Saturday, September 15, 2007

Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and the OR?

Okay, I promised myself that I would not post about my job and, believe me I am usually quite good at demonstrating restraint, but I can't resist this one story.

Two days ago my boss came to me and asked if I would travel to Europe for the job in October. I know this may sound glamorous, but keep reading...

She wants me to go to Europe to represent the organization at a two day meeting the week of my surgery. She wants me to spend four days abroad and arrive back in the U.S two days before my surgery, which she knows all about. I told her that I was scheduled to have blood work done at the hospital during that time, so I did not think I could make it. And her response was, "can you call your doctor, change the date of your blood work, and make the trip?"She was not apologetic about her request. She would really like to go to this very important meeting, but she has a 'conflict'.

I think my conflict is a little more pressing. I don't want to arrive back in the U.S. exhausted, jet-lagged, with airborne germs floating in my system two days before my first surgery. If I have a cold the day of my surgery, it may have to be rescheduled. Don't I have enough anxiety to deal with? I am dying to get back to my copious egg counting and egg drop drama hampster wheel.

Needless to say, I said, no, but I know she will ask me at least two more times before October.

4 comments:

None said...

Bosses and other people in power suck sometimes. A friend of mine, while in college, had to have a hysterectomy. It was toward the end of the semester and her surgery couldn't wait. She asked one of her profs if she could take an incomplete just for the final project and turn it in after she'd recovered. The prof was like, "I'm going to Europe. You'll just have to finish it before your surgery." No understanding of the amount of pain she was in pre-surgery or of the stress she was under or of the fact that his little Europe conflict was not quite the same as an emergency surgery conflict. She wound up having to ask the dean to intervene and learned that the dean had little power over the prof. It was just ridiculous that facing major surgery that would mean not being able to bear a child later on, she had to worry about a professor's selfish vacation nonsense. Ultimately he let her take the incomplete but just how long it dragged on stressfully was not what my friend needed right then.

Sorry your boss is being a jerk about this. You are right not to want to be jet-lagged or expose yourself to all those airborne germs pre-surgery. How can some people have such little compassion?

Anonymous said...

That really sucks. Sorry about your boss. There should be a universal ombudsman that would handle this crap and give those in power their very much needed wake-up call.

I would stick to my guns in this case. Someone else can go to Europe. Mama don't take no mess!

Anonymous said...

She sounds like an ass, ED.

BTW, I've been thinking about your book rec. request. I read a buttload of books this summer. My favorite two were "The Whole World Over" by Julia Glass and "The Namesake" by whoever wrote the Namesake.

Eva said...

Thanks for your comments, gals. Your comments help me to feel a little bit better about my situation.