Work Worries

My orthopedic surgeon wants to hold off on my back surgery, since my pain is getting better. He encouraged me to get back to work to see how my back (and the rest of me) holds up. So, I contacted my former place of employment, a large veterinary hospital where I was a tech. I left 2 messages with the HR director. No response. Yesterday I spoke to the vet whom I used to assist, and she told me they just hired someone to be her tech. Wonderful. Well, I still want to work there, so I contacted the personnel director, who, thankfully, answered her phone. She told me they were cutting back on jobs, there "may" be an opportunity for me, but nothing in the tech department, since lifting is contraindicated for me. 

This was very disheartening! I left a good job to go back to school to become a tech and work with animals, and now I find out that the only chance for me to work at this hospital would be in a non-animal job. 

Last night I thought of another option. I am supposed to be doing my practicum for school now, I was gearing up for it when my back went out. I emailed the personnel director with the request that I be allowed to complete my practicum there, then I could consider the other positions, should there be one available to me. Once I'm done with my practicum I would start my 2nd year of vet tech school.

Hopefully I will hear from her in a day or 2. In the meantime, I'm shocked at the state of the nation, that there are no jobs available and the resulting cut backs we all have to make. 

It's a cruel irony that I was told when I left that they would welcome me back, that I was a wonderful employee...only to be (almost) given the brush off now in these turbulent times.

I'm not truly ready to go to another place to work, since I'm still sorting out my depression and anxiety issues. Doing my practicum would slowly slide me back into a work environment and perhaps make me feel better as well.

I will keep you posted on my work progress.