On Quitting, Callcenters for Healthcare, and Health

These last few months, I have had to do something twice that I have never had to do before:

Quit a job.

So here is what happened:  I had been working at the Burch Creek Animal Hospital in Ogden as a Kennel Technician for nearly a year, along side my job at Kohl's.  Working at Kohl's one night, I worked with a lady there that I hadn't worked with for some time.  You see, she had gotten a job at Black Turtle Services, which takes calls for the Affordable Healthcare Act website.  She liked the job, and convinced to apply there as they were taking application for the open enrollment period.  I was doubtful about a call center job (two of my sisters have worked them in the past, so I have heard the stories), but the money was a good bit more than what I was making at either Kohl's or Burch Creek.  So, I decided to do it.  I submitted my application, and the day after I was called in for an interview for the next day.  I went in, and got hired on the spot (along with many other people who had come in for interviews).  It was only guaranteed through February, but had the possibility of becoming permanent.

I all happened a lot faster than I planned.  I still wasn't really sold on the whole call center thing.  But, hey, it seemed like the best option at the time.  Of course, to work at Black Turtle full time, some changes had to be made.  My supervisor at Kohl's agreed to have me work one day a week to keep me on the books in case I didn't get kept on.  Burch Creek, on the other hand, had to go in light of these new events.  This was the first time I had ever had/gotten to quit a job.  I had hoped to tell my supervisor there face to face, but she was not there on the next day, so I had to call her and tell her over the phone.

So the two weeks passed, and I started my training at Black Turtle.  I caught on quickly, and at the end of the training, I aced the competency test, and my trainer told me that the person who did my test mock calls was impressed with how I handled myself.  The week after that, I finished my training on the floor, and survived the first day of open enrollment.

Tuesday of the next week, I was down with the stomach flu.  You probably know someone who has had it by now.  It seems to be the most popular thing around these parts since "Let It Go."  I was somewhat embarrassed to have to call in sick on the second week on the real job, but my supervisor was understanding.  Armed with a doctor's note (the doctor said that he was treating at least 5 people a day for the stomach flu), I got my week-long absence knocked down to a single occurrence.  Back on Monday, I got back into the groove, and hoped that the flu was just a speed bump.  I recovered in time to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving, and was grateful for the the fact that I didn't have to work Black Friday.  I went back to Black Turtle the next week...not really liking the job, but willing to last through Februrary at least.

Last week, the flu got me again at work.  I had to leave early on Monday.  My supervisor was still polite, but I could tell he wasn't thrilled about it. I couldn't blame him, I wasn't really thrilled about it either.  This certainly was not the way to make a good impression.  So I went back to the doctor, who seemed to agree with me that I had caught the flu again.  He told me to stay home for the week, and wrote a doctor's not saying that I should be good to go by Monday.  That worked for me.  Monday a mandatory day at Black Turtle, as it was the last day that people could sign up and have their new insurance start on January 1st.  So, once again, I stayed home from work for a week.  I was a bit concerned when I was still sick on Saturday.  The previous flu had lasted 5 days then cleared out pretty quick. 

Sunday and I still wasn't filling better.  Some symptoms had cleared up, but the nausea remained.  On Sunday evening, I had a strong pain in my stomach that listed a couple of minutes.  I don't mind saying that it spooked me.  If it had lasted much longer or repeated, I probably would have gone to the ER.  But it didn't, but duller pains replaced it.  I began to weigh my options:  I obviously wasn't better, and tomorrow was a mandatory day.  One way or another, I had to go in...whether it was to work or quit, if it came down to it.

So, Monday morning came after a long night...I think I slept about 3 hours that night, worried about what my conversation with my supervisor would bring.  I called and made an appointment with my family doctor (the last two doctor's I saw were at Instacares, as I was just after doctor's notes since I knew they couldn't really do anything for the flu).  So, I went in to Black Turtle.  I knew what was going to happen, more or less, so I cleaned out my locker (which only had a week old lunch in there at this point) just in case.  When I talked to my supervisor, I explained the situation, and that I was still sick.  We talked it out, and agreed that, at this point, it was probably best for me to bow out, as I was already have to be "talked to" for missing almost two full weeks of work already (almost half the time I was supposed to be on the floor), and missing the mandatory day would just be another strike against me.

I'll be honest here: I was not liking the job.  But I had worked worst jobs for longer and for less pay, so I wasn't happy at all at having to quit this one so quickly.  But I didn't have much of a choice.  Whether it was the Universe saying this job wasn't for me, or just terrible luck at getting sick so soon after being hired, it just looks like it was not meant to be.

The next day, I went to go see my regular doctor, Dr. Neville.  He is a good guy.  I told him what was going on.  Unfortunately, the symptoms "nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea" belong to about a billion different diseases.  Given the length of the symptoms, however, Dr. Neville narrowed it down to one of two things: either I had developed an infection my my digestive tract (which I have had the misfortune of dealing with before), or I had developed an ulcer, which could account for the stomach pain I'd been feeling.

Given the two choices, I'd rather deal with the infection again.  I'd never though I'd say that, but "ulcer" just sounds worst, and given the amount of medicine I was given to treat that, a lot more long term.  I was prescribed medicine to treat both, and given a diet to follow in case it was ulcers.

This brings me to today.  I'm taking it easy as I am still nauseated a lot of the time and still have the stomach pains.  I'm glad I kept my job at Kohl's, because that means I am not entirely up the creek, but they had already done the schedule for the next out, and there weren't any shifts to pick up on days I wasn't already working, so I suddenly have a lot more free time (I already told my mom that once I feel better she will have a very clean house in time for Christmas).    I've always wanted some extra time around Christmas...but this was not how I wanted it to happen.

So, that's what's been up with me for the last couple of months.  I do apologize if this comes across as a "woe is me" post.  Hopefully next time I have something to blog about, it will be a bit more upbeat.  In the meantime, I hope everyone who reads this has a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!