Have a nice trip!

I m only 57 but I look at every move I make as a possible long term injury these days. .

I went down 3 years ago on the ice and tried to catch myself on the handrail going down steps

Herniated disc 2 cracked ribs from the steps and a dislocated shoulder from grabbing the rail.

I wa Down almost 3 months .

 

Oh man that sucks! Hopefully just a sprain and heals pretty fast.

My husband got serious ill (ended up in ICU) when he was a rookie with FFE. They were awesome about it. We thought for sure he was going to be let go, he wasn't & he was off for 2.5 months. Safety just had extra forms for the Dr. To fill out.

A year & half ago I caught the flu & ended up in the hosp w/ pneumonia. I was only out for a week & a half though. It was no problem either. I also used my PTO to offset the financial hit.

FFE biggest thing was communication. We kept them abreast of my husband condition 2x a week. Mine, my husband talked to them daily.

 

I did something similar last year. While fueling I slipped on some spilled fuel and then tripped over the hose.
I landed hard, and at 64 years old that means really hard. A rib may have been cracked, and certainly bruised badly.
Multiple scrapes with plenty of blood, and a hurt shoulder that still bothers me to this day.
I continued driving for a couple hours, but the pain just got worse so I shut myself down at a truck stop for 3 days to recover some.
Cranking landing gear and pulling the fifth wheel was very painful for at least a month.
That was when I bought a fifth wheel puller to help out. Those things are a great help if you are standing on ice as well.

My company was great about the whole thing. They even paid me layover for the duration.

 

Knock on wood my worst job-related injury was I slid off the steer tire of a truck while standing on it, refilling the coolant after changing some hoses. Ended up landing sideways onto my ankle that I literally sprained 2 days prior by stepping into a gopher hole. Never said a word to anyone about it. Didn't feel like filling out an incident report lol.

 

There are some exceptions. I have not researched it, but I think for a small company they are not covered. I know a lady that works for a local aggregate hauling carrier that asked for this leave to care for her father and was told no. The company worked with her and is allowing her to work from home some, but is still being required to stay on the job.

 

Mrs Skillet told me the same thing about a year or so ago.

I was coming out of a truckstop in Minnesota, during that snow and polar vortex thing.

The packed snow raised the level of the curb, and I misjudged the length of the step down, due to the light coating of fresh snow.

I came down hard on my right foot, which sent the shock right up to my hip, and somehow to my neck.

My right hip is ALREADY my bad one, and commenced to throbbing with pain. My right knee felt like I wrenched it a little, and my neck felt like it does when I sleep on it wrong.

The bottles of Tylenol and Advil were moved from the sleeper cabinet to the driver's side cubby hole above the visor, and both bottles saw heavy use for the next week or so.

When I arrived home, I related this story to Missus Skillet in reply to her question, "Why are you walking funny?"

Her reply was "Pay attention to where you step. You're an old guy, you can't afford to fall, you'll break something, and our insurance SUCKS!"

"Well, since you put it that way........"