B
bluecollarjock
Guest
I appreciate many of you who have prayed for me before concerning this situation. I admit at times I can live in the present moment trusting God, but others my faith is weak. It is hard to meditate peacefully at times on Matthew 6:25-34 and Luke 9:58 when the potential for homelessness is realistic. So I please ask that you pray for my faith to be strengthened and for me to learn “let go and let God” and trust He will provide for me during this time.
I am a medically retired police officer, worked patrol in the ghetto, SWAT, Peer Support, and police academy instructor.
About 5 years ago I was forced to retire and in horrific shape medically. If I was not in such good shape going into my botched surgeries and complications the doctors said I may not have made it. After 3 years of messed up surgeries and being over medicated, my immune system, digestive system, and endocrine system were all destroyed. I also was left with permanent intestinal issues due to the surgical errors and cannot be fixed and cause serious implications in the ability to carry out my daily life activities. I was on 8 different narcotic pain killers, muscle relaxers, anxiety medications, depression medications, and sleep medications when they retired me. I went from a fit SWAT cop and college strength coach that could keep up with the athletes in workouts, to 270 pounds, 30 % bodyfat, grossly obese and chronically ill.
Through caring doctors and a lot of hard work, exercise, prayer, meditation, nutrition, physical therapy, chiropractor, and counseling I got back in shape which took about two years. Then with much sacrifice I worked around my disability to finish a master’s degree in sport psychology at the top of my class. I received the highest grades of any student they have ever had in the program. Over winter breaks I coached NFL combine athletes, and in the summers I volunteered for sports ministry.
I was going to devote my time to sports ministry for a year while applying to doctoral counseling programs, and specifically trying to find programs that integrated theology. I got a new workers compensation case worker who told me that in his opinion I was no longer disabled, that I needed to work full time and he would choose my jobs (going so far to call himself my “life coach”), that I was not allowed to be in graduate school or do ministry. He also told me my doctors cost too much money and his goal was to terminate my benefits. They made good on those threats cutting me off all my disability income and medical care for the last ten months despite no evidence against me. Nearly all the progress I made in my health over the course of four years deteriorated and the only thing they want to approve now is narcotics and psychiatric medications.
There are serious loopholes in the state workers compensation laws, and disabled seem to be guilty until proven innocent. They filed the termination without telling me and lying that my paychecks were in the mail. I was out of town with my parents celebrating my mom surviving a brain tumor and dad surviving emergency surgery for organ failure. They were hoping that because I did not have a lawyer I would miss their letter and the time frame to appeal. The stories of their corruption and deceit continue for this entire time-please see article about the same company doing this to police officers in Texas fwweekly.com/2013/12/18/a-maze-of-pain/
I won the first court case. They even court ordered me to see one of the best surgeons in the nation. He sided with me, testifying that clearly I am disabled and should keep seeing my current doctors. Yet my former employer has stuck me with tens of thousands of dollars of unpaid medical bills, refused to resume my medical care, and refuse to resume my disability pay in addition to owing me nearly a year of backpay. They want me to quit fighting or pile up legal fees so I am forced to quit. They waited the full month and filed an appeal on the 30th day just to drag it out as long as possible. Now I have to survive 3-6 more months without income or medical care.
I have a police pension that starts in two years, but due to these same state workers compensation laws I cannot collect it yet. I have destroyed my finances. Social Security Disability takes such a long time that it will not help me in this crisis period.
At this point my health, my ego, my finances, and my ability to provide for myself has been broken by this legal case and its consequences. In a good way it forces me to turn more to God, although I do not always go about it as happily as Paul seems to write about his adversity. Reading Richard Rohr books seem to help a lot.
Adding insult to injury of cutting off medical care and disability pay, during the discovery process they accused me of hiding income from any volunteer ministry I have done. Many of these ministries I was involved with before even being retired so it is irrelevant, but in workers compensation court the burden is on me to prove myself innocent so any charges they file cause me stress, legal homework, and more potential legal fees consulting my attorney. They go so far to even accuse me of hiding income from attending prayer services. Somehow the past few months I have been able to pray for them and it does help. Maybe if enough people pray for them my heart will continue to soften for them and maybe theirs will too.
I am a medically retired police officer, worked patrol in the ghetto, SWAT, Peer Support, and police academy instructor.
About 5 years ago I was forced to retire and in horrific shape medically. If I was not in such good shape going into my botched surgeries and complications the doctors said I may not have made it. After 3 years of messed up surgeries and being over medicated, my immune system, digestive system, and endocrine system were all destroyed. I also was left with permanent intestinal issues due to the surgical errors and cannot be fixed and cause serious implications in the ability to carry out my daily life activities. I was on 8 different narcotic pain killers, muscle relaxers, anxiety medications, depression medications, and sleep medications when they retired me. I went from a fit SWAT cop and college strength coach that could keep up with the athletes in workouts, to 270 pounds, 30 % bodyfat, grossly obese and chronically ill.
Through caring doctors and a lot of hard work, exercise, prayer, meditation, nutrition, physical therapy, chiropractor, and counseling I got back in shape which took about two years. Then with much sacrifice I worked around my disability to finish a master’s degree in sport psychology at the top of my class. I received the highest grades of any student they have ever had in the program. Over winter breaks I coached NFL combine athletes, and in the summers I volunteered for sports ministry.
I was going to devote my time to sports ministry for a year while applying to doctoral counseling programs, and specifically trying to find programs that integrated theology. I got a new workers compensation case worker who told me that in his opinion I was no longer disabled, that I needed to work full time and he would choose my jobs (going so far to call himself my “life coach”), that I was not allowed to be in graduate school or do ministry. He also told me my doctors cost too much money and his goal was to terminate my benefits. They made good on those threats cutting me off all my disability income and medical care for the last ten months despite no evidence against me. Nearly all the progress I made in my health over the course of four years deteriorated and the only thing they want to approve now is narcotics and psychiatric medications.
There are serious loopholes in the state workers compensation laws, and disabled seem to be guilty until proven innocent. They filed the termination without telling me and lying that my paychecks were in the mail. I was out of town with my parents celebrating my mom surviving a brain tumor and dad surviving emergency surgery for organ failure. They were hoping that because I did not have a lawyer I would miss their letter and the time frame to appeal. The stories of their corruption and deceit continue for this entire time-please see article about the same company doing this to police officers in Texas fwweekly.com/2013/12/18/a-maze-of-pain/
I won the first court case. They even court ordered me to see one of the best surgeons in the nation. He sided with me, testifying that clearly I am disabled and should keep seeing my current doctors. Yet my former employer has stuck me with tens of thousands of dollars of unpaid medical bills, refused to resume my medical care, and refuse to resume my disability pay in addition to owing me nearly a year of backpay. They want me to quit fighting or pile up legal fees so I am forced to quit. They waited the full month and filed an appeal on the 30th day just to drag it out as long as possible. Now I have to survive 3-6 more months without income or medical care.
I have a police pension that starts in two years, but due to these same state workers compensation laws I cannot collect it yet. I have destroyed my finances. Social Security Disability takes such a long time that it will not help me in this crisis period.
At this point my health, my ego, my finances, and my ability to provide for myself has been broken by this legal case and its consequences. In a good way it forces me to turn more to God, although I do not always go about it as happily as Paul seems to write about his adversity. Reading Richard Rohr books seem to help a lot.
Adding insult to injury of cutting off medical care and disability pay, during the discovery process they accused me of hiding income from any volunteer ministry I have done. Many of these ministries I was involved with before even being retired so it is irrelevant, but in workers compensation court the burden is on me to prove myself innocent so any charges they file cause me stress, legal homework, and more potential legal fees consulting my attorney. They go so far to even accuse me of hiding income from attending prayer services. Somehow the past few months I have been able to pray for them and it does help. Maybe if enough people pray for them my heart will continue to soften for them and maybe theirs will too.
***