You said:
Has anyone on the list felt this way? Any advice?
Emphatically YES!!!!! And at that time I too was working in the legal field
as a certified paralegal. I stayed in law because I'd spent so much time and
money training for it, but after 7 years of working for and with lawyers
(God's little cosmic joke on the REST of us who are NOT lawyers!) <wee smirk>,
with my PD getting worse and worse with each office crisis (and you KNOW
there's ALWAYS some major brouhaha boiling up in a law office!).
One day, when I saw the senior partner of the 110 lawyer law firm I was with,
pick up an a computer monitor and HEAVE it at his secretary (missed HER, but
crashed right out thru the window behind her! And we were on the 10th
floor!), in fit of rage (he was totally stoned out of his mind - HEY, this IS
L.A. that I've live and worked in, so to see a stoned attorney HERE was and is
not an extraordinary event) <just a repulsive one> I went back to my desk, sat
down, and typed out my resignation (as did several other support staff
members).
It was WORTH it, even tho I had to teenage daughters to support, and no
savings to speak of. It was also mighty scary to be in that position, but my
PD seemed to "relax" a bit right within 24 hours of quitting the job.
Strange, because I was terribly stressed as I pondered the options of whether
to stay or leave the law.
Ultimately, I felt I would continue to degenerate much faster if I continued
to remain in the legal field, so I looked for, and got, a job at Dun &
Bradstreet for much less money per month, but still enabling me to use a lot
of the skills I'd developed as a paralegal.
From where I am today, after having PD for 23 years, I feel that ANY job that
places ANY stress on a Parkie is going to speed degeneration. STRESS is
simply a PD-accelerator!!!
Of course, winning the lottery would ALSO stress a Parkie and prolly cause a
heckuva lotta symptoms. too! I guess we could live with THAT kinda stress a
bit easier, huh? <smile>
Best of luck in making your decision, m'friend. Do what's best for YOU...
treat yourself with kindness, 'cause no one else lives in your body but you.
No one else, however thoughtful, can feel the misery of your PD symptoms.
Barb Mallut
[log in to unmask]
Hey
----------
From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of Joseph G. Konick
Sent: Sunday, September 13, 1998 12:37 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN
Subject: Short-term Disability - Work - Future (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 11:42:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joseph G. Konick <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Short-term Disability - Work - Future
I am 46 years old, diagnosed with Parkinsons about 6 years ago (slight
symptoms appearing a while earlier) and am now on short-term
disability/medical leave from my job. I've been on medical leave for
about 2 1/2 months. I have been the office manager of a branch office of
a major international law firm for 18 years. The job has been extremely
intense, stressful and demanding. My symptoms (muscle rigidity,
dyskenisias from medication/disease, depression, anxiety) made it
necessary for this leave as I was not handling anything well (I believe
I was burned out as well). I avoided
confrontations, ignored certain problems because I couldn't handle them
both physically and psychologically. Fortunately, I was able to
bring someone on/train someone on to help with the running of the office
while I took
this medical leave. When I think about going back to work I get a knot
in my stomach and wonder whether I can do the job or whether I should
even try. I'm just not sure what to do....I'm not sure what I can do.
Has anyone on the list felt this way? Any advice?
Much appreciated.
Thanks.
J. Konick
