04-02-2013, 10:59 PM
Hi everyone,
I am a waitress in Illinois. In January of 2012, I fell while leaving work and suffered a trimalleolar fracture to my right ankle. I had surgery to repair it and was out of work until the end of June when I went back on restricted duty.
I continued to have problems, which increased over a few months, and so, in January 2013, I underwent a second surgery for hardware removal and the removal of what my surgeon said was "significant" scar tissue from the peroneal tendons. I saw my doctor two weeks ago and explained that I was still experiencing a lot of pain. She told me that there was nothing more that she could do for me in her capacity and that I shouldn't expect my ankle to ever be 100% again, but that I should still see a little improvement. She told me to wait for 4-6 weeks and if I still had pain, she would refer me to a pain management specialist, and then she returned me to full duty work as of yesterday.
I have now worked 2 days with no restrictions. My employer is very accomodating and is easing me into things, so instead of the 10-12 hour shifts I used to work, I have only worked 5 hour shifts so far. I was in so much pain when I left work yesterday that I cried all the way home. Today I took a muscle relaxer and a pain killer to help get me through the shift, but the pain is still making me naseous. I really want to be back to work full-time, because I love my job, and let's face it, I'm tired of counting my pennies and hoping that WC isn't late with the check.
Now that I have 2 half-days of full duty work under my belt, I'm thinking it was a very bad idea to agree to a full release. I wish I had insisted on light duty, but I really really want to be back to work full time. Is it possible to go back and ask for restrictions once I agree to return to full duty or do I just have to deal with the pain? Should I ask for the referral to pain management immediately or tough it out another week and a half?
I do have an attorney, but he is on vacation, so any advice I can get is very much appreciated.
I am a waitress in Illinois. In January of 2012, I fell while leaving work and suffered a trimalleolar fracture to my right ankle. I had surgery to repair it and was out of work until the end of June when I went back on restricted duty.
I continued to have problems, which increased over a few months, and so, in January 2013, I underwent a second surgery for hardware removal and the removal of what my surgeon said was "significant" scar tissue from the peroneal tendons. I saw my doctor two weeks ago and explained that I was still experiencing a lot of pain. She told me that there was nothing more that she could do for me in her capacity and that I shouldn't expect my ankle to ever be 100% again, but that I should still see a little improvement. She told me to wait for 4-6 weeks and if I still had pain, she would refer me to a pain management specialist, and then she returned me to full duty work as of yesterday.
I have now worked 2 days with no restrictions. My employer is very accomodating and is easing me into things, so instead of the 10-12 hour shifts I used to work, I have only worked 5 hour shifts so far. I was in so much pain when I left work yesterday that I cried all the way home. Today I took a muscle relaxer and a pain killer to help get me through the shift, but the pain is still making me naseous. I really want to be back to work full-time, because I love my job, and let's face it, I'm tired of counting my pennies and hoping that WC isn't late with the check.
Now that I have 2 half-days of full duty work under my belt, I'm thinking it was a very bad idea to agree to a full release. I wish I had insisted on light duty, but I really really want to be back to work full time. Is it possible to go back and ask for restrictions once I agree to return to full duty or do I just have to deal with the pain? Should I ask for the referral to pain management immediately or tough it out another week and a half?
I do have an attorney, but he is on vacation, so any advice I can get is very much appreciated.