"My health condition is called ulcerative colitis, which is an inflammatory bowel disease and is causes inflammation, swelling and ulceration in the intestines. The condition is life-long and may flare up unpredictably. Normally I keep my condition under control with prescribed medication, but at times it can really affect my life, as it started to do in December 2016. I was on leave over Christmas that year and it was then that my ulcerative colitis flared up worse than it ever had before. Not the best of holidays!
"By mid-January 2017 it was affecting my life and work so much I had to visit my GP and get signed off from work. By 1 February, I had been admitted to hospital as my condition could no longer be managed at home. I kept my manager at SCC informed by text, and she was incredibly supportive. We were entering the second phase of the ACS restructure at that point, but my manager advised me to relax about it and concentrate on getting better. I received a lovely get-well card from my work team and my team senior manager visited me in my second week in hospital.
"I was incredibly weakened by my illness, losing lots of weight and strength, and it was then that I realised that my condition truly is a disability. Even walking down the hospital corridor a short way left me weak and breathless. Finally after two weeks as an in-patient I was on some medication that began to quell the flare-up and get me back to normal functioning. I left hospital just in time for Valentine’s Day, partly because I kept on at them!
"As I was in my second year of service at SCC, I was entitled to two months’ sick pay at full rate, and a further two months at half rate. I was by now fully committed to putting my health first, and was concerned about dropping my pay but needing to feel better. My manager kindly visited me at home after I’d been back for about a week, and showed me the documents about the restructure, and we discussed how I might be able to return to work on a phased basis.
"Together we planned a really beneficial and achievable phased return, that would see me returning for two afternoons a week, working up gradually to full attendance after eight weeks. At all times I had access to my manager, and she would check on me and my health frequently. My manager also granted me disability leave for a day every 6 weeks to attend hospital for intravenous infusion of my medication. I was able to start considering what roles I might apply for in the forthcoming restructure, and after being back at work for a further two months, I secured a new role in the department. Without the constant support of my manager, I may not have had the self-confidence or determination to achieve that. For that I’m very grateful."
You can find more information on employment and inflammatory bowel disease from Crohn's and Colitis UK.
