of an event. I felt that way the last time my sick note was coming to an end. My sleep pattern goes haywire also. Although we are all individuals, in recovery there are so many things that follow a similar pattern aren't there?

 

Thank you to everyone for your comments and support, I've really needed it x

[DawnS]

The OH report came in at the weekend. It's not too bad considering it was written by the same doc that said I would never be able to work again. He has suggested that I start my phased return on only 12 hours for the first 2 weeks, then increase to 15 for 2 weeks. The rest is to be discussed with HR. He has also suggested that neuropsych (spelling?) testing might be useful in finding any areas where further adjustments or support are needed. He was surprised that this has not been offered already by John Radcliffe hospital.

 

I have a meeting with HR this afternoon. If all goes well I'll be back to work tomorrow . Breaks have not been mentioned in the report, I suspect because 3 hours is probably not considered to be long enough to warrant a tea break. As we are not paid for breaks, the time taken is worked back so I'm going to ask if I may take a break on a flexible basis - if I need it I'll take one and work the time back at the end of my shift.

 

I am not going to argue anything in the report this time. We argued the first report strongly and even had a second opinion which provided a very different report. I am now wondering if this was a mistake - I've just had 11 weeks off sick with fatigue, perhaps I wasn't ready to go back when I did. Unfortunately, I went back purely for financial reasons. People keep telling me that this shouldn't be a consideration when talking about health, but as I'm not entitled to any benefits, it has to be considered!

[DawnS]

After my meeting with HR, it was decided that I should return to work today. This week I am working 4 days of 3 hours sitting listening in to another advisors call. Next week, I will work the same hours and finally get that training I asked for months ago on the new system. The following two weeks, I've to work 5 days of 3 hours taking my own calls but with no targets at all. In one months time we will have another meeting to discuss what happens next.
 
I was ok for the first hour or so, then I started to flag a bit and developed a headache. I suppose this is to be expected to begin with until my stamina improves, I had a nap for an hour afterwards. I was pleased to find that I remembered a lot of the processes. The return has been set at an incredibly slow pace, probably slower than needed but I'm going to take it as slow as they are offering and keep my mouth shut. Hopefully, a long slow start will stand me in good stead for the months ahead.
 
I asked about reducing my days to only 4 days per week. It seems that while they are happy for me to reduce my daily hours if needed they would prefer me to attend 5 days per week. This is fine, it helps to know where the boundaries lie. All in all, I feel like they are being very supportive although it was made very clear that it is my responsibility to tell them if I'm not feeling good and need extra support should this arise again. I honestly thought I had last time!