Yes Lizzie, i saw this post earlier and i know you said that you felt like you needed to be a bit quiet(which i can totally understand)but i hope you are ok x

Thank you for asking Ros and Serena.

I have to say I spent most of Thursday crying!! I nearly walked out of my job I was just so low and miserable and down in the dumps....however, my wonderful husband pulled me through and I went to the doctor at 5.30pm on Thursday and had a long chat and he has booked me into the asthma nurse so we can have a long chat about things and he says 100% the asthma is triggered by stress/infection....and if I ever have another chest infection again it will flare up, most likely.

He did listen to my chest and say 100% the pleurisy has cleared up but whilst that was marvellous news, the after effects of it have been to leave me feeling really depressed, tired, and lacklustre. To top it all off, my son managed to give me his cold on Thursday and all day yesterday I had the sniffles and still have them, and it is hard to catch my breath again....however, my daughter and I determined we were going to make an effort, and went out in the fresh air to the hairdressers....treated ourselves to a lovely new hairdo, wash cut and blow-dry, and a bit of a rummage around the charity shops then home....I feel lighter and more optimistic than I have done for awhile.

I have to say I am really stunned at how much this has affected me, because I have mostly been healthy all my life, if a bit overweight. I cycle everywhere and never eat chocolate and cheese anymore. I eat brown/wholemeal bread, and eat quite healthily generally, but feel shocked at the lack of resources I seem to have within myself to fight back!!

My work decided to take £80 off my wages, too, because of me being off sick as apparently despite me having a sick note from the doctor from 18th to 30th January, I was only entitled to 5 fully paid working days off, then the other 3 (not counting weekends) were paid me at sick pay rate which is very very poor.

This was despite the fact that in my 12 years in my job, I have only had 3 DAYS ALTOGETHER.....so nothing being given back to me at all for that loyalty and commitment....and a mountain load of really stressful work waiting for me when I got back....I very nearly walked out on Thursday....however, I will try my best to get lots of rest over the weekend, and my husband and children have been helping me wonderfully to get back on my feet again.....my hairdresser said she had pleurisy when she was younger due to having a hole in her welly boot.....apparently if you catch a chill, the next stage can be pleurisy....and I cycled myself into the chill then pleurisy because I was actually cycling in the snowy weather before Christmas!

You have all been really wonderfully supportive and helpful to me through this really difficult time and I really do appreciate it. It is nice we are all like a big family here and let's hope George will soon be back amongst us to help us along and give us some of his cheery banter!! I am a bit of a wet dish rag at the mo!!

Lizzie, I'm glad you managed to pull yourself up out of the dumps - and spending that time with your daughter sounds wonderful. But what a rotten hand you've been dealt workwise; to take £80 from you like that after such a long service is outrageous. A similar thing happened to me some years ago when I had to have an emergency hysterectomy - the cretins said I was only entitled to 5 days paid sick leave, and I had to have 6 months off work in total, due to complications - and there wasn't an ounce of support from them.

It's sickening that so many shirkers can get away with so much, and yet, when the real workers among us (who keep the country going in taxes!) get taken to the cleaners whenever we need to ask for a little bit back.

I do hope that you can get through it, Lizzie; we are all here for you, and you have my email address any time you need it.

I thought you were a bit low lizzie, glad you have cheered up, shame about your employer! Im sure we have all worked for them somewhere along our working life!
Sorry about your boil Janet, yes they are a real pain aren't they, and have no consideration for where they pop up!

Just a quick comment which may be helpful. My ex wife had severe Asthma and was advised that shortage of breath is normally due to the inability to get air out the lungs, rather the lack of ability to inflate them. Her specialist advised her to carry a brown paper bag and, when she felt any breathing stress, to blow up the bag as hard as she could. This she did and said it made a great difference. Worth a try?
Keep smiling Lizzie.
Baggy

Thank you all for your support.

Janet, I simply am replying to the questions I was asked on how I was feeling.

Serena, thank you and Baggy and Katie for your kind consideration and thoughtfulness. I can easily keep on smiling when I have such good friends to support me on the forum!

I think if I had a paper bag, Baggy, I might be asked to put it over my head instead...LOL....but thanks for the tip.

The cold is leaving now, and I feel better today. of course, the new hairdo helps me a lot too as it is not quite so painful as it was to look in the mirror!! LOL

Katie, a hysterectomy is a dreadful thing, I am so sorry, my mother had to have one, it is unpleasant. I do feel that I was treated unfairly but what can I do? Take care xx Lizzie xx

Hope you feel better soon Lizzie - my husband had to take "holiday" when our daughter was admitted to hospital - seems that is what engineering companies do!

Is there anyone you can appeal to, in your job, Lizzie? I know HR people are neither here nor there at the best of times; but is there anyone at the head of your department that might be willing to at least listen to your concerns? I think it's awful that you you've been treated in this way - particularly as you are a loyal employee with longevity on your side.

Sorry, no, Katie, unfortunately not. There was a member of staff apparently years ago who took a year off sick before any provision for sick pay was in place and he queered the pitch for everyone else...so that is why this was put in place but thank you for asking.

Thanks also Fi, for your thoughtfulness. I am getting there...the cold is nearly gone and I feel generally more cheerful.

You have all been really wonderful and very patient listening to me going on. I try to keep cheerful but sometimes I just get down in the dumps. You all pull me through somehow - thank you again....from the heart of my bottom oops, I mean the bottom of my heart!

Hang in there lass! Every cloud has a silver lining..... ;-)

It does make you rethink lots of things, Katie I agree!