I recently was terminated from a graduate internship for asking my boss what I should do if my catheter leaks in a meeting. She thinks it's dirty and digusting. Where's the outrage?

D

Hi D,

You may have taken her by surprise with such a personal question. It could be compared to a woman asking her male boss what she should do if her tampon or "maxi-pad" fails.

If your catheter leaks just throw a notebook over your lap and excuse yourself from the meeting and go to the bathroom. If you have a history of leakage you may want to "fix" the issue with a different style condom catheter that will offer you more confidence. Or intermittently catheterize more often during the day. And perhaps bring in a spare pair of pants if the leakage is that bad.

I think being terminated from your graduate internship may have been a bit drastic or even an over-reaction on your boss' part. I hope you asked her this in a private setting so you didn't embarrass her in front of anyone. Not everyone is as laid back about these issues as we SCI (and family and friends) have become. You need to "feel" people out before you start talking to them about personal SCI related issues especially in a professional setting or relationship.

Hopefully you can call her on the phone or set up a meeting, explain yourself and apologize for your indiscretion and get back into the graduate internship. Don't let it get out of hand by reporting it to her administrator before speaking with her about it first.

Good luck.

D, I was just curious what country you live in. To me it sounds like discrimination. Here in the US there is a law protecting those with disabilities. No matter what, your boss was very tacky and unprofessional and should be ashamed of herself. But you know the saying, what goes around comes around. Maybe someone will slip a massive dose of diuretics in her food and then lock all of the available bathroom doors. ha! ha! Sorry, I just think people like that deserve the worst coming to them. Best of luck.

I think you should try to talk to your supervisor and find the real reason for her or him ot terminate your internship, if you are not satisfy with the answer, I think you contact the director of the school who handle the assignments, I don't see it should be an issue for you to ask something like that, you was trying to learn how to handle an embarrasing situation from the point of view of your tutor or the person who is teaching and training, what tells me, he or she is not ready to be teaching or guidance students. You have a disability and the school is aware of it, they need to made accomodations about it. It could be a clearly discrimination case unless they have other issues to justify the cancellation of your internship. I think it you having any problems about leaking you should definitively look into a better system for your own safety, and to avoid an embarrasing situation, odors, or any infections.

Hi,

The woman that I asked works for the Dept. of Health and Human Services. She makes decisions that affect thousands of people in the state (even those dealing with incontinence). She also has a chair position at the Institute on Disability. Now I ask again: Where is the outrage?

By the way, one of my friends offered to go piss on her desk

D