Hello to all.
What a sad day indeed for me...filing for disability at age 57.
Nursing days are over.
I had everything together to fill out but it still took me nearly 3 hours to do it all.
I made a copy of it for my records, 17 pages in all.
Apparently after 5 days you can tract the progress of your claim online.
Hmmmmm.....now what is in store for me. Will I get real down in the dumps?
Be Bored? Or .. Should I even renew my nursing license when it is due in July 2016?
Anything I can think of that I use to do with any spare time would be hard or
impossible now. My new normal????????????? I have no idea what it will or can be.
shelly
My sympathy. It sure isn't an easy step.
Give yourself some time to adjust, and only then start thinking about what you might find interesting. I found this an emotionally rough time, as I had always thought of myself as my occupation.
It'll get better, and you'll find things that interest you.
Shelly,
In time, you will find your new normal. This is a big life change and you have to grieve your loss.
Wishing you the very best.
Anna
Shelly,
Good for you for filling it all out and getting it done!!! Very brave of you.
I had to quit outright in August because I was so sick. However, I would still be working part time if my idiot Dr. At the time would have given me a medical leave! I didn't even try for disability because my inconsiderate Dr.didn't even feel that I was sick enough for a medical leave!!!
I hope all goes well for you. I'm still planning on finding something part time. My husband knows how fatigued I can get and he thinks I won't be able to do it. I'm still going to try. Maybe he is right? I sure hope not. Maybe I'm just "lying to myself?" 😒. All I can do is try.
My sense of self was tied up in my occupation as I'm sure a part of yours' is.
I identify more now with "grandma" and I guess that's okay. I still grieve for what I feel was taken away from me.
The good news is you will have more time to talk to us! You can do all the things you didn't have time to do! Lol.
Hope it all works out for you!
Kathy
I am glad that you applied for social security. Not an easy step but it is a necessary step. I pray that you get yours immediately and not have to wait years like I have.
What is the new normal? I don't know but you will learn as you go. A new normal that can only fit who you are and what makes you thrive to stay alive. A new normal? I pray you find your place of peacefulness in this journey soon.
Peace and blessings,
Angeldancer
Dear Shelly,
I wish you much luck with your disability, it is never an easy decision to make, so that is one big hurdle completed right there, you made the decision!! The second decision completed is that you did something about it, and made the step to get it done. Now you just need to wait and see what happens. Do you have any hobbies? Maybe you will have more time to pursue that hobby, and turn it from just a simple hobby to a time that fills you with joy and satisfaction. You will know what is right for you when the time comes. Don't stress over that yet, it is amazing how quickly each day goes, and soon you will be saying how did I ever find time to work?
Before I went on my disability I made cards when I had time, but now that I am on disability, and can no longer drive, I am home all day every day, so card making is something I do each day, and it gives me joy to send them out each day. Did I ever expect that was what I would be doing when I was 55? Not At All!! And I have been on disability for 11 years, so I had to go on it early!! It will all work out for you, just trust. I will be thinking of you!!
Michelle
Shelly,
I am so sorry you are feeling sad and I can understand why. But my opinion is that you should renew your license in 2016. What if some sort of discovery is made that will give us our old self back? Could happen!
Hang in there!
Maria
Shelly, I was 60 years old when I finally quit working because I could hardly stand up any more. I didn't even think about disability until a doctor told me I should apply. I got on social security disability the first try and that was it. That was back in 2004.
I kept my nursing license up all these years just because. I had worked so hard for the license and taken so many CEU classes and other education and didn't want to give it up. The problem is that when you give it up it is extremely hard to get back. I kept it up because I thought if I could keep it at least if I got to feeling better I could do some short hours minor charting job or something. I knew that my really hard nursing days were over but sometimes people need a nurse for 4 hours to fill out forms or question patients.
The other thing is that by having to do the CEUs reading I am forcing myself to keep my brain active. Keeping the license is just something that makes you feel better about yourself. I think I will be giving mine up now but don't regret keeping it up. I think it is better to keep it for awhile rather than give it up and not give yourself a chance to maybe feel better. My opinion. Irish
Is there an inactive license status in nursing. There is in social work. Inactive status costs nothing and you just have to do the required CEU for a 2 yr cycle to become active.our license cycle is 2 years.
I went on disability four years ago at age 55. The first year was hard to adjust to but now I have adjusted to the loss of that part of my life and enjoy that I can read more and just rest. I am not a crafty person but if I was the extra time would be a gift.
There might be an inactive status in some states, but MN doesn't have it. You are either licensed or not. I guess I thought years ago there was inactive but maybe they dropped it. Irish
I think the loss of my nursing registration was as difficult as dealing with the disease(s); what you do is such a huge part of who you are in our society, and for nurses that seems to be emphasised for some reason.
Where I live, it's not just a matter of paying for registration or a license, we have to maintain a certain number of active practice hours over a five year period to even qualify for registration. The excessive hours (my bosses words, not mine) that I worked the last year I was able, only carried me into the fourth year of my illness. I was still unable to work at all, even after four years of treatment and a return to a tolerable lifestyle (meaning I didn't stay in bed 18 hours a day). In order to qualify for registration now, I would have to take a refresher course, and at nearly 64, that's just not practical. To be totally honest with myself, I know I wouldn't be able to be productive and effective in the workforce anyway, not being able to guarantee two capable days in a row!
It took a while to start recognising myself as "Me". Women seem to spend much of their lives as "so-an-so's daughter/wife/mother"; or "the nurse/teacher/store lady" or whatever.
I reluctantly gave up my license a year ago. I am 70 and realistically not expecting enough improvement to keep nursing. My issue has been my cognitive thinking skills as much, if not more than the fatigue. I was doing volunteer work for the Red Cross and have a terrible time filling out forms (of which nursing is famous for). My math skills are also questionable now and I really don't think I can nurse safely. It was not easy to give up the license because, in essence I was giving up a major part of my identity. However, I have other things I can do which are equally rewarding. My nursing is now I thing of the past (like raising children), the future a bit scary, so I concentrate on the present and keep myself as busy as possible. Yes, I am limited in what I can do - but the world is a big place and there are still many things I can do. I have a new identity and it works.
Katie
Even though I kept my license up I would never even expect to be employed in any way that I was in the past. There are some types of little jobs that require nursing license that I thought I might eventually be able to do. One of these is giving flu shots, and there are other little ones that occasionally come up.
In MN I believe that even with keeping your license up there is a need to prove that your skills are still good and classes can be taken to upgrade skills to keep up with the fast changes in the medical profession.
You are right, Linda. There is something about being a nurse that is so fulfilling that having to give up that part of our personality is hard to do. The interesting thing is that in these days people are working so much longer and have kept more active so it is not unusual to see older people still working in our profession. The other thing is that there is such a nursing shortage that employers are actively seeking out nurses. I can't believe all the stuff I get in the mail looking for nurses. They have to know my age as they get my name from a mailing list. Irish
Hi
I wish you lots of luck with getting the disability, I really hope this comes through easily for you. I have known people who get turned down over and over, and it is just not right. One friend got turned down twice, then got an attorney, and she was approved, she says that she wishes she had done this right away that trying to do it on her own was very stress full and time consuming, she feels that the attorney was well worth it.
My opinion, and just an opinion, I am not a nurse, even though my mother says that I should have been one. But I can see how big this would be in your life and to your personal identity, it is part of who you are. I don't think you should give up your license any time soon, you don't know what lies ahead in your new life you will be creating. We just never know. If you one day feel better you may be able to use your experience and knowledge in a part-time or volunteer situation, and this could be benifical to you.
Shelly, sorry you had to file for disability. I hope you get it the first time around!!!
Renew your license, you never know when you might get better or could work part time. You never know. It would be so hard to take that exam again.
There seem to be quite a few of us who worked in the medical field.
I worry about my ability to continue working. I am the main breadwinner as my husband retired two years ago so we could move and I could take a new job. Hindsight is always 20/20.