Monday Muses ~ news revealed at last??????

Firstly thank you to everyone for their messages and phone calls in regards to me now being cancer free. ?I appreciate each and every one who supported me through the journey and the calls of gratitude now that I can go forward without an oncologist appointment as a regular part of my schedule. ?

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Pain raised its ugly head again last week. Not the pain I dance with each and every day, but the pain that others talk to me about. It left me asking the question “why is it that the debilitating pain the injured workers report is ignored as though it is not real?”

Last week I sat with a man who could no longer cope with the pain that was constant from an injury site so he took matters into his own hands ….

First, I should tell you that he had several workers compensation medical examinations and IME’s; oddly enough the persons own medical team recommending surgery whilst the IME reports didn’t support surgery. One of the IME’s went as far as to suggest the “discomfort” was a form of arthritis that had "localised" around the injury site.

Then when this man could no longer tolerate the pain and was almost unable to walk, he reached into his own pocket and paid to see an orthopaedic specialist, who looked at the injury then scheduled surgery to repair the damage that was clear to see.

Here is the kicker; the surgeon who performed the surgery was the same IME who “suggested” the “discomfort” was a form of arthritis. ?

Over many years people have spoken about the depth of frustration they feel when the level of pain is disregarded or explained away.

As with this particular man, there was a very real reason he was in pain, once the surgery rectified the damage he was able to walk again almost without hinderance without the aid from a walking stick.

Pain is there for a reason it needs to be paid attention to. The longer pain is ignored the more real damage is done and the more it costs to mend.

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Over the last few weeks I have been hinting at what is the next exciting step for all of us at Craig’s Table . ?After many discussions and then setting up a small studio and then learning how to use it and then looking at frameworks and more discussions, I can finally tell you that Craig’s Table has become part of WorkCompCollege.com we will be a part of the return to work and humanities training. I have to admit it is a challenge that is both daunting and exciting at the same time. It is also an amazing feeling to work with industry professionals who I admire and respect and am fortunate enough to also call friends.

Training has always been a part of Craig’s Table. We have always taught whole person engagement, hence the outlines written for the return-to-work component will cover issues that impact and impede an actual member of the injured worker community whilst at the same time gifting an insight into parts of a claimant’s non-compensable life that impacts the choices and decisions made.

E.G. a person who had had surgery on a knee required taxi transport to attend the rehab programme and attend the other workers compensation appointments.

He had never held a drivers licence always relied on public transport [train] or his wife drove wherever they needed to go as a couple if it wasn't possible to go by public transport or ride their bikes..

The train station was within a 10-minute walk however the platform required going down stairs, which due to the surgery he was not able to use. Nor was he able to walk the distance between his home and the train station on crutches.

After several attempts to speak to the case manager about needing taxi transport as he was falling behind in the therapy treatments etc this man called Craig’s Table for help.

What had been dragging on for almost 6 weeks took less than 60 minutes to resolve not because of anything magical, but because the information that the system required [and had been sent several times] also included real photos of the broken and uneven footpath and the flight of stairs at the train station. Also included was the working roster for this man’s wife showing that she was at work at the time he was meant to be at treatment, it also included a photo of the family car in the carport as she also took public transport to work.

The message that was finally understood and the taxi vouchers approved.

As for teaching humanities the lessons will be based on listening and understanding.

I have spent a considerable time watching this one TED Talk; ?Lies, biases, and predictions

I have spent 20+ years listening to industry bias and urban myth’s in regards to the injured worker community. The really big one is that they don’t want to go back to work. When in truth over that same time period I can hand on heart say I can name only 4 people who didn’t want to return to work in a meaningful and a sustainable manner.

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Just before I go into the kitchen for a cup of tea as I prepare dinner as yet I have nit had any response from the letter I wrote last week in regards to the question I asked . ?Be that as it may, this week I shall write another letter to the very same Committee Members asking them if they actually know how many members of the New South Wales injured worker community there are. The reason I am going to ask is quite simple. There was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald ‘My family was invisible’: April has filed a human rights complaint over the census Although my comment was “off-topic” it did highlight how invisible the injured worker community actually is. I can give them the last set of official numbers from the registered employer component of the injured worker community. ?Other questions have also been raised with me over the weekend that I will put to this Committee.

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Yours in service

Rosemary