I currently have a desk job in advertising. The office is only 10 minutes away from my home. It's not well paid and I'm often stressed, but I enjoy the work and I like the people.
However, I am having to take a ridiculous amount of time off sick because of Crohn's. Throughout most of 2012 I was really ill, undiagnosed and falling asleep in the office and spending hours in the bathroom. After I got diagnosed, there was a reshuffle in my department and I continued in a low-paid role, even though I was capable of doing much more - I think this is because I hadn't been able to show my full capabilities while I was ill.
I took ten days off during this time (pretty good, considering how I felt) and had to attend a sickness review meeting to explain it to HR. In fairness, they were embarrassed about having to do it and were understanding. I then spent all of March in hospital or at home in bed because of a severe flare-up. I beat this with IV and oral steroids, Infliximab and azathioprine. Since then, I have taken countless days and afternoons off for tests and Infliximab infusions. Most recently, I've had three weeks off with an incredibly painful abscess, surgery and recovery. It's getting worse again, which means I'm probably not going to make it back to work at the end of the three weeks I have signed off. It's a sitting-down job and well, you know...
I'm in the early stages of living with my partner and I don't think I could handle not being able to work. Even if I could get disability benefit, I am a super ambitious person - I worked hard to get a first class degree a few months before I got ill, and the thought of not being able to reach my full potential because of this makes me so, so angry. When I'm not sick, I feel absolutely fine: even when I am, I'm quite lucid enough to do my job, it's just the embarrassing aspects of it and the time constraints (having to medicate at certain times, etc) that cause issues with being in the office.
But I don't see how I can continue like this. My bosses are amazing and really understanding because they have family with Crohn's, but I'm sure there's only so much sick leave even they can take. I'm in hospital more than I'm in work at the moment. I'm not experienced enough to get a job I can do from home, and the chances of someone who's off sick 50% of the time ever getting a promotion are extremely slim.
What can I do? Is there actually any job that pays a living wage, offers enough of a challenge to stop me getting depressed and retain some self respect and is happy for me to sporadically be off sick for a month?
Before all this started I had plans to be a high flyer, enter the Civil Service, but Crohn's has shattered all that :-( I am realistic and optimistic most of the time, but sometimes I just can't see a way of continuing to live my life normally and happily if this is the way it's going to be.
However, I am having to take a ridiculous amount of time off sick because of Crohn's. Throughout most of 2012 I was really ill, undiagnosed and falling asleep in the office and spending hours in the bathroom. After I got diagnosed, there was a reshuffle in my department and I continued in a low-paid role, even though I was capable of doing much more - I think this is because I hadn't been able to show my full capabilities while I was ill.
I took ten days off during this time (pretty good, considering how I felt) and had to attend a sickness review meeting to explain it to HR. In fairness, they were embarrassed about having to do it and were understanding. I then spent all of March in hospital or at home in bed because of a severe flare-up. I beat this with IV and oral steroids, Infliximab and azathioprine. Since then, I have taken countless days and afternoons off for tests and Infliximab infusions. Most recently, I've had three weeks off with an incredibly painful abscess, surgery and recovery. It's getting worse again, which means I'm probably not going to make it back to work at the end of the three weeks I have signed off. It's a sitting-down job and well, you know...
I'm in the early stages of living with my partner and I don't think I could handle not being able to work. Even if I could get disability benefit, I am a super ambitious person - I worked hard to get a first class degree a few months before I got ill, and the thought of not being able to reach my full potential because of this makes me so, so angry. When I'm not sick, I feel absolutely fine: even when I am, I'm quite lucid enough to do my job, it's just the embarrassing aspects of it and the time constraints (having to medicate at certain times, etc) that cause issues with being in the office.
But I don't see how I can continue like this. My bosses are amazing and really understanding because they have family with Crohn's, but I'm sure there's only so much sick leave even they can take. I'm in hospital more than I'm in work at the moment. I'm not experienced enough to get a job I can do from home, and the chances of someone who's off sick 50% of the time ever getting a promotion are extremely slim.
What can I do? Is there actually any job that pays a living wage, offers enough of a challenge to stop me getting depressed and retain some self respect and is happy for me to sporadically be off sick for a month?
Before all this started I had plans to be a high flyer, enter the Civil Service, but Crohn's has shattered all that :-( I am realistic and optimistic most of the time, but sometimes I just can't see a way of continuing to live my life normally and happily if this is the way it's going to be.
