Hearing and Healing : Part 1

Hey Tribe,

I know it’s been a minute and I’m so sorry that I haven’t updated like I normally due. Sadly, I’ve been dealing with some health issues. Well, technically still dealing with but you get my point.

So I want to update you on what’s going on. This isn’t easy for me to write out but for each of you who has supported me and what I’m doing, I want to give you this.

On June 15th I had a doctor’s appointment. I was beginning to experience dizziness and lightheartedness when standing up. My doctor thought it may be an inner ear problem so I was scheduled with an ENT. The doctor said the inside of the ear looked fine and wanted to do an updated hearing test, I had been tested about two or so years prior.

My prior appointment showed hearing loss in certain areas and they said hearing aids would help but the doctor didn’t seem to think it was too important or perhaps they just knew my insurance wouldn’t cover them. This appointment, the test was a bit more in-depth and once the results came back. I was thrown into a whole new world. My hearing was drastically different. The change over such a short time was unbelievable. I was now considered disabled due to the level of hearing. I was given the name of someone near me, who took my insurance, to get hearing aids.

June 19th came and I walked in scared and nervous. She pulled up my hearing test, explaining what it all meant. Then she went to get me my first trial pair of hearing aids. Suddenly it was a whole new world. I was hearing sounds I had never heard before. Things were loud and scary but exciting too.

I’ve been trying to keep people updated through snapchat and Instagram. It’s been exciting, scary, upsetting, it’s a whole new life for me. But sadly, life cannot be all sunshine and rainbows.

If you remember, I was hired at a “big box” retailer in May. My first day working was May 17th and it was not a good first day. I left that night in tears. I had two days of training at a different store then switched to my home store. *I do want to mention that during not only my interview but also my orientation I told them I needed medical accommodation for my hearing and my heart problem* Once I got to my home store, things just got worse.

Orientation was done at a different store also, so we didn’t get things like a store tour or emergency procedure. We were (there were three of us that would be at my home store) told that we would receive these once we arrived at our home store. I don’t know about the other two, but I never received these things. Here is an excerpt from a letter written to corporate:

“ I explained to the store manager that I was feeling incredibly isolated, stressed, hurt, and many other feelings. I have been asking for help and adjustments since the day I was hired. I wrote a few notes on my orientation paper to be given to my store manager. I mentioned things needed during my interview and my first day there. I asked over and over. I ended up calling another’s store HR since our store didn’t have any Human Resources at our store. It took weeks to get a doctors medical accommodation forms.

It seems every single employee has received the same folder of information during orientation and received all of the store checklist, which is incredibly beneficial information for any employee.

I was unable to use the walkie-talkies due to my hearing problems (which I had an appointment with an audiologist on June 15th, I was given the accommodation form at the end of May/Early June and it was due to be returned June 21st. My primary care doctor runs a small family clinic with her husband and I was working to schedule an appointment but your company scheduled me opening shifts followed by closing shifts making it hard to schedule an appointment. No one had explained how to switch shifts, or ask for time off, even just enough time for a doctor’s appointment. But not that it mattered, I was basically forced to quit before I could even turn my paper work in.

Let me give you a few examples where the training would have come in handy. While working, the tornado sirens went off, and I had no idea what I would do to not only help myself but others had a tornado touched down. Let alone, would someone inform me if we were to take shelter?

Another time, we once had a spill of bubbles, as an employee I could not clean it up as it was not food or drink, but I also had no idea where a spill station or other employees were. I had to leave what I knew to be a slippery puddle to find help since I could not locate a spill station or contact a manager.

And again, I had warned people working with me and my ETL that I had a heart problem that could cause to loss of consciousness from certain movements that would drastically change my blood pressure, I also informed them during my interview, orientation, first day at another store and the my first day at my home store of this problem which had been witnessed by people. I asked where to find/or if someone could bring me a step stool as raising my arms straight above my head caused blood pressure changes.

My request was ignored as the LOD (Elizabeth) simply looked at me and walked away. She was already unhappy with my work and I didn’t want to anger her so I forced myself to continue facing. I ended up passing out, hitting my face on a shelf and causing product to fall on me. I hadn’t received the papers for medical accommodations yet and I was afraid of losing my job, so I never filed an incident report. Sadly I should of.

I’ve asked for help time and time again, things that wouldn’t need a doctor’s note, company resources or much time at all. I’ve offered to come in before or stay after my shift to do it, as it’s not technically work. I was not given any help or even the same basics that every other employee received. I was told AP would give me a headset so I could try to use a walkie-talkie, they never gave me one. When I asked another member of AP, they told me they didn’t have any. They didn’t offer to order one or any other option.”

Eventually, I asked for a few minutes of the store manager’s time. She told me I was working against the companies “system” and I needed to decide if I would wanted to continue working for them. She didn’t allow me time to think and consider, she demanded an answer asking me, while completely in tears, “Are you going to stay or go?” so I simply asked “May I have 10 to 15 minutes with my department manager to come up with a plan?” I was told no. So I handed my name tag, she got me the “Voluntary Resignation” form and asked me to fill it out and leave it on her desk. I left it without filling out the paper. Just emotionally destroyed.

But honestly, I was lucky. The very next day, I went to the bank to attempt to fix an overdraft fee, which they found and fixed a few others things giving me some extra money. Allowing me to get gas and I needed to get a thing of hair color for interviewing. I ended up talking to the girl working and basically got a job that day, she just happened to be the store manager.

And this job, this boss, is amazing. She’s been completely understanding about my hearing aids. When you get them for the first time, it’s rough. I have to take lots of notes then have them adjusted. Things sound different, I’m adjusting to all the newness around me. I don’t want to be socially isolated anymore. I want to talk to everyone and listen to them. It’s a brand new world and I’ll post some photos of me with two of the workers at the hearing aid clinic. I have the biggest, most genuine smile I’ve had in a long time. So I want to share this part of my life with all of you!

I do face one problem though. With loss of hearing, turns out, it’s expensive. I can’t hear people knocking on the door, so I need to get a special doorbell. I can’t hear my alarm, so I need a special alarm. My hearing aids get messed up with my phone so I need to buy a special Bluetooth synch tool. So I started a gofundme page. If you’d like to donate and help, that would be amazing. I also linked an amazon wish list page with items other told me could help me a ton.

So If you want to help, feel free. I will send you a personal thank you video or even a person thank you card. If not, emotional support is amazing too. So I wanted to share this painful journey, but this amazing transformation opportunity and my life with you. I am going to try to update more, I’m going to attempt to video some of it and place on youtube. I want to engage even more with each of you. Thank you for sticking with me, thank you for supporting me, in whatever way you do.