Anyone been sent home from work because of fibro???

To make a long story short, I am an elementary art teacher (of "at risk" kids) with fibro and I disclosed my medical condition to my principal and assistant principal last year. We met with the school system's disability person and made some accommodations. This year, I just can't seem to get it together. I have a hard time finding a balance when I know what is demanded of me just to manage my teaching duties. Today, I felt especially miserable. My entire upper body was aching to the point that holding my keys wore me out. I feel like my whole body is dragging and I just want to sleep. I am highly emotional about everything. My bosses eventually pulled me aside, noticing that I was about to lose it and told me to take the rest of the day off. They then began to talk about how they've been noticing that I am having a hard time ( I had a panic attack during a meeting three weeks ago) and feel that I may need to take some time off to get myself better. My principal, who I do have a hard time fully trusting says she is going to make some phone calls to see if there is a way for me to take some type of leave and still get paid as I am a single parent of two girls. I'm just not sure what to do. I got a phone call from my principal this afternoon telling me to go ahead and take tomorrow off and recommending that I try to see my Dr. and let him know what is going on. Am I headed for disability? I am 31 years old and I live paycheck to paycheck. I cannot afford to make less money and I need my medical benefits for me and the kids, but my job is the source of the majority of my stress. Have any of you been through a similar situation? I am open to any advice.

I've tried all of that. The biggest problem is that I teach children who have zero respect for most of the teachers of a particular race in my school. While I have many students who I adore, my days are full of disciplining children, providing relief for classroom teachers, and tuning out the constant sound of poor english being yelled from child to child....not teaching art. I have resorted to free draw and videos on many occasions, but that's not really doing my job, nor does it give me any basis for grading the kids. Sitting on a stool doesn't work because if I don't constantly cycle around the classroom, a fight will break out or crayons are being thrown across the room...just imagine the movie Lean on Me, only elementary school!

I definitley understand how you feel. I had to take a leave of absence from work a couple of years ago. I had not been dxed yet and i was so scared that I was going to die. Now i know I won't die from fibro, but i do need to learn to live with it.  I hope you can take some time off to deal with your pain and stress. It seemed to help me alot. You may need to examine your current job situation as well. I had to change jobs. I am still in the same line of work, but I now work in less stressful enviroment. Remember you can do this. Sometimes we are all much stronger than we think. I surprise myself everyday. We are all here for you if you need to talk or vent. Take care of yourself, and everything else will fall in place.

My suggestion would be to transfer to a less demanding group of students where you can teach and not babysit.

 

luv and hugs

Marlee

Thanks for all of the advice. I have sent numerous e-mails to my teacher specialist (who is supposed to be a sort of liaison for us art teachers) about needing a less stressful environment. To no avail, I don't even get responses. I feel so incompetent that actually having a phone conversation about this leads to me sounding like a bumbling idiot. With our current economic situation, it is nearly impossible to get a transfer to a different school and as an art teacher, each school only gets one. I guess I'm just really confused about what to do. I cannot make less money and I cannot work a job that requires nights and weekends. The summers and holidays off are my only escape and recuperation time now. I feel like I can't get straight answers from anyone.

Cindy, could you teach art at a community center or maybe at a jr college?

Watashi, what kind of research do you do? I also do research, but it is not with scary things - I do research in the social sciences.

Sue

It's sooo difficult to teach students who don't want to learn. It would be exhausting to a healthy person. The stress is probably making you much worse. I understand you don't have many options. Our district doesn't even offer art in the elementary schools anymore and it was just cut in many middle schools.

It's scary how little respect kids have for adults; even elementary school kids think the world revolves around them and how dare we interrupt their social time with a bit of education. You'd think art would be a class they'd participate in because it's a lot more fun than social studies or math, but nope.

Do you have a union, are you a member? Your union may be able to answer some of your questions, a nice rep may answer your questions even if you aren't a member. You'd think getting answers would be easier, you can't be the first person in this situation in your entire school district. Our district was sued by a person with a disability so now, with the proper documentation, a disabled person can get a full time aide to help them with their classroom duties, including walking around and monitoring the students, passing out and collecting supplies, basically anything that assists you when you teach.

One of my favorite sayings is "If you can't change your situation, change your attitude." This is usually the hardest thing in the world but sometimes it's the only way to stay sane. I wish I could tell you how to do this but I still struggle with it myself.