The events leading into 2005 really started in April 2004. My production manager came to me with a request to generate a daily status report program for all the managers to input their department information. He needed it by the day after Tomorrow at 8:00 in the morning to present to the managers and his boss.
I wanted to please so I started working on a database program. I had suffered from radial nerve entrapment for the past couple of years, but I had surgery which relieved the pain to a manageable amount. I was good as long as I did not work on the computer too much. I started and then pain started, but I figured I would push through it and after the program was done it would heal.
After I finished the program my pain kept getting worse. I went to the doctors and they just gave me anti-inflammation drugs and wanted me to go to physical. therapy which didn't work the first time. Both arms started hurting real bad through August and I decide to go to an acupuncture specialist. The guy thought I had tendonitis and set me up with electric needles. The pain was horrible, I could on take 16 minutes of the 20 minute treatment. Afterwards my arms hurt so bad I could not drive my jeep for an hour. finally I had taken enough pain killer to drive home.
My computer days were over. This did not sit very well with my production manager. My Engineering Manager was sympathetic but I still needed to get my work done. It was a nightmare of a situation. I had the knowledge to do my job well, but I did not have the physical means of doing it at all.
I started applying for workmans comp and the red tape came fast and hard. The person in charge of H.R. was convinced that my arms were caused by kayaking and not typing and using a mouse. This process drug out until January 2005. I finally asked the H.R. manager what is a stake for the company if I have another surgery to fix the problem and something went wrong and I lost the use of my arm. She said it would cost the Company about $300,000 became they were self insured. Then I realized the source of all the red tape there was no way they would take that risk. They would rather me do nothing than try to fix my arms.
So I decided to drop workman comp and use my wife's insurance. I know this sounds bad, but I wanted my life back. I probably could have sued the company, but the way I look at it is that it wasn't their fault I had defective arms. So I started the process of going to surgery through another doctor.
About the middle of January I started feeling bad and went to the doctor. It turns out that I got a flare up of the Epstein virus (mono).I had to stay at home for an indefinite period of time.My Company did not like this at all. During this same time period I was looking for another job and started the interviewing process. My first interview was with the production manager that happened to be coming through Augusta, where I lived and wanted to have lunch. The might before the interview the doctor called and told me I had mono. So I struggled with what to do.
I decided not to tell him or the recruiter because I really wanted a new job and didn't want to show any weakness.The interview went great except for me feeling horrible me and the guy got along well and I enjoyed his company. I was out of work fn a week and Christine got rich also, so we both laid around together not moving. I was getting calls from the other company on my cell phone; and they just thought I was at work.
While I was sick I got an appointment for surgery on Feb. 8, 2005(Monday). I also had an interview on the previous Friday at the plant I was interviewing with and the day before the interview I had a surgery prep. appointment. I figured if they took blood and found that the Ebstein was low enough for surgery then I should be good to go back to work after the surgery.
The interview went well and the surgery went well and I decided I should try to go back to work that Wed. Christine was also feeling better and was going to car pool with a friend, Since my arm was hurting real bad I drove her automatic. It was due for the tires to be balanced so I stopped by the tire place at 7:00 that morning to get it done. They were running slow so I called my boss and ended up getting there about 8:15.
Later that day my boss called me in his office and gave me a quarterly review. It was very negative. I did not do or achieve any goals set and there was no mention about my arm. It made me look like a failure and like a very bad engineer. I was upset, but I knew what was going on. I tried to ask him why no mention of me not being able to use my hands was not mentioned, but the answer sounded like apolitical hand tied answer. So I signed the review because everything was true, half truth, but true.
Then he said "here comes the part I hate", and then read to me a disciplinary note that was going in my record. It was about the time I tried to come into work a couple of weeks ago, while I was sick. I thought I felt better, but it lasted until about 8:30. My boss had walked by and said I didn't look good and I told him I was going home and would probably be out for the rest of the week. He said "get out of here". Well the bad report was for not calling in sick the next day. He told me that was very unprofessional and as far as he knew I could have been dead.
This guy had been a good friend for the past 4 years, I think he could have let me know or talked about it before he stained my permanent record. I was furious, and we argued about it for awhile and some other things came up about me pissing off the plant manager. Then he got onto me for taking my car in to get fixed and being late, which up until then had been fine as long as you called and didn't do it every week.
By this time it was very obvious what was going on. The plant Manager wanted me gone and my boss had to make it happen or lose his job. So I told him that I would turn in my resignation tomorrow and he said," Do what you got to do." So I went home told my new wife I was quitting and wrote a letter saying I would leave in 4 weeks unless the Company wanted me gone earlier.
I gave it to my boss the next morning and later that morning he called me in his office and told me that the company wanted me gone right now. I was a little shocked at the frankness of the matter especially coming from someone who I thought was a friend. I said OK and started packing up my stuff. What really burned my butt was my boss went to sit next to another engineer and started talking and laughing like nothing was going on while I packed.
I walked around and told everybody bye and that was that. So as of Feb 10, 2005, I was without a job.The company I was interviewing with had not offered me the position yet and I had told them that I would want 3 weeks after I told my company I was leaving. I was thinking I needed time to get my arm healthy because I didn't want them to know I was broken and weak.
On February 21st I was offered a manufacturing engineer position with the new company. They offered 52k per year and I said Ok. The problem was they thought I was still working, and I didn't know how to tell them I wasn't without telling them about my arms.
I kept up the lie until one week before I was suppose to start and my new production manager called and asked me about how my company was taking the news. He said he was excited about me coming to work. Then he asked if my last day was next Friday, I told him yes. I flat out lied. I felt sick instantly and could not make myself tell him the truth. I figured it would be best if I told him in person after I started my job. Because it is very complicated and by then my arms would not be a problem and it would be a lie to cover an illness, which didn't seem as bad.
The worse part of this ordeal was the fact that the surgery didn't seem to work and I couldn't use the computer. I was scared to death about the same situation from my old job starting to happen at my new job. I was constantly hoping my arm would get better, but it never did.
I went to church the next day and a friend asked me how things were going and I told him about the conversation and he said I need to tell that guy the truth now. I told him I think it would be best if I did it face to face. We started smiley school class and I was instantly convicted by the Holy Spirit to tell that guy the truth now no matter what the consequences. I went home and told my wife that I was going to tell my new company the whole truth along with the fact that the surgery didn't work and I can't use a computer.
I emailed my new production manager the letter and told him the truth along with the fact that it hurts real bad just to type this letter. He called the next day and told me that they decided not to hire me because I lied about working. They said the arms was not a problem just the trust issue.
I can understand the trust issue a little bit, but I think the main reason was my arms not working. If my arms really wasn't an issue then they really didn't understand how bad they were or they fully don't understand how it effects my job.
