I've been doing part of my back to work program helping out with a research project at one of our hospitals. My job is to sit in medical records and enter data from the patient's chart into a laptop computer.
The computers are kept in a different area so before going to medical records, I have to trek to the Neurology office to pick it up, carry it back to medical records and do it all over again at the end of the shift. It's a huge hospital and the offices are in another building. It works out to 12 city blocks for one round trip.
My back was killing me the first 2 shifts I did because of all that carrying. The laptop with the case, the adapter and keyboard weighs about 30 pounds. I can lift it and carry it across a normal size room, but it's way too heavy for me to carry that distance.
I told them that I cannot carry that laptop back and forth because of my back and the restrictions that I have. They were to get me a pull cart for the laptop.
They didn't. I found my own solution using a small box cart that I found outside engineering on the way to the offices. Once I started to use that, I had zero back problems and no problem toting the laptop around.
Last Thursday I went to get the box cart and saw that they were tied together. An obvious hint that engineering didn't want me to use their carts. So I ended up carrying the laptop back and forth that day. My back was killing me at the end of the day. I could hardly sit, and standing, never mind walking nearly had me crying.
I told Neurology about that cart being tied up and that I can't carry that laptop, and to have them get those carts untied.
Just in case, I took a pair of scissors with me the next day. Of course the carts were still tied up. I cut them apart myself and used it anyway. It's a good thing too because my back was so sore that I took 2 Tylenol #3 and Ibuprophen before even going, and repeated it again twice during the shift and I still couldn't finish the 8 hours and had to pack it up at 3:15pm because I was in so much pain.
I told the guy (Serge) in the Neurology area supervising this project, that I need a pull cart for the laptop and told him about Engineering having tied the carts together. He said he would get a cart for me over the weekend and it would be available for Monday morning.
Engineering caught up with me at the end of the shift and told me in no uncertain terms that I couldn't use the cart anymore. They claim they are going back to the manufacturer. Which I doubt very much.
My back was so sore over the weekend. I was taking 8 Tylenol #3's and 12 Ibruprophen each day and it hasn't been helping much. I need to get into my chiropractor so he can refix everything again
Yesterday I went back and again, no cart for me to use!!! I literally had to drag the laptop on the floor to records which only added to my back pain. Serge came to see me in the morning and said that he was on his way to the UofM book store to get a pull cart for me.
I popped pain pills all day and had my TENS machine on my back all day too but it didn't help all that much.
The end of shift came and went and there was still no pull cart!! So I had to drag the laptop on the floor all the way back to Neurology again. By the time I got there I could barely stand up
I saw the doctor in charge of the study in her office and stopped in to tell her that I need a pull cart. I also told her that I wasn't going to come in tomorrow (today, Tuesday) because of my back pain and there was no way I could drag that laptop around again without a pull cart. I also added that unless a pull cart is made available, I won't be able to continue to do the work.
I need the hours, but if my back is messed up and I can't walk, there is no way I can participate in ward aspect of my back to work program and that is the important part; it's the part that will get me back to my job and being paid. As it is, my back is so sore today that I don't know how I'm going to do 4 hours on the hospital ward tomorrow for my first 1/2 shift
I'm calling tomorrow and if they don't have a pull cart available for me, then I am not going there on Thursday either.
They were made aware of my restrictions before I started into the project, and they were supposed to accommodate me, which they haven't done.
The computers are kept in a different area so before going to medical records, I have to trek to the Neurology office to pick it up, carry it back to medical records and do it all over again at the end of the shift. It's a huge hospital and the offices are in another building. It works out to 12 city blocks for one round trip.
My back was killing me the first 2 shifts I did because of all that carrying. The laptop with the case, the adapter and keyboard weighs about 30 pounds. I can lift it and carry it across a normal size room, but it's way too heavy for me to carry that distance.
I told them that I cannot carry that laptop back and forth because of my back and the restrictions that I have. They were to get me a pull cart for the laptop.
They didn't. I found my own solution using a small box cart that I found outside engineering on the way to the offices. Once I started to use that, I had zero back problems and no problem toting the laptop around.
Last Thursday I went to get the box cart and saw that they were tied together. An obvious hint that engineering didn't want me to use their carts. So I ended up carrying the laptop back and forth that day. My back was killing me at the end of the day. I could hardly sit, and standing, never mind walking nearly had me crying.
I told Neurology about that cart being tied up and that I can't carry that laptop, and to have them get those carts untied.
Just in case, I took a pair of scissors with me the next day. Of course the carts were still tied up. I cut them apart myself and used it anyway. It's a good thing too because my back was so sore that I took 2 Tylenol #3 and Ibuprophen before even going, and repeated it again twice during the shift and I still couldn't finish the 8 hours and had to pack it up at 3:15pm because I was in so much pain.
I told the guy (Serge) in the Neurology area supervising this project, that I need a pull cart for the laptop and told him about Engineering having tied the carts together. He said he would get a cart for me over the weekend and it would be available for Monday morning.
Engineering caught up with me at the end of the shift and told me in no uncertain terms that I couldn't use the cart anymore. They claim they are going back to the manufacturer. Which I doubt very much.
My back was so sore over the weekend. I was taking 8 Tylenol #3's and 12 Ibruprophen each day and it hasn't been helping much. I need to get into my chiropractor so he can refix everything again
Yesterday I went back and again, no cart for me to use!!! I literally had to drag the laptop on the floor to records which only added to my back pain. Serge came to see me in the morning and said that he was on his way to the UofM book store to get a pull cart for me.
I popped pain pills all day and had my TENS machine on my back all day too but it didn't help all that much.
The end of shift came and went and there was still no pull cart!! So I had to drag the laptop on the floor all the way back to Neurology again. By the time I got there I could barely stand up
I saw the doctor in charge of the study in her office and stopped in to tell her that I need a pull cart. I also told her that I wasn't going to come in tomorrow (today, Tuesday) because of my back pain and there was no way I could drag that laptop around again without a pull cart. I also added that unless a pull cart is made available, I won't be able to continue to do the work.
I need the hours, but if my back is messed up and I can't walk, there is no way I can participate in ward aspect of my back to work program and that is the important part; it's the part that will get me back to my job and being paid. As it is, my back is so sore today that I don't know how I'm going to do 4 hours on the hospital ward tomorrow for my first 1/2 shift
I'm calling tomorrow and if they don't have a pull cart available for me, then I am not going there on Thursday either.
They were made aware of my restrictions before I started into the project, and they were supposed to accommodate me, which they haven't done.
