Today, I have a migraine....can anyone tell me why?
So I kept the house quiet and the shades drawn.
(It only helps a little bit, but every little bit helps)
Here's what happened so far:
1) I am still on a Leave Of Absence from work.
2) My Insurance did expire on January 1, 2006 (I was covered under something called a Rule 4 Extension for 2004 & 2005, but December 31, 2005 was technically the last day - even though it appears my coverage actually ended mid-February).
3) I can return to work, but it's going to be a very difficult process. I need to get reports from every doctor I've seen over the last 3 years and have them say I'm ok to return to work, and while this is difficult, it's not impossible - but - even if I can get all of their reports and even if I can get them to say I can return to work (even if they don't want me to yet) then my company's Medical Department may - or may not - release me to return, but even if they do, I have to have a Return To Work Physical, and that doctor may - or may not - release me to return to work. So it's going to be very difficult to actually get back to work.
4) Due to how hard all steps in #3 might be to accomplish, it was suggested I contact Railroad Retirement (hereafter referred to as RRB - I work for the railroad) and look into Disability. This I tried 3 years ago when it appeared I'd be out a while (I had that immobile kidney stone that eventually a full year and 3 surgeries to resolve - albeit temporarily), and I was told that I'd need to work an additional 18 months to qualify. I asked how I could work 18 more months to qualify for Disability when I'm disabled now? They did not know. Because of how the railroad works, after a certain period you become "vested" with the RRB and all the money you made in your working life that was paid into Social Security (hereafter SSI) gets "dumped" into RRB and that's who you would collect from - instead of SSI, which no longer has anything to do with you. A short while before I went out in 2003 the RRB changed the "vested" period from 10 years to 5 years, and I had worked for the railroad for more than 5 years, but less than 10, at that time. Although I was hired in 1990, because of the Crohn's Disease (I was diagnosed April 19, 1996 - my 6th Hire Anniversary at the railroad, I was hired April 19, 1990) I did't work the entire 13 years, so I was in the Twilight Zone of coverage. I have to contact the RRB again now and find out what the real deal is, and if I can't get Disability from them, someone there should be able to help me coordinate with SSI to get some kind of Disability from someone. This might be just a tad bit easier than going through the hoops of #3.
5) I am looking into trying to get an individual Insurance Policy so when the next tragedy hits I'll be covered, but in the meantime (now) I can no longer afford to keep doctor's appointments (I've had to cancel 2 this week and I have one with my shoulder doc coming up in 2 1/2 weeks that will most likely have to be cancelled) and I had to cancel my physical therapy session this week as well (and can't make another until I'm covered), but that's not a huge deal since I can still do all 12 of my exercises 3 times a day here at home, it's only the stretching part that I have to skip, and since motion is coming back to my arm, it's now more or less strength training, it may not set me back too much.
That's all that's new since Monday, but I was pretty worthless today (anyone out there who's experienced a migraine knows there's not much you can do about one, but wait for it to end) and it usually takes 2-3 days for one of my migraines to fully pass.
Oh, and it was * snowing * when I woke up this morning at 5:30am (at least I slept 3 hours last night, that's an improvement)!!
I also found a 4th "spiked icecube" in my freezer this morning (see earlier post titled Freak Of Nature Discovered)
Take care everyone,
RobMac
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