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THR Shopping Trips

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Lisa, I don't know how things work in the UK, but in my job I would have counseled the person as you did and, since they realized the mistake, I would have told them I was taking the following action. I would write a warning letter regarding the behavior, give the employee a copy and have the person sign acknowledging receipt of the letter (not signing that they did anything wrong, just that the letter was received....people are usually comfortable signing under those conditions). Then I tell them I will retain a copy of that letter in my personal file for 1 calendar year. At the end of the year, if no further similar actions have occurred, I tell them I will notify them in writing that I have destroyed the letter. But.....if the behavior is observed again within that year, the person will receive a formal reprimand based on both incidents.

If a person is truly sorry and learns from the experience, they change the behavior and everyone is happy there is nothing formal in their record that could hurt them later. But....if they are just paying lip service with the apology, then you have solid evidence for a more serious action.
 
Lisa firstly I would like to say WOW what a long way you have come since January:thumb:

Secondly like most of you on here I to have put weight on, but know that in time once I get active again it shall come off, and then time to go shopping for a new wardorbe!:yay:

Lastly I lost my job April of last year 2010. After being off sick for 28 weeks I was deemed 'done' with as they so put it. At first I was livid, but then as my husband pointed out to me, do you really want to work for a firm that treat people like that anyway. True what he says!
 
Hi Lisa, I haven't been on here in a while ( too busy trying to catch up with report writing, lesson plans etc) and have only just read your post about your session with the occupational health person. What a mean nasty person is all I can say. Hope you are feeling ok now. I think that you giving up smoking is a fantastic thing and I'm sure as you are now more mobile the weight will begin to drop off. I too am on a constant diet, trying to keep my weight down. I am the heaviest I have ever been in the summer months and off on hols at half term. This is when I find it hard to stick to a diet. Who wants to be on holiday and not enjoy a few icecreams and cocktails!!
I am actually counting the days till the end of the summer term!! Before I went back I thought I might do another year but after 2 weeks I am sooooo glad to be going.
hoping you are feeling a bit better now.
Cathy
 
Jamie, what you are describing is called an 'informal oral warning' at my workplace. I have used them before, this guy will be retiring soon so hopefully he'll be engaging his brain before he speaks until then.

And yes, Paignton I have come a long way when I look back. Slow progress now but still heading in the right direction.

Cathy, figured you'd be busy with work on your return- lots to do with reports. I'm slowly but surely getting back into things. I have told my HR dept that under no circumstances would I see that particular oh woman for a follow up appointment. I'm not sure how the whole thing will pan out.

Again, thank you for your support. Feeling better, particularly as my scales say I'm 3lbs lighter than I was last week!!
 
I am a very calm person, and I have been called almost every name in the world in my job as a sports official, but when it comes to something like that, my fuse would be burning. What I would say to him behind close doors would be blunt and forceful; there would be no doubt that he was out of line and that i should never expect to have it happen again.

You handled it quite nicely and he should understand his position and his lack of etiquette and manners.
 
Well done on the weight Lisa! I'll bet you start to see major loss since you are more active now.
 
Ahhhhhh, Lisa......I know that syndrome very well.....the old "retirement age and time to go" personality. Sometimes it is not possible to teach old dogs new tricks. Somehow it happens a lot and more than once I ended up disciplining someone who was within a stone's throw of retirement.

In some ways for people that have worked many, many years, I think reaching that point in life is very traumatic. They maybe aren't sure what they are going to be or do after the familiar work is no more. Aging makes them more surly and nasty. Not an excuse, mind you....just possibly an explanation.

However, you are right to always take action. Not only does the person need to know the behavior is unacceptable and won't be tolerated, but it is critical that the other employees see action taken.

I think you are handling this just right. You sound like a very effective and fair supervisor.....sometimes a rather rare talent!
 
Lisa, I haven't visited this thread in a while so only now read of the behavior of your OT and co-worker. Yikes! I, too, love that you took action with both of them. You not only stand in your own power, you educate them about how to treat others.

I'm another one who has put on weight with the past year of inactivity - 25 pounds of it. Just eating the way I used to 10 years ago which doesn't work under the best of circumstances, and certainly eating to avoid the pain I was in.

As so many have said, I believe the weight will resolve as we move more, and for me, stay conscious of what I'm putting into my mouth. I am once again eating for fuel rather than for comfort.

This hip recovery journey has so many more branches to it than just the physical ones. Thanks for your honesty and vulnerability in letting us support you.
 
I feel very lucky to have made such lovely supportive new friends......you say such nice things:0)

So here I am, checking in at 19 weeks.....new pain free hip, getting stronger each week, nicotine free and 4lbs lighter than I was last week. I've worked 20 hours this week and have felt more involved in my department. I've had some very productive meetings and feel that I've been able to make a positive impact and it felt good. I feel my confidence in my ability to have so much responsibility again is returning.....nobody had warned me about that happening during my recovery time! I felt very nervous about going back to work.

Physically I'm finding the stairs much easier and don't seem to be lurching or needing to haul myself up using the bannister and can go up one foot, one step. In the swimming pool today I did a lot more walking. I can now feel a bit of muscle soreness, but its a good sore. I've increased my resistance on the bike and can still maintain 4kms in 15 minutes so I think that is ok too? Like so many others on here I'm finding that I'm a bit slack on doing the boring pt exercises- I'm a bit hit and miss with them. I have absolutely NO 'balance-ability' when standing on my op leg unless I tilt right over. I think the tilting is not a good thing? Anyone know?

Because I can't do them without holding on I tend to 'forget' them more than the ones I can do. Catch 22? I'm wondering if its time for me to get some professional advice now. I'm back at the OS clinic in a couple of weeks ( they are certainly keeping a close eye on me , which is reassuring) . I'm getting conscious that my gait, although I'm limping less than I did pre op, isn't improving........and I'm not sure if its as good as its going to get. Someone mentioned bio mechanics too......I want to give my walking my best shot but I'm not sure what level of limping is inevitable and how much I can work on.....would this fall under pt? Does that seem vain?

I've just been in the garage to check out all our camping gear. Next weekend we are off with friends to the countryside. I'm very excited about being able to join in with the picnic walks and villages pub lunch walks, I usually have to drive to meet up with everyone and miss out on the fun. I'm wondering if hiking poles would be better than my regular walking stick - does anyone know? Keep your fingers crossed that the weather will be kind to us.

Have a great weekend friends.:0D
 
Hi Lisa, congratulations on getting back to work. Sounds like you are really doing very well.

The verdict on PT is all over the map. I for one used it and it did help. There is so much muscle atrophy pre-op. I felt I needed a bit of guidance as to how to properly strengthen without causing my bad back more grief.

You should be able to get rid of the limp. PT might just help. A bit of formal gait training and a set of exercises. Your GP should be able to refer you.

Good luck with it!
 
Oh my goodness Lisa, that was all a bit traumatic, and extremely insensitive of those two people.

Sorry I've not been around, I've been enjoying getting out and about with my lovely newly repaired and recovered hip, and it feels great. More about that on my usual thread.

However, it means I've missed your initial triumph at returning to work, and then the upset that followed. Honestly, the one I find most unforgivable is the OH person. What is that about, does she have no empathy or understanding of where you were and now are? Look, I'm guessing that due to inactivity, the majority of us here could do with shedding a few pounds (I also got that from my GP on Monday re the arthritis, although she wasn't harsh about it, just pointed out that it might help the microfracture site last longer if I put less weight through it, which I can't argue with), but there are times and places to tell us and even if for health reasons it's deemed necessary right now, there are ways to bring it up.

I hope you're feeling better now and work is going a bit more smoothly. Also glad you had a good holiday last month.
 
Hi Lisa, sorry you are still limping a bit, but it's only been 5 months. I was told it might take longer depending on your pre conditions. I can highly recommend a pair of walking poles:yay:. If you start with a smaller, normal stride, you'll be surprised how efficiently and erect you'll move forward. Go on you tube or look up nordic walking on the internet to get infos. Those poles gave me back some mobility. I couln't have walked without them, and the pounds dropped a bit too. Give it a try, you'll love it.
 
I come on here to give you woman a bit of stick for still talking about SHOPPING TRIPS. :skeptical:
Lisa sorry to hear about your problems and fingers and toes crossed that there is a remedy.
I still find the stairs in the work a bit hard going and still have to use the banister.
Pleas get that medical advice to see if they can resolve your problem.:console:
 
Forbesy, are you possibly suggesting that shopping trips are not worthwhile activities? No....I didn't think so. :)

Lisa, I believe I mentioned biomechanics on here....don't remember if it was this thread or some other. And I don't know if it would help. But if you have any issues with alignment, someone who does gentle manipulations using biomechanic principles could help you get past it. I'm fortunate to have someone at the Michigan State University Clinical Center who I see....don't know who you might have available. I know a lot of people see chiropractors....I tried that for a little while, but I found his manipulations to be very aggressive and uncomfortable. This is totally different....she uses a very gentle resistant pressure to move things the way they are supposed to be. Hard to explain. But I trust her completely.

Isn't the limp supposed to be the body's way of protecting us from the pain? Now that there is no pain, it's just there because that's what you got used to....am I understanding that correctly? It would seem to me that PT to help you unlearn that limping gait would be well worth a try.

Sharon
 
Lisa, PT has been very helpful for me with gait training. They notice things I wouldn't and have given me specific exercises and things to pay attention to when I walk that make a big difference in how much I limp. Just my experience.
 
Too right, Margo. Makes all the difference. Much the same as posture makes a difference to back pain! :wink1:
 
:ThankYou: for all the replies, I knew I could rely on you guys:biggrin:

Sharon my OS told me that by operating my limp would lessen but I would not be able to get rid of it completely. I believe that due to the deformity of the head of the femur and the shallow socket, there was a lot more movement in the joint than there is now my femur is fixed into the cup. I used to kind of swing my pelvis around to walk and 'roll' on one side..........imagine a car with 2 flat tyres on one side:th_heehee: I'd walked like this for most of my adult life but over the past ten years it had got significantly worse as the arthritis progressed and was exacerbated by pain. So, as you can imagine, my muscles were weaker on the left and have atrophied more so since my op. What I want to establish from the OS clinic appointment is whether or not it will improve by further exercising/PT/bio mechanics etc.

My limp has been part of me for a long time and I have weird relationship with it! I could not bear to watch myself walking on video for example and would always feel very self conscious walking across a large empty room, knowing that my limp would then be extremely noticeable. I hate to think that if someone was describing me they would need to use my limp ....you know the kind of thing " Lisa, she's got dark hair about 5ft 4, walks with a limp". On the other hand it's a part of me, nothing I could about it and I have never focussed on my disability or let it get in the way of me achieving things. Inevitably it has stopped me from doing physical things, especially as the pain got worse but it's not like I used to be a gymnast and had to stop or anything.

If this is as good as it gets then I'm fine with that, I'm walking much better than I used to and I don't have pain.:yay: But IF I can do other stuff to make it even better then I want to work at it now before it's too late, kind of give it my best shot so I don't regret the missed opportunity - does all that make sense or am I just waffling on?:scratch:

So, I'll be asking the questions in a couple of weeks. Based on your responses it seems there are things that can be done and I just need to know if they can be done specifically for me :what:

Renate - I will look into the poles- thanks

Forbesy - that made me giggle:giggle: ...................did you seriously think we had all this chat about shopping? :old:I'll give you stick! :old:

Off to a wedding reception tonight......there may be opportunities to try out the hip for dancing:egypt-dance: how exciting!
 
You're making perfect sense, Lisa. Acceptance comes easier when we know we gave it our best shot. And as Margo points out, amazing things do indeed happen. Go for it.

Sharon
 
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