S* Co-Worker

[tayda]

So I am a victim advocate for victims of Domestic Violence. I work between 2 programs: a 2-year-transitional and an emergency (90 day) shelter. As you can imagine, I am in cramped quarters w/ a bunch of people frequently.


So we have a woman who was sick for 3 weeks and did not come in. Naturally (after I found out she was ill) I clorox wiped the entire office right at the beginning of my shift (for fear that perhaps someone else had caught it).


Anyways, she came back yesterday, and was talking about how the doctors don't know what is wrong with her, and that she is on a strict diet of sorts. Anyways, she comes in today, and an hour later starts giving me the number for her 2 daughters "In case she gets s* or faints", and I was like WOMAN, if you pass out I'm calling 911, and I'm out!!


Either way, I hate to bitch, but it really pisses me off that someone that s* would come back to work so soon, or before she was feeling better. I understand she may have financial obligations and such, BUT I DON'T WANT WHATEVER SHE HAS! She hasn't been v*ing, but she's been fainting, getting headaches and body aches, she had a cough, and felt light headed. Either way, sorry to vent... but I really don't have anyone else to gripe about this to.

[shiva]

That sucks. There is nothing worse than feeling trapped with someone who doesn't feel well and you know you can't help them. It also sounds like she is talking a lot about how she is feeling, which makes it hard for you to be able to ignore the problem.

On the bright side, the weekend is almost here... I hope you make it through these next 2 days. Things should be back to normal on Monday. (one would hope).

[logizmo]

:-/ I'm sorry that you are going through this, and I hope that you can
maintain enough distance between you two to feel relatively safe.

However, on the upside, I don't know of ANY easily contagious illnesses
that would cause a person to be ill for three weeks, with those
symptoms (I'm not a doctor, but I am an emet and general germophobe-lol
I've done my hw). Chances are, she probably either has a compromised
immune system (HIV, or some other chronic illness- none of which are
contagious through simple day-to-day contact) that is causing her to
become ill from opportunistic infection (infections that are present
everywhere, but our wonderful healthy immune systems fight off easily),
a disease such as cancer, or a bug that is only contagious through
blood or HUGE amounts of saliva, like mono.

Maybe it would make you feel better if you gave your physician a call
and asked him/her whether they can think of any easily contagious
illnesses that would present the way that hers has. My guess is that
your doctor won't be able to think of anything.

So, while good personal hygeine is always important, I wouldn't worry
too much about her illness. There is also the possibility that she
knows what is wrong (and isn't contagious, since her doctor wouldn't
send her back to work if she was easily contagious), and is avoiding
telling anyone at work from embarressment or fear of stigma.

Good luck, and I hope both of you feel better soon.

[tayda]

So I called her yesterday before I left work, becasuse she was not coming in. I asked her what the problem was, and she said that she's had high blood preassure, and something else for a while. I think that she is thinking of quitting uness she can work from home. Which I don't see how it would be possible OR FAIR to the residents.


But I think that it what the prob is