Going to try a poll again.
Last time it didn't work.

c7
I don't work now.

Before:

Mostly in accounting at banks, credit unions, savings & loans.
Sold Real Estate
Bought an old movie theater and converted it to Opry.
Minnie version of Grand Ole Opry
My daugter sang professionally.
That was fun.

Would like a job on the internet.

How about you.

reason i dont work... im only 16 and i have degenerative thingi

but

once i get my powerchair (hopefully soon) i will go back to high school on site (currently doing home bound) once i get through HS im gonna go to college to become a powered mobility/seating/AAC specialist.

he he funny how i will rely on 2 of the three things there

Then - 15 hear old bad student
Now - Full time bum

thats all i have to say

I was a mechanical engineer before the onset of my illness. I returned to my old job posted illness but in a part-time capacity - three days a week. It is funny, between rugby, family, friends and work, I am busier than when I was able-bodied.

Hmm, before my injury I mowed lawns(junior high), I had about 25 a week I did during the summer for 3 years). After that I worked on a ranch(high school), driving tractors, throwing hay bails, moving irrigation pipe and herding cattle(yes I road around on a horse). I was working in a sporting good store when I had my wreck.

Since injury I have worked at Wal-Mart in the electronics dept. at my college I worked for the campus police as night dispatcher, sold computers at Best Buy, Data Entry for the city court house small claims department, customer service for AOL, DirectTV and Spring Wireless Web. Then I spent some time as the City Secretary for a small town in the Texas panhandle, the job was great but the location was horrible.

Last week I started my new job, I now work for a medical supply company. It is owned by a para, the VP is a para and another sales rep is a para. The owner is very active in the community and supports several events(look at my post in the sports section), great guy to work for and wtih. So if you live in Dallas and you need a new wheelchair, a walker, bed, commode, seat cushion, urological supplies...etc. I can hook ya up. I've been on two evaluations so far to measure people up for new chairs. I think I have found my calling, I've been on the bad end of bad orders of med supplies, from a new wheelchair that didn't fit and wasn't anything like I wanted and the sales person wouldn't take back, to incorrect catheters. Now I get to make sure the people that I see and work with get exactly what the need and want. When a newly injured person is setting at rehab using some 50 lb hospital chair and then we show up with our 12 lb TiLites and start the process to get them in one also it is a great feeling. Or take a power chair to a elderly person who has been stuck at home for month's unable to get out and about any longer. I wish I would have thought of doing this job earlier in my life, but I'm still young enough that I can spend decades doing it.

ARGH i hate how people do power chair, its like motorcycle ONE WORD, school bus is 2 words, powerchair is like motorcycle wheelchair is one word... so powerchair is powerchair not power chair...

anyways thats cool you got that cool job i am going to become a powered mobility/seating (i would be taking the mouldings for the contour U systems and such other moulded seating systems)/AAC specialist (AAC=alternative augmentative communication, thats when a machine speaks for u)

funny how i will be relying on 2 of the 3 things i listed, and maybe the third with how fast my disease is progressing

I was going to university, but now I own my own buisness.

wots ur business?

I was only 14 when I was injured so not really. I was paid by the school district as a teacher's aide $5hr 10hrs a week, tutoring for cash, and of course like the staple of any teenage girl's wallet.....babysitting.

Now I have the SCI but it's actually the brain injury and the pain that prevent me from having a job. In order for me to work I have to have someone else working with me to watch over everything plus I'm slow and I can't multi task for . LOL

lol. that multitasking is what makes me nervous i wont be able to do my dream job because i multitask like too lol

and why does it have to be : poo : why so generic, hows about :turd: or something that will make me giggle every time i type it

I just voted 'not working' but this isn't quite right. i did work for a few years but tiredness took over (demyelinating diseases produce dreadful tiredness sometimes) so retired from work and became a househusband. now I bet the guys thinkg that running the house, cooking washing and all that boring stuff isn't work. Well, actaully it is quite a lot to do so I suppose I am half working. mind, as my children are now adults and one married the work is rather less!

I worked full time has a teaching assistant sadly I am down to a couple of days. Then full time at home the rest of the week.

I worked full time before and was able to return back to my same work. I work in the IT department and do software beta testing, web development and manage the IT support department. I work remotely from my home which was a great help and the company I work for allowed me to work whatever hours worked best for me by splitting my days, etc. If I got tired after an hour of work I could take an hour off and come back again, etc. It was really though at first comming back full time and going to PT 3x a week but I got into the swing of it after a few weeks. I remember I slept as much as I possibly could then and struggled to stay awake even on the rides back and forth from PT (couldnt drive then so my boyfriend drove me).

I was an Ironworker ( no, not the one who makes the beams, I was the one who hung'em up there) for thirty-five years. Half of it on high iron, and I fall from a 20 foot schalfold,,,ya never know...

I was lucky, I was old enough to retire, so now it's six saturdays and a sunday for me.

I miss it a lot, tho.
ed

I was company supervisor/bookkeeper/office manager/and whatever else was needed for a company with a trucking division, storage: warehouse and outside, plastic scrap and metal scrap divisions. When I started, I was one of five employees and when I left there were more than fifty employees.

I miss it. We worked with companies like Rubbermaid, Ford, GM, and Chrysler.....

Now, nothing. I worked so many hours a week, I thought it would be great not working. Wrong! I'd much rather be working...........

I was a Sheetmetalworker in a shipyard. I too fell about 25 feet from a scaffolding.

I now work as a service development manager in Social Services developing independent living programs for young disabled people.

Tinbasher

Continue to work as a nurse practitioner...reduced hours from 39 to 30 a week...........

I loved my job prior to the mighty blood clot.

I was a theatrical lighting designer. Once they realized that I could no longer climb a ladder I was let go from my position in the company. So, I cashed in my retirment which wasn't much. I was only 35 years old at the time. Now I own a company that rents theatrical lighting equipment to theatrical lighting designers. I rent everything except ladders. Screw them

Mike

i was a fourth grade teacher before i got hurt...now i'm a third grade teacher and going back to get my masters for administration

Was only 3 when argued with a moving vehicle and lost so didnt do the work thing before my accident. Now work for the local ambulance service in the control room as a controller deciding who gets ambulances and when.working shifts that provide 24 hr cover can be a bit exhausting at times but ive done it for 6 years with no serious adverse effects.

From personal experience the emergency services are a great source of employment, the work is never boring and is well within the capabilities of most para's.

Before injury, Trail-Boss was night supervisor at a steel fabricating plant. I, Stick-Tight worked as an activities aid at a nursing home.
Now we both are working as a team with raising beautiful black and white paint horses. And I am Trail-Boss's 24/7 caregiver,(not that I think of that as work).
Life is good.

I was shot on my job as a customer service rep 10 months ago. I returned back to work 5 months ago at 20 hrs a week and now I am up to 30 hrs a week. Meds help ward off pain but also make you very tired. Now I have a good excuse when I fall asleep at work and cannot get wrote up. HAHA.

i owned a truck repair & small transport buisness . i am a truck mechanic & driver. i now own & drive semitrailer selling /delivering & installing fibreglass swimming pools around australia. im also a driving instructor for trucks.
luv my work

pre SCI I was a Menzi Muck operator and forman of a Storm Water Management crew for the local city. Menzi Muck is a walking multi purpose machine...one that is well ...crazy...it can do anything. here is a video as an example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jy-NOs9S38 just look up menzi on you tube.

and to think they let me learn to run this when I was only 19...im 25 now..so 6 years behind the controls

but now im back in school

pre injury I worked at a grocery store, then a hospital in the storeroom supply. since, injury, I havent sought out a job. I could call myself an amateur woodworker and/or a ceramic artist.

Doug, they not only let, but taught you to drive that thing at 19?! beautiful!

Apparently, I like variety. I started out as a newspaper reporter hell bent on sport. That became too hard after SCI (I did try for 4yrs) so I became a subeditor. That involved bits of paper instead of people so I retrained as an occupational therapist where I found plenty of people drama working in a psych unit then 2yrs at the Otara Spinal Unit (big deal, one of 'us' among 'them'). Did a year in a plant nursery which was like watching paint dry before getting into desktop publishing in its pioneering days. Then back to health as a co-ordinator setting up housing and support systems for severely impaired people. Then back to journalism briefly writing for a magazine that folded and now I'm semi-retired, taking on freelance work from home when it comes my way and occasionally making myself available for nonprofit publications.

I used to work with steal. mfg.co. for John Deer ran lasers,saw,heavy press, and became a leadman. now I'm "retired" just a few years early.(21yrs early)

I have to say that I was very lucky. I had only been in my job as bookeeper/accountant in a small company for 7 months when I was diagnosed and had an emergency operation. My company were brilliant and very supportive. The rehab centre I was sent to was only 15min drive from the office and after discussions with my OT and colleages and a visit by the OT and myself to the business centre where our office is, I was allowed to go twice week for 4 hrs to work while still in rehab. The perfect occupational therapy for me. The company paid for taxi, my lunch and as much coffee as I wanted. Went back to work fulltime a few days after being discharged October 31st, 2006

I worked for the council as a highways engineer. Before that I was a pathologist but couldnt really cope with the day to day life and death situations. I took them all too personally.

Now I still work in local govt. Mostly anything thats interesting , pays me what Im worth and needs half a brain!

Before my injury I was an Iron worker . I hung the steel on some big buildings and some small ones. I worked my way up to leadman.It took about 15 years to climb the proverbial ladder. I loved my job most of the time . I enjoyed operating some cranes and heavy machinery, but mostly I liked to "monkey" around climbing on the Iron the higher the better. It was a thrill to be up so high connecting big beams. Only ,all the tools and big bolts I had to carry were f**king heavy.
I miss my job and my paycheck.

Now I work for the federal govt. I fish , hunt ,and play my guitar and in exchange the govt. gives me a tiny little bity disability check.

Oh, ok I was wrong the govt. pays me for being a para.LOL, Disability sux !
So ,I guess you can say ,no I don't work now, but I hope to soon cuz living on disability has emptied my bank account.

Hi,

Before: A Registered Nurse/Senior Staff Nurse specializing in Cardiology.

Now: I *Did* go back to work in a clinical setting ( albeit a slightly different role) but unfortunately The NHS isn't as accomodating as one might think ( well that was my experience) and although when everyone was having to re-apply for their jobs, I DID get mine back ( some RN's didn't in the money saving exercise) I no longer work there.

The fatigue/pain/paralysis and dislocations meant that the days after a shift were affected, not an option when my little ones started to be affected by my situation. So it put pay to that!

That and the ( some understandable, others not so) problems that the NHS see having a chair user in clinical and sub clinical settings.

Edited to add: I miss my job like crazy....

I worked for BT (British Telecom) before my accident and was luck to go back with them after. Started of part time 30 hours a week now back to full time. been with BT for nearly 28 years now.

Before I was an electronic technition, played lead guitar in my band, and owned a hobby shop....

Now I worked 3 days a week at my old job designing electrical - hydraulic drawings on CAD, write programs for robotic microprocessors - operator interfaces. (Lost that job about a year ago) Used to DJ till about 5 years ago, when I got stuck in bed with Osteomyelitis...... Design websites, write custom dataabase and spredsheets. Almost ready to open my frst webstore with my programs - Actually it's my wifes business, as I can't make anymore money and keep disability....... Owned a Video store.... Actually, I'm working 3 times as much as I used to?
Keeps my mind off my disability.........

Jim

My husband was a A/C guy. The state paid for him to go back to school so he could do something else. Now he works for a city.

I was a mechanic for the MOD prior to my accident. I was working on the miltary vehicle rebuild and test line. Now I work with the MOD still, but on night vision sights/weapon sights and vehicle sights. It's quite interesting and I like it

I used to work for a Textile company before now i don't work and get dissability checks and taking online classess in Computer Information Management i miss working..................

Grew up drivin' nails and doin' the nasty jobs the ol' man didn't want to. He was a builder. I got into the education game. Played school teacher and coached for 30+ in Oregon. Worked concrete construction in the off season. Retired. Came back to California to do some carpentering with my brother. Then, I fell off the roof - oops! Three years post. Now I'm gettin' a support group rollin' here in Placerville, CA. The local rag just ran an article today. Lookin' forward to first meeting, Monday. Things are lookin' good.

I'm a professional ski bum.

before - college student
after - 1 year of doing nothing, then about 2-1/2 years of being a student, since then I am a medical transcriptionist.

I spent 25+ years in Silicon Valley (San Jose, CA) as an R&D Engineer. Now I've moved to Utah and retired on disability. I still do consulting on occasion and I have a workshop in my basement where I build/repair custom PCs.

Worked as an engineering Vice President at a large software company pre-injury. Two months after injury, was welcomed back by my staff and the other executives at the company. Nearly two years post injury, still sittin' around as an engineering VP in a different business unit. I enjoy the challenge of meeting customers, partners, teams, other executives the first time in person and they realize I'm 4'8" tall in a chair. I hope they look at all of us a little differently now.

Retired from the New York City Police Department after 9/11/01. I worked at Ground Zero for several days and came down with Lung Disease. Moved to S Florida and now do lots of rehab and play Texas Holdem for money 3 times a week at casinos...Also ride my new trike alot. I work partime at a local Office Depot doing various things.

Just wanted you to know I was a cop in NYC on 9/11 and in my eyes the heros were the iron workers. The way they came in on there own time to cut away piece by piece of the whole mess. GOD BLESS YOU GUYS!

I was a Demand Manager (Forecasting) working in Queens, NY. I commuted every day from NJ taking the Port Authority busses and NY transit trains. I don't work now. I spend my time with my husband who is retired and my grandchildren who visit often.

High Steel Welder working on grain elevators in the midwest, before my accident. Went back to school and now am trying to heal my ass. Pressure sores can really cramp the best laid plains.

I was a police firearms & explosives specialist. They were great and employed me with full knowledge of my health history, but after my third round of surgery (a fusion at L3-5), the force medical officer would not let me return to duty, and so they pensioned me off.

Now I am self-employed working 3 to 4 days a week helping small business with their computers.

Smudge

When I was 19 I was injured. At the time I was doing auto restoration and working for Kenner's Toys doing repair and maintenance of just about anything that broke.
It took almost 7 years to get back into a mindset where I could work reliably. Not using my hands was very hard to get over. I met a guy at my church that taught me basic accounting. I worked for him untill 2000. After 25 years aas a quad just about everything was getting too difficult. I was having an awful time getting aides and I was having seizures at work. I had stashed some money but there wasn't much left by the time I got back on disability and the state had a waiver program that took two years to get on.
Now, I teach people how to get the most out of turbotax for $60 a lesson. On nice days in spring and summer I go to different places and panhandle while waiting for public transportation. I use to think I would be humiliated by begging, but it seems rather enjoyable.

best wishes,
john

Used to be a world renouned expert on the abuse of dangerous drugs. Now I'm a telemarketer, toner for printers. Fear not, I won't be calling you. I only target large companies.
But once I have you in my sights, there's no point in running, YOU'RE MINE.

E-dog

I am a Police Constable, but for how much longer I don't know. My force is in the process of trying to pension me off, which I will resist and try to make difficult for them. Though, after a year I am returning to duty in the Area Control Room. I'll give my force their dues, they have kept me on full pay since my accident which they were not obligated to do.

By the way E-DOG I though you were an assassin operating in a third world country, or is that restricted information that I shouldn't have disclosed. Sorry the lids off it now! LOL