Planning for the Unexpected

One of my favorite personal finance blogs is Dual Income No Kids authored by Meil and James. (You can find them at www.dinksfinance.com)

They had a post yesterday regarding emergency funds – which is significant given my current medical situation. I’m on an unpaid medical leave from work. I haven’t had a paycheck in two months.

One of the reasons people declare bankruptcy and lose their homes is due to medical illness – their inability to pay medical bills and loss of income because they can’t work due to illness.

I’m lucky in that I’ve worked hard and built a savings for emergencies like this. This isn’t my first medical leave due to illness. And, I’m hoping to someday return to work. It is, however, the first time I’ve been on a medical leave without short-term disability insurance.

Over the years I’ve had eight surgeries; tons of biopsies; a few general hospitalizations (for pain); countless radiographic procedures (i.e., CAT scans, IVPs, ultrasounds, endoscopies) to identify the source of the pain; and, of course, many trips to the ER for medication and assistance to control the pain when it has become unbearable.

I’m not sharing this for pity or because I have a “poor me” syndrome. I just want visitors to have an understanding for the impact and magnitude of how illness and the management of pain have altered my life.

For every five productive days I’ve provided my employer, I’ve probably had one day missed work due to pain and the resulting fatigue. Now, due to the morphine, I am unable to drive – my balance is shot and if I were to take a field sobriety test, I would fail.

Just like many people suffer from “chemo brain” – the term used to describe the loss of cognitive function resulting from the use of chemotherapy – I’m certain there is a “morphine brain” syndrome too. I know I am experiencing cognitive losses – particularly around numbers. Things that used to be basic (addition, subtraction) are now difficult and complex. I am unable to remember numbers – simple repetitive numbers, like my ATM PIN and phone number. And don’t ask me to figure out how to pay a bill using cash – trying to split a lunch check and calculate the server’s tip left me in tears last week.

All of my previous employers had some form of disability insurance – both short- and long-term. The exception was in California. However, in California, the state has a program, so the three occasions I had surgery while a resident of California, my time off of work and loss of income was covered by the state disability program.

So here I am… two months without a paycheck on an unpaid medical leave of absence. How am I doing it?

Read tomorrow and I’ll explain.