New To The Forum

Hello Everyone!

I am the proud wife of a 23 year truck driving veteran. I joined the forum to get to know people in the driving community and have a question answered every now and then.

My husband was forced out of the the job he loved so much last August. He is 45 years old and a compliant type 2 diabetic. He takes care of himself by eating right and religiously taking his prescribed medications, has been for the last 10 years since he was diagnosed. He wasn't forced to stop driving because of that. Given his age our family doctor wanted him to have a few standard test done. He had never really used the insurance other than regular check-ups etc.

One of the tests was a colonoscopy which if you have ever had one you know the prep and the test is not pretty! This required a few days off so his last day on the road dispatch told him he had to do a random drug screen before he could go home. No big deal right? Wrong! He went to the testing facility and when he tried to urinate for the sample he was able to void some but not enough according to the technician doing the drug test. They informed him that it would be considered a refusal or a positive drug screen. He had a feeling this wasn't going to turn out well. He called dispatch informed them what happened and they told him have his procedure done they would worry about it come monday.

Monday comes he calls in they tell him he might be terminated and tell him to call safety at the home office. They tell him he will be terminated unless a urologist can prove he has a medical condition that interfered with his testing. They gave us the doc's name we went. The man walks in introduces himself, seen my husband's medical history didn't say a word just nodded his head to what my husband told him he thought may be the problem,and leaves the room. Nurse comes in hands him a paper that says there is no medical reason why he failed the test. So the paper is faxed to home office. He calls they tell him he is fired.

He had to fight for his unemployment benefits but he got them finally. The state of KY ruled that he was wrongfully fired due to his medical history and the medication he was on. We were thankful to win but we lost almost everything we own in the process that took 3 months. When your use to bringing in $600-800 or more a week and then go to making $7.25 and hour and barely bringing home $550 after taxes for two weeks of work, it hurts a man's role as a provider for his family.

He is miserable and wants to go back out on the road. Does anyone know what he has to do to be able to drive again or is days on the open road over with? Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Thanks and be safe out there!