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Terry H. Recipient

38 and losing my job because of LVAD

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 4:42PM
Well Basically I had heart failure due to a virus attack, this lead to me having an LVAD implanted on January 16, 2015. My life was great, just celebrated my 1 year anniversary and i own my own home, I work as an IT Manager for a great company. I'm 38 years old and love my job, but due to my condition I can no longer fulfill all the requirements. In my position i travel a lot and have to do a lot of climbing around due to running network cable. I am the only IT person for my company and they rely on me for everything electronic related. They have been trying to get me long term Disability and providing me to keep working out of kindness, but all i do is answer phones and do help desk stuff. I know they are hiring a replacement for my posisition and i completely understand that i am no longer capable of working here. I don't have a degree in this, I just learned along the way. I guess my question is What can I do now, What kind of work is out there where i can make the money i do now and not have to lose my house. What jobs are there where somebody with an external Battery pack can work? Do I have to try to go back to school at my age and start over? I live in a smaller town in Western Kentucky so my opprotunities are very limited, any advice or help is appreciated. Thank you ahead of time for any responses
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Profile picture for user gldoble57
Gregory D.

Sun, 10/04/2015 - 1:39PM
Oke Doke here we go. I am 58 and have been in manufacturing all of my professional life. Since getting my implant 2 and a half years ago, I have not found anything here in the U.S. where a company feels comfortable having a Borg on site. I have 4 degrees, and am a Lean Six Sigma Sensei. The problems are as follows since I have gotten in-depth feed back on why I have not been able to track down a position. I have had a number of interviews, and the companies that have interviewed me do the normal due diligence. Which brings in a problem. Since Obama Care kicked in; many of the manufacturing companies that are left in the U.S. actually run you past their insurance carrier. Especially since you now have a pre-existing condition. And the usual answer comes back; "Although your qualifications are outstanding we have decided to follow with another candidate." I have seen this way too many times. And being that there are now basically 3 massive insurance carriers, they all know about you. So the question is what can you do? Well first off, you can teach. Either at a CC or a small College. It does not pay much but it gets you out of the house. Next you can work overseas. China, India, Singapore or the Philippines. I spent a year in China working with various Manufacturing companies. There is no LVAD support there but if you do what you are supposed to do for diet, etc you would be fine. The Asian countries don't care that you are now a Zombie in their eyes. And there is no insurance BS to get in the way of working. Next being that you are an IT Winnie, (sorry Guru), you can contract. Your days of climbing and dragging fiber or cable are over, but there is still a lot you can do. for folks like you with your skill set just look at www.Linkedin.com. Tons of positions for folks like you. All around the world. Just don't give up and keep on plugging. Besides once you are inside of a company they could care less if you are or are not Borg. As for me I must contend with the Insurance BS here in the US, but since doing a year in China I know I can go anywhere, they need a dusty old knowledge base. :)
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Randy M.

Thu, 11/12/2015 - 4:08PM
I feel your fear and frustration. The suggestion to teach is a great one. If there's a local tech college or JC, they won't usually ask for a degree. They are more interested in your competency. I did that for 3 years, and while I was doing it I took web developer classes. Now I do web development, mostly from home. I only work 20 hours a week, and I'm still making around $40k per year, which is more than I'd make on disability. It also keeps me socializing with people and keeps me from going nuts. If you feel the need to go back to school, many states have educational rehab programs, and with your inability to climb around and run wires, I have no doubt you'd qualify. The programs pay tuition, books, and maybe even living expenses, since you can't get unemployment since you're not job hunting. If you have a military base close by, you can get a Comptia Network+ certification and a security certification, then you'd be qualified for a networking security job as a civilian. Those jobs start at $50-$60k per year. I wish you the best of luck in your transition. Don't give up hope.