How AS Has Affected My Financial Situation
I’ve struggled a lot financially since my symptoms of AS first started. As I’ve mentioned before, I had to quit my job, which has left me without a steady income for the past 3 years now.
Leaving work
I worked at a restaurant part-time before my AS appeared. Once I got the symptoms, I pretty much immediately had to leave work and not go back. The job was too stressful and hands-on for me to be able to keep it. I was also bedridden for 3 months, so that wasn’t helping either.
When I initially left work I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. I was put on medical leave and was able to apply for Employment Insurance for being sick/injured. It only lasted for 3 months, but it was a big help in the beginning.
After the 3 months, I was left to fend for myself. I had quit my job. Whether I wanted to apply for disability, get a different job, or stay unemployed was up to me.
Applying for disability
I eventually decided to try and apply for disability. The process is difficult and time-consuming, but I ended up finishing it. It took a few weeks to hear back, and when I did, I was denied.
I was told I could write a letter to appeal their decision, so I did. I heard back a few weeks later only to be denied again. By that point, I had lost hope and gave up trying to get accepted for disability.
Working from home
I still can’t work a part or full-time job. The fatigue is what plagues me the most with having a job. There’s no way I could handle one, not right now at least. The pain I can mostly handle, it’s the fatigue that’s the real killer.
Over the past 2 years, I’ve found little editing or writing jobs here and there. I work from home and on my own time, and it seems to be what works the best for me right now.
It’s nowhere near what anyone would call a livable wage, but at least it’s something. I’m extremely lucky that I still live at home with my parents, otherwise I don’t know what I would have done at the time. I guess I would have moved in with them anyways.
The future
I’ve thought a little bit about what jobs I would like to try when the time comes. I’ve wanted to try reception for a while, and I feel like that could be a manageable job for me. I know I can’t go back to a restaurant or do anything in retail. It would be too much for me.
I’m not sure when I’ll be ready to work again, but there’s a lot of things to consider when thinking about getting back into the workforce.
How has AS affected your financial situation? Did you have to leave work in order to take care of the disease, or were you able to continue working? Let me know, it’s always so different for everyone!
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