Not starting RDTC on 3/25 as planned...

I was hoping to meet up with some of you at RDTC this week. Well, I'm not kicking back at the Woodfield tonight, like I had planned... I'm sitting at home in PA, watching the snowstorm come in.

I received a call on Friday evening. Apparently, there is a "discrepancy" between what is on my CDL physical report and what I had told Roehl. "Safety" decided to play it safe and assumed that I had submitted false information, and so pulled the plug.

I believe I know what happened, and it boils down to a simple misunderstanding. I will be on the phone to Marshfield tomorrow, trying to get this straightened out.

Once I get Roehl's response, I'll give more details. Hopefully, I'll be heading to RDTC in another week or two.

 

After several voice mails with no calls back, I finally got hold of my recruiter, who I could tell (by their voice) was none to happy to hear from me.

In less than thirty seconds, I was passed off to Medical.

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The Story Thus Far:

I have sleep apnea. I know that any company that cares about it tests for it, so I make no effort to hide that fact. I was diagnosed with it in 2000, and my CPAP machine this morning has 31,974.4 hours on the meter. Yes, it's due to be replaced, and I plan on doing so in the near future, once other (more pressing) financial issues are resolved.

On one of my first calls to Roehl, I asked my recruiter about compliance monitoring, as my CPAP machine does not have a memory card slot, and I was told that they'd check into it.

Fast forward to early February; I'm getting my CDL physical. There's this question in the history:

Sleep disorders, pauses in breathing while asleep, daytime sleepiness, loud snoring

(in type about that small). I've brought this up with my doctors in the past, and have always been told that if my SA is well controlled, to check "No" for that. So I go and check "No". Doctor asks me if I snore, if I'm tired during the day, if I wake up out of breath; I say No to all, which is true. I get my card.

Jump to last Friday; less than 30 hours before I am to leave for Marshfield.

I get a call from Roehl Medical at 5:29 PM. (I love cell phone logs...) I'm told that due to my BMI, I will need to take a sleep test during my third week at RDTC.

Had I just said OK and hung up, I wouldn't be writing this. However, since a lie through omission is still a lie, I told them that I wouldn't need the test, since I already have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. I go through my history, in three part harmony, with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back to... oh, sorry, got a bit carried away there. Anyway, the call concluded with my being told that I may have to take the test anyway.

Wouldn't be the first time money had been wasted on unneeded medical exams; I had had a CDL physical eight days prior to taking one for Roehl.

A few minutes later (5:39 PM), the phone rings again; it's the same person from Medical, who started with "I just talked to Safety, and...", so I figure they checked to see if I need to take the sleep test.

Wrong. Apparently, by checking the aforementioned "No" box, I committed the unpardonable deadly sin of Submitting False Information, and so I would not be attending RDTC on the following Monday per directive from Safety. I asked immediately to speak with said Safety official, and was told just as immediately that they were on the phone, but they would email said official and request them to call me.

Then, apparently everyone in Marshfield went home and took five days off.
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Back to today's call with Medical.

I talked with the same person from last Friday. Paraphrased contents of call:

>> So what did I "lie" about, exactly?

<< Your health history. You checked "No" to (line in small type above).

>> I've asked several doctors over the last twelve years about that. Every one has said that if I don't currently have those symptoms, to check No. Besides, I'm not hiding the fact that I have SA. I know everyone tests for it. (Problem with old machine compliance monitoring.) I asked my recruiter about Roehl policy regarding monitoring.

<< Recruiters are not allowed to discuss medical issues. They have to refer any calls to us.

>> I asked about policy, not medical issues. I don't remember getting a reply about it.

<< Even if you did misunderstand the question, you checked No for the box below it, for sleep apnea.

>> Which form are you referring to? The long form that everyone uses?

<< Yes.

>> I'm looking at one of those, from the physical that I took a week before taking yours. I see the box about snoring, but there is no box for sleep apnea.

(For those following along at home: www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/forms/649f.pdf )

<< Well, even if we could get Safety to OK the questions, we would still need a YEAR'S worth of compliance logs, as well as the records from your last sleep study.

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Something just doesn't "smell right" about the whole episode. First, they tell me that it's because of a box that I checked. When I point out that said box does not exist, I then am told that I need records that they know I do not have, and FAR in excess of the FMCSA recommendation.

I suspect that someone was looking over my records/medical report, saw something they didn't like, and decided they didn't want me there. I do have issues that the ADA says can be considered disabilities, but I don't ask for any accommodation for them, and the FMCSA does not consider them disqualifying.

So, it's pretty obvious that I won't be driving a Big Red Truck anytime soon. However, I've made a few friends here that drive for Roehl, and I still hope to see you out on the highway soon... even if it means I have to spend six months driving for <redacted> to get enough experience for a respected company. So, if you see someone driving one of Those Trucks, wearing Groucho glasses, go ahead and wave; it could well be me driving.

 

Not according to the four or five doctors I've asked. The medical definition of a word can be somewhat different from the conventional use of the word.

Technically, most of us would have to answer Yes to most of the questions. Did you ever fall and get a bump on your head, even once in your life? Then you have to answer Yes to "breathingHead/Brain injuries, disorders or illnesses". Ever do some significant exertion that left you out of breath? "Shortness of breath" gets a Yes. Broke your arm when you were a kid? That's an "impaired arm". Pulled an all nighter before a big test? Yep, "daytime sleepiness". Most college students would have to answer affirmatively to "Regular, frequent alcohol use".

Most doctors translate "history" to "recent history". How recent depends on what it is. A recent cold may have happened a few weeks ago, but a heart attack would be several years.