A Battle I Don't Want

Yesterday marked the beginning of two battles. One good, one bad.

I’ll begin with the good news. Steward elections have finally officially begun. A nomination sheet went up in our center and the voting will happen on Friday. I decided to support the guy who asked me to be his alternate. Although, no matter who wins, I think we’ll be in good hands. I just know that one day I want to be a steward, so if I think there is more than one good candidate, it makes sense to support the one who will support me back and help teach me.

Now, the bad news. I’ve have been getting treatment for a worker’s comp injury for a few months now. My wrist has been hurting me for about three years, and I finally told someone last October. I’ve been through two rounds of physical therapy and the pain has just never gone away. So last week they did an MRI and found a ganglion cyst.

My doctor, who is the company’s choice of a doctor, immediately told me that ganglions can form in anyone for any reason, so it’s not industrially caused and released me from worker’s comp.

But as someone I know who works in HR for another company told me, “That’s bullshit.” I know people both at UPS and in other companies who have been treated for ganglion cysts through worker’s comp. There may be many reasons a person develops a cyst, but I’ve been doing some Googling, and as it turns out, people who put repeated stress on their hands are at increased risk. One website sited gymnasts as an example of a population who frequently gets these. I imagine I put just as much stress on my wrist as a gymnast does.

Not only that, but the pain increases when I’m working. One of the treatment options is to do nothing. Because of my job, that’s not an option for me.

So I’m starting with a second opinion, and then I’ll move on to finding a lawyer.

Of course, if we had single-payer health care in this country, this wouldn't be an issue. Come on Obama, where's my change? Oh, wait, single-payer isn't on the table.