annoyed but happy

General forum for the UK Keratoconus and self-help group members.

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nicola jayne
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annoyed but happy

Postby nicola jayne » Mon 04 Jun 2007 10:58 am

hi all,
well good news had stiches sorted out and eye is fine YAY and am having new glasses friday which make me legal to drive YAY I can now see the chart and 4 lines from the bottom with the new lenses (grafted eye) so again YAY.
and I am annoyed because work are being overly cautious i do understand this but the consultant has said its fine and i have been signed off from the sick but they wont let me do my job because of the acid fumes . I wear safety goggles whenever i use acid so this should be ok shouldnt it ? and of course everything is done inside a fume cubboard.. they thinki that the problem i had with my stiches was due to me using acid ive tried telling them that it was just one of those things but what can i do to make it more clearer for them aas im gonna go potty doing c**p newbie work .
many thanks
love nicola

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GarethB
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Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
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Postby GarethB » Mon 04 Jun 2007 11:10 am

Nicola,

Speaking as someone who works in a research lab (Advanced Scientist) I use acids all the time, had two grafts (nearly 20 years ago), wear lenses, safety glasses/goggles and have no problems.

My place of work were cateous too and I am now the departmental safety rep and on the waiting list to do the National General Certificate for NEBOSH so I will then have a recognised halth and safety qualification.

So if you want a chat, pm me your number and if you want can also speak with your employer too from an occupational health perspective as I deal with people in yours and my situation as well as an employers situation.

Lab environment can affect the eyes, but as long as your employers reasonable adjustments are letting you do your work in a fume hood and you have the sash down to the correct level, then the turbulent airflow will not come out and towards your face. If this is their concern, have a look at http://www.a1-envirosciences.com/ or call them and ask about Laminar flow cabinets. They supplied mine which are made by http://www.flowsciences.com/benchtop.php they may have been a custom build for me.

Your employer may not like the cost, but you can try the access to work angle and disability discrimination act. They are obliged to make reasonable adjustmenst and access to work helps fund trhe equipment we need to do our job, so the government could pay for 80% of the cost.

Hope this helps.

Gareth
Gareth

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nicola jayne
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Postby nicola jayne » Tue 05 Jun 2007 2:07 pm

:(
well i did not win my battle with work today and am to say the least angry. Gareth thank you for your advice and support. I showed them you reply post and they just said '' well yes he has had his grafts for 20 years but you are still post operative. And we are just concerned about the risk to you. and we will take you out of sediments prep and give you the c**p jobs till the oc health nurse comes to see you and give you the ok (she still hasnt beem to see me, and wont for at least 3 weeks as she is on AL)''. I had my graft done in november !!! and had stiches sorted out over a 3 weeks ago. so i am a stroppy woman today with much tears (least i dont have to use so much hypermellose) and am in a room all on my lonesome doing this and flicking trough the internet !! very productive........
so i am going to get a letter of the consultant next week, saying that its fine, i feel like they dont believe me. i am not stupid i wouldnt put my eyes at risk AT ALL , i would not be back in work if the dr said i shouldnt be. he said as long as i wear goggles everything will be fine !!!!!!
sorry for long moan but am sooo upset and i know it 's a trivial think to be upset about as my job isnt gonna be here for much longer anyway because of the whole redundant thing. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ...... i hate the world today

anyway sorry again for the moan
nicola
oh and from next week my eyes will have better vision than they have had for 6 years with my new lenses ........and that does not help at all apparently.... :evil:

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GarethB
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Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
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Location: Warwickshire

Postby GarethB » Tue 05 Jun 2007 3:42 pm

Wish I had posted what I was doing post graft! :x

When I was 1 year post graft I had the second eye done and about six months later I was working for the govenment labs with acids, fine dusts and down sewers!

Only once did I end up in eye casualty and that was because I stepped outside the office at home time to get the bus home and dust blew in my eye. Just happend to still be on work premesis so they took me to casualty who then put me into an ambulance to a specialist eye unit.

Problem quickly fixed, no anaesthetic, stich removed and problem gone.

It makes no difference how old the graft is the potential is always there! I wish it was easyier to make people understand that having a graft is far different to waiting for a broken arm or a cut to heel over.

Hope you have calmed down because I am well angry now.

Oh and while I had one eye 18 months post garft in the right eye and immediatly post graft on the other I was back racing cars.
Gareth

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nicola jayne
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Postby nicola jayne » Tue 05 Jun 2007 9:02 pm

yep grrrrrrr
and yep still pretty mad.......

nicola


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