"You need to better plan your sick time"

sad2m8o submitted 607 days ago

In March, 2005, I went into a Gulfport, FL, public restroom thinking that I, ta da, needed to take care of personal business.

Fifteen minutes later I woke up-face down on the floor, thank you much-without a clue as to what'd happened. I went outside and told my boyfriend, "I think I just fainted, I know I broke a tooth when I hit the floor but I don't know what's wrong."

A passer-by who happened to be a nurse noticed my color (or lack thereof since I was turning grey) and said, "get her to the hospital immediately, it's three blocks down the street."

Upon arrival at the Palms of Pasadena (which sounds more like a resort than a hospital) I promptly threw up all over the car, orderly, and passed out again.

Long story short: what I'd thought was a bowel movement was actually an ovarian cyst the size of a grapefruit bursting; the affected ovary abcessed and bled into my uterus. Blood transfusions and emergency surgery were necessary to save my life.

I spent a week in the hospital, took a few recuperative days at home, and upon attempting to return to work was told, "you need to better plan your sick time."

As if passing out face down in a public restroom isn't ample humiliation and being told to "better plan" emergency sick time isn't sufficiently insulting, Oh Great One laid this jewel at my feet: ""why is it always you women having the problems? It's never the men, I guess our ovaries don't bother us."

Suffice to say this matter was resolved in a nice, neat, rehire me and fire you package...and per the constraints of confidentiality, that's all-and enough-I can say about that.