Disabled/Medical Restrictions

You are disabled. One few minute attempt to crank landing gear in the mud with a sunken loaded trailer will put you into the hospital.

Go to the social security office with your medical documentation and get the SSdI started. It will be a year before a administrate judge approves you. (You will get the 12 months back pay which will range upwards of 15 to 17000 dollars to start.) and your medicare will begin two years after enroll date of declared disability.

Sure you can drive a truck. Anyone can. The actual driving itself is not difficult. It's very much like floating down the road in a very nice cadillac car. But the rest of it associated with trucking like the trailer scenario I laid out for you.. it's going to put you on the ground and that will be that.

Reefer into a grocery means you will be moving say 550 boxes weighing 90 pounds off the floor to small wood into the Associated Grocers or Sysco dock off your trailer.

You will want to avoid that all together. I run medicine with McKesson until I became disabled. If i was to have a successful operation and become lawful DOT medically to run, back to McKesson I go. Nothing else. I don't touch hardly anything with these people. The landing gear is the worst of it and the trailers are not that heavy. That's my take on it anyway.

 

I had back surgery 4 yrs ago (L4/L5 ruptured disk) but mine was successful. My neurologist said the sitting position is the worst position you can put your back in. If yours was unsuccessful, I'd guess you'd have a hard time sitting for long periods of time.

What's a company going to do, if you're a thousand miles away under a liad, and you get out of bed wrong? Can't get the load delivered?

 

This tells me you are not thinking.

If it isn't successful, why would you want to end up in a wheel chair?

X1 is right, get to the SS office and get SSDI.

 

At the risk of sounding cynical in most of today's trucking world all you need is a pulse. It will not be easy and pain free at times. But if you can get a physical you can drive a truck. As a purist I hate this fact. However these carriers are in need of fresh meat (er drivers) now.

 

I have to agree. A pulse.

Frankly I say don't do it.

I hate to think one bad bridge approach slamming your seat to the floor and then to the top of it's air shock will do to you. It will ruin you.

A word about doctors.

I met with a new doctor last month. He questioned me about what I did driving a 18 wheeler. I had to explain it to him. Oh. And then break it up into simple easy to understand concepts like the 550 90 pound boxes making a 48000 pound something moved off the floor 70 feet and bent over to set down in a few hours time. Do that twice a day in addition to running all night every night. OHHH...

now we understand each other. Sometimes I wonder... Doctors are really smart. But I wonder sometimes who is trying to teach who.

 

Only physical activity, other than tandems, is landing gear and doors.

 

ADA is not going to "Protect you"

I crossed swords with Covenant over my deafness when I went to their orientation back in 96' they declined to hire me and posted to my DAC and thier 15 carrier cute associates that I am not hireable. There are other posts by me related to that story.

Enter ADA against Covenant and the FMCSA which is like the Godfather of everything CDL and DOT medical. The FMCSA ruled that Covenant could be MORE STRICTER than minimum requirements for choosing who to hire. They rather hire someone without hearing aids.

My lawyer looked into this carefully as it was a potential multi million dollar case. He finally stated essentially that I move on to work for someone else as per the FMCSA Ruling. To this day I am personal non grata at Covenant.

Dont expect the ADA to protect you.

The problem is this. Let's say you leave Memphis tonight for Chicago tomorrow morning. Then going to say... NYC. You throw your back out trying to do something far from home before delivery. Your company is GOING TO BE SORRY they hired you. because now the account you are failing to be on time at is now threatening to fire your entire motor carrier and your bosses because your back went out again.

Most companies cannot take that risk.

As far as living on disability, Social security is not a replacement for a adequate income. What I live on now I used to make in a week or less than not too long ago. It's really difficult but I made it this far in additon to or in spite of something like 200K in medical procedures and surgeries since 2001, most either paid insurance or torn up and tossed in charity. (If the IRS ever gets around to taxation of disposed medical billing as a form of income I could not afford it. Don't think they wont...)

As I stand today I am looking at a minim of another 90K in surgery and a few other goodies thrown in. 30% of what I take home is consumed in doctor at the clinic, drug testing and medicine. If I had to pay all that retail approaching a thousand cash, it cannot be done. Rent alone is a thousand market rate where I am. Three times that in DC where I was raised.

I was a home owner with land and everything free and clear. All of that was sold off to pay more debts related to a failed worthless 4 year degree for one spouse and a plaything 2 year for computer crap that is obselete today. Among other debts accumulated. Paid and paid and paid.

Life is not supposed to be easy. You are in the Bible supposed to struggle to live and in so doing earn it. We are not promised paradise and harems etc. We are also not promised pain at the levels we endure them.

I tell you this. You are LUCKY that you have time tonight to sit and contemplate a future. Many people go out from this world screaming leaving so much undone. Or worse get hurt so bad they need care at hundreds to thousands of dollars a day, billable to their spouses or children. In our state there are actually Filial Laws in place in which we MUST take care of our elderly parents. There is still one surviving. That one is consuming both me and my ex's share of what little money there is each month. That pie is growing as her care exponentially gets more expensive pending death by at least 4 seperate conditions that will kill her at any time.

She will out live the both of us just for being onery and stubborn. Life is like that. Then she will truly be alone. THAT is not a good outcome. So we fight for her. Otherwise the State of Arkansas will prosecute us.