www.incontinentsupport.org

Hello everyone. I know it's been forever since I've posted anything but I have been dropping in and out for a while just to keep up with new things going on here. But with that said I need some advise and suggestions form some of the members here that may be familiar with filing for disability.

Let me give the details so you understand where I am with this. I work at a fire department and I have been here for about 24 years. We do have a retirement here after 30 years. Last month, a new fire chief that has been here about a year demoted me from captain all the way to firefighter (completely micky mouse reasons) and during disciplinary meeting he brought up that I have the "option" of filing for an early retirement for medical reasons. He said with the fact I have over 20 years already paid into the retirement system, that if I get approved for medical retirement that I would qualify for a full retirement.
Needless to say, I was caught off guard and shocked that he would even suggest this. I continue to pass my annual physical but my health has gotten in the way a bit. With the different medications I'm on, I have been having some issues getting my blood pressure under control. I will find a good dose that get it down but then we will have a fire call and I will have to exert myself quickly and I will get symptoms where my blood pressure drops to the point where I get dizzy and find myself in the back of an ambulance with paramedics checking me out till I get to feeling better. As for my incontinence, really, the only time it gets in the way is if we get a longer call where we are away for a while, I have to find relief long enough come back and change. There has only been one time where I could not leave and my protection leaked pretty bad. A other area where my protection has been an issue is when we have a wildfire and I am having to do a lot of walking and hiking in the woods and it causes some chaffing.

Almost 3 weeks after my reprimand, the chief finally did the paperwork for his action against me and he was kind enough to print off the medical paperwork for me to take to my doctor to fill out (can you since the sarcasm) with all of my information already filled out on the forms. Being moved from an officer position to a grunt firefighter will be an issue for me because I will have to be more physically active on calls.
The policy thing I can find where my condition could be an issue says that we should "avoid" wearing anything under our protective suit that would be considered unstable (flammable). I can see the logic in this but I have been working for the past 10 years before he wrote this guideline.

So my question is this, how hard do you feel it would be to use incontinence as a reason for an early medical retirement? Also, I do have an appointment with the EEOC to talk to them about being discriminated and feeling coerced into filing for disability. On top of that when I signed the reprimand I asked for a "reasonable accommodation" in the sleeping area for more privacy. The dorm room is large open room with partitions between the beds but the entrance is still open. I was told they would get me a curtain to put up. What I wanted was there are two private bedrooms that I wanted to use but they refused to make someone five up their room and told me if on comes available, I would have the first pick because of my seniority. To me, the least that could have been done was to ask one of the men that has one of those rooms to let me use it when he is not here.

Anyway, what are your thought? Do you think I should seek out retiring or fight it for discrimination?

You have my deepest empathy, because I have been there, too. Although my incontinence was never an issue, my brain tumor, brain injury, and double inner ear disease were. Folks gossiped about how I walk, how I did not always hear what they said, and I also collapsed in public several times. Rather than submit to an invasive medical exam to justify a medical disability application, I took an early retirement. I have no fond memories of my career under those circumstances. Your description of the behavior of your boss brings back old, unpleasant memories. Good luck in securing the best possible result , and keep us informed. Please understand, you are not alone; we need to support each other.

Good luck with EEOC. A demotion due to disciplinary action from Captain to line fire fighter sounds like a serious reach without a lot of documentation. Might look into help from a labor attorney and/or the firefighters union. I've been fortunate enough to be able to kept my IC private in the workplace. Biggest fear has been some sort of discrimination hidden in a poor performance review or treatment from coworkers. You have brought up a good topic.

Thanks for the suggestions Patrick and Steve.

I have reached out to a lawyer and he was the one that suggested the EEOC first. While filling out their online forms I learned that where I live, you have to go through the EEOC first. If they feel there is a case i can hire the lawyer to help me through the process. I have since then began writing down all the issues I have had and I am starting to be able to show a pattern of the new chief having a disregard for the law and other procedures. I feel this will work in my favor when the time comes. Till then, I plan on contacting my doctors to see if the will fill out my paperwork and if they will sign off on it.

Good topic , I also feel your pain. After the rear end car accident last March 2020 , I tried to return to work with a cane while on pain killers and anti-inflammatories . I was mainly restricted to doing desk work and very minor physical work, but I was extremely compromised and unable to work effectively and achieve targets . By the end of each day I was in extreme agony. I decided to take my three weeks of vacation to try and recover however without success. It was not long before they decided to let me go and not renew my employment contract blaming it on Covid-19. Ontario had just been placed in emergency lock down. Loyalty and decades of dedicated service meant nothing. My auto insurance provider has been able to process a claim for me and has been providing physio , Occupational Therapy medical aids and some replacement income. I still have to this day severe back pain, neck shoulder pain and hip pain in addition to the severe incontinence. You are not alone Rope, I will be hoping for a good outcome in your situation. All the best.

Paul Henry

I’ve missed your always insightful comments in this forum. However, I’m disheartened to hear about your current situation.

You said that, because of your 24 years with the department, you are eligible for full early retirement. Does that imply that your pension would be as high now as it would be if you worked for another 6 years? If that’s so or if your pension would be high enough for you to live on comfortably, it might be helpful to look at early retirement as a new beginning that would be an opportunity to start a new career in a less stressful occupation in which your medical issues would be much less of an issue.

Inconinmiss wrote:I’ve missed your always insightful comments in this forum. However, I’m disheartened to hear about your current situation.

You said that, because of your 24 years with the department, you are eligible for full early retirement. Does that imply that your pension would be as high now as it would be if you worked for another 6 years? If that’s so or if your pension would be high enough for you to live on comfortably, it might be helpful to look at early retirement as a new beginning that would be an opportunity to start a new career in a less stressful occupation in which your medical issues would be much less of an issue.

It was my employer that told me the early retirement may be an "option". To be honest, I took it as him trying to coerce me into it. I feel like I can still do my job but I cant be as physical as i use to be. I am having to keep up with people that are literally half my age. Part of my concern is if it can get approved, I will not be able to continue volunteering at my local fire department or even be able to continue teaching fire and rescue classes through our community college.

what about some time off to get your blood pressure better controlled to start from and go from there to start with i would think anything you wear under your turn out gear would be safe from fire after all that same gear keeps you safe from fire i have no firefighter training at all but my main concern would be your blood pressure troubles could you by chance wear condom cath while on duty or are you like me and need for both bladder and bowel both the crap of the boss taking you down to what he did for medical reasons i would be sueing thier pants off that is down right WRONG i am no fan of unions there was a time they was needed i am sure but these days they get their clicks going and if you do not suck up to the right people then you get screwed that is just my feelings and what happened to me i walked away from them and will NEVER go back