New to the forum ,hope i’ve posted this in the right place !.
I’m 11 months in after my stroke , i’ll keep this as short as possible , 55 and survived what I can only describe as a nomal working day,bp went through the roof ,managed to get home via Uber after the first Uber arrived and thought I was drunk ,got home and the missus took one look at me and called an ambulance, Off to Mayday where a stroke was confirmed,2 strenous weeks later I was back at work.
Apologies for the digression but how did you tell them ,I haven’t now for 11 months,left it too late ,went 15 years without a day off sick,fine though Covid when needed as a keyworker , now back at work and keeo making excuses for my right sided limp (geninuely slipped on a rubber conveyor belt someone had put down as a walkway during the cold a few months back) ,my speech is starting to get worse now as well and not sure how much longer I can hide this for , any comms or similar situations ? Apologies for any typos as using an old Win7 laptop with a knackered keyboard. Many thanks.
I didn’t have that problem. i had a stroke while at a work conference in Florida causing panicky messages back to the UK ( Janet’s had a stroke, she’s in a coma, what shall we do?)
Are you worried about your job if you tell you employer? Are you a member of a union? If yes get the support of a union rep.
Hi @DP69 welcome to the community. I told my boss as soon as I knew. I was sat in the hospital ward when I told her. They knew i had been feeling poorly anyway.
Are you worried about what they’ll say or do if you tell them?
Telling them might be better for you as they might be able to make adjustments to help you. Employers are obliged to provide reasonable adjustments.
You may find that they are really supportive & will want to help you. If you think theyigjt want to let you go then have a chat with ACAS who will tell you what your rights as an employee are & what they are obliged to do for you.
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your stroke.
I would agree with what @Mrs5K has said in that they may be able to put things in place to help you if you tell them. But it might be a good idea to speak with ACAS to get some advice on this. You could also call our Stroke Support Helpline:0303 3033 100 who may be able to offer advice on how to go about informing your employers.
I’m sure some more members will be along to offer some more advice on this shortly. In the meantime, if there is anything you need whilst your using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Thank you all for your constructive and helpful replies , I will deal with work eventually but that is on a long list of things I need to deal with post-stroke ,many of which are becoming more obvious as time rolls on , I think I need to speak to someone and start from the beginning,do you suggest the numbers on the front page of this website or an alternative ,I rang one this morning only to go to an answerphone message which I declined (nervous about this all,already) ,thats enough from me twittering on,
Hi @DP69 and welcome to the community Regression is a thing with strokes, particularly when fatigued. But you might want to speak with your GP about just to be sure you’ve not had any further smaller TIA’s or mild stroke incidents.
Going back to the subject of fatigue, don’t mistaken it from being tired or physically exhausted; it’s a whole different kettle of fish. Brain fatigue is basically when it’s running on information overload, overworked and finding it hard to maintain full functionality. Something has to give and that’s usually the stroke weakened part of the brain that has to make the sacrifice. It’s a bit like a mobile phone or an electric toothbrush that needs recharging.
But one of the disadvantages of that regression, is that it can accentuate things like a limp, you can be a little more clumsy or off balance in your walking gait, and can slur your words and stutter your speech, etc. The issue you may find with that, is that if people don’t know of your stroke history, they can assume a lot and come to wrong conclusions. For that reason I’d would want my work to know just so they don’t assume you are drunk on the job. But its also a safety precaution for your own good, should you ever have a medical emergency at work, them knowing about your stroke could be the difference between life and death. So telling them has got to be a no brainer.
Hello @DP69 - Welcome to the community and well done for taking the first steps towards getting the help you seek.
Having read the responses already given, it seems the consensus is you should tell your employer. I totally concur.
I don’t think there is anything to gain from keeping quiet about it and there is probably a lot to lose. I am pretty sure you will have some rights regarding this as an employee and it might take a load of your mind so you can focus on the right things.
Thanks again for your comms ,I;m now about to ring the helpline direct ,hope they have time for a natter ,so many questions I could comfortably fill this box but need help and hope they can ease the burden I am puttting on myself. Thank you.
Its been a tad over a month since my last post here so here is an update to the above.
I sent an email out to all the important management yesterday so expect an interesting day tomorrow, I have worded it in such a way that although I have had a stroke last year part of not telling them was protecting myself from the questions which will enevitably head my way ,i’m ready for them now mentally thanks to you guys and a few at work I confided in to test the water.
Doing a bit more physical exercise ,today I walked from Wimbledon tube station all the way up to Wimbledon Village ,feel knackered now though,thats a hill and a half.
Mentally I feel razor sharp first thing in the morning but come 16.30 i’m like a limp celery stick.
I feel so lucky (poor word choice) the only way I can describe my stroke is that I feel I’ve come accross the battlefield with only a shrapnel injury ,poor anology but hope you can relate.
Massive football fan and to see my team make the FA Cup final and win it was something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime ,sadly Wembley prices and the missus’s worry of my BP ended the chance to go ,I watched on TV but I am going to the Charity Shield in August, the day after that I fly to Hungary for some ‘dental work’ , thats enough of me mumbling on ,did many of you see Beard Meets Food on YT ,he is pretty well none on Social Media and he puts out a Xmas song every year with all profits going to the Stroke Association.
Off to Vision Express tomorrow for my first eye test post-Stroke ,really nervous for this as in recent weeks it feels like a small deterioration in both. Finally ,its my birthday ,56 yrs young , carpe diem my friends.
That is an incredible walk - well done and on a hot day too
BeardMeetsFood looks like Roy Wood to me - not heard the song yet, but I expect it will be interesting.
Palace winning the FA cup was a fantastic achievement and I am so pleased for them. A few of my friends of mine is a life long supporters. I went to see them once - I think Steve Coppell was manager at the time but I could be wring - it was in the mid / late 90s.
Well done on your walk. Not surprised you were shattered afterwards.
Pleased to hear you have bitten the bullet & informed your employer about your stroke. I hope they receive it well & can offer you some support if needed.
DDay tomorrow as the enquiry begins ,starting with their Lone Working Procedure and why it was not followed , that amongst more this week.
Quite embarassed last Wednesday when I arrived for the appt at 15.00 ,checked my phone,lady in VE said had no record of appt ,turns out if was the previous Wednesday ,felt like such a wally ,even now the stroke trips me up occasionally.
Oh you won’t be the 1st person to turn up on wrong day for an appointment. Last time I was at my surgery someone came in who had muddled up their appointment day. I write all mine on a list thar I keep on kitchen side, add them all to my phone calendar and hubby reminds me too. So far so good.
Our lone working procedures at work are pretty comprehensive but getting staff to follow them is an ongoing battle.
At my place they had a major change a few years ago ,we had a Guardian 24 system in place ,that may have earned myself some precious time ,they decided to remove G24 and replace with a two-way radio ,suffice to say gets overlooked and i’m the proof of that sadly.
Evening all , after the walk up to the common etc yesterday I faced my fears after giving them a heads up email on Saturday.
Here now is the problem , I have agreed to take one week off paid to recharge ,they are offering me counselling for me and Mrs dp69 ,only member of management present was one I’ll call B
He is a good guy overall but iam weary of over ambitious people ,I know they failed me when I needed them ,g24 offer is after the event , radios don’t work properly ,everyone on site knows that.
Cannot decide where this is heading , help me please. I have put 14 years of my life into this company ,had 1 day off in 13 years ,helped dispose of 4 London boroughs PPE and clinical waste during COVID. Problem here is I’m 56 ,love my job ,never a day the same. Tired ,over to you guys.
It is difficult for us to say where things are heading as we don’t know your employer etc.
If sounds that the managervis trying to help but giving you some time off to rest up a bit. Have you told them you are struggling with fatigue at the minute? Counselling may also be a good option to help you deal with what has happened as it is a lot to come to terms with.
Are they going to have another meeting with you after your week off? Are they able to put some adjustments in place to help you do the job? Things that will make it that littke bit easier for you. For example i have things like flexible working hours, being able to take breaks when I need to, software that will read to me, extra kit & equipment (e.g. large monitor as I can’t read off a laptop screen).
You can always ring ACAS for advice too.
There is also an access to work scheme that help with funding reasonable adjustments too.
With the way things have panned out and how they developed, I think this is a bit too complex for me to offer any advice.
I don’t have enough knowledge of your exact situation and there are likely to be things like employment contracts, sickness leave entitlements etc. In addition you sent back to work after two weeks off and that was 11 months ago. So how was the two week absence recorded and then now as things are becoming difficult, you have “come clean”.
It’s a tricky one and I wish you all the best. You will likely need some expert employment law type advice depending on how your employer decides to progress.
Regression is a thing with strokes, particularly when fatigued. But you might want to speak with your GP about just to be sure you’ve not had any further smaller TIA’s or mild stroke incidents.
