Medical Need Advice on Current Situation

[MeepMeep]

All opinions and thoughts welcome. Current CPC-IT at an up/down facility. Have not been at my facility long at all (less than a month, not even training.) I have been dealing with immense back pain the last 2 years that has gotten worse the last 2 months. It’s now getting to the point where sitting down for awhile is very very difficult not even factoring controlling planes while sitting. Standing I am pain free and no concentration issues. I’ve done physical therapy, chiropractic work, and pain management (injections). All of this is documented in my medical history with FAA. Still have the pain sadly. This worries me for my training in the radar as it’s all sitting down. I honestly don’t know if i am capable of doing that. I am wondering what my options are here. I doubt they would let me be tower only here, it’s a hardcore facility.

I came from a busy tower only previously. There is a small tower only in the area. I am wondering what my chances are of being able to transfer in some capacity to that facility or seeing if there is trainee swap or anything that can be done with that facility. I would be well qualified to work at the other facility and would do well since tower you stand a whole lot. I am unable to move away from the area I’m currently in. And with my medical issues that I’ve been dealing with for years, I think I’d still have a long road to recovery in order to be able to sit for a long time. Does anyone know what I should do? Is this a hardship even?

And when I say hardship, I fairly familiar with the hardship process, however I wonder how feasible it is to file a hardship on the basis of my medical condition needing me to be in a work environment that allows for more standing and thus alleviates my back problems.

 

[Phillytroll69]

You could maybe pursue a reasonable accommodation to work tower only. The facrep and atm would have to like you and go to bat for you.

As you mentioned hardship.

Could you look into otc anti inflammatory-any if these options would be better approached as a cpc in my opinion.

You might be 100% truthful but the gossip will be you're scared of radar, I hope you've made some good first impressions

 

[MeepMeep]

You could maybe pursue a reasonable accommodation to work tower only. The facrep and atm would have to like you and go to bat for you.

As you mentioned hardship.

Could you look into otc anti inflammatory-any if these options would be better approached as a cpc in my opinion.

You might be 100% truthful but the gossip will be you're scared of radar, I hope you've made some good first impressions

None of the OTC makes a big enough difference. As far as reasonable accommodation, is that for my facility only? Or could that be used to be moved to the facility that is 15 miles away tower only?

I believe I have made a good impression. I’m a great student and love to study, I am also able to get along with all types of people. I believe if I was healthy I would be able to do well in the radar. I am just truly concerned that with my condition I will not be at 100% of my game.

I do understand what it looks like tho, scared of radar. That’s why I posted here first before contacting my facrep. And I am not sure what the road to recovery looks like from here. I don’t want back surgery, but no matter what I’m thinking I have another year at least of potential recovery options. If I’m tower only where I can stand all the time I have no issues at all. Just a shitty situation.

 

[MeepMeep]

Reasonable accommodations are taken outside of the facility. It doesn’t matter what your facrep thinks, the RA process is statutory and natca has no input on it

Do you know where I could look into this reasonable accommodation stuff?

 

[32andBelow]

I messed up my back really bad and I worked with the flight surgeon and tried different medicine until I found one that helped a lot and was legal. It was meloxicam. Have you gotten an MRI? you might need a microdisectomy

 

[Phillytroll69]

Reasonable accommodations are taken outside of the facility. It doesn’t matter what your facrep thinks, the RA process is statutory and natca has no input on it

My point is that the union may ir may not provide templates, help filing the paperwork, etc.

 

[MeepMeep]

I messed up my back really bad and I worked with the flight surgeon and tried different medicine until I found one that helped a lot and was legal. It was meloxicam. Have you gotten an MRI? you might need a microdisectomy

I’ll look into that. That procedure would likely help. Did you have that done? Also what was your recovery time? My worry is that my recovery time has no guarantee of improving and with no legit timetable. If I can just work in a primarily standing environment like tower I would just rather do that. Even if it means transferring to a lower level facility.

 

[32andBelow]

I’ll look into that. That procedure would likely help. Did you have that done? Also what was your recovery time? My worry is that my recovery time has no guarantee of improving and with no legit timetable. If I can just work in a primarily standing environment like tower I would just rather do that. Even if it means transferring to a lower level facility.

I did recover. It did take me a while like over a year. I now work at a center with no issues.

I was prepared to get the microdisectomy but we managed to make enough progress without it. In my case epidural steroid shots helped a lot to allowed me to be successful in PT. I wound up getting a small home gym put together which made it a lot easier to stick with the exercises.

In my case i could barely stand when it was bad so I would have been fucked either way. Not sure what doctor you go to but I recommend going to an orthopedic doctor that knows what they are doing and just really explain to them your limitations and what you need to get better. I wouldn’t let a general doctor handle it. You’re welcome to DM me if you want to ask anything privately.

 

[MeepMeep]

I did recover. It did take me a while like over a year. I now work at a center with no issues.

I was prepared to get the microdisectomy but we managed to make enough progress without it. In my case epidural steroid shots helped a lot to allowed me to be successful in PT. I wound up getting a small home gym put together which made it a lot easier to stick with the exercises.

In my case i could barely stand when it was bad so I would have been fucked either way. Not sure what doctor you go to but I recommend going to an orthopedic doctor that knows what they are doing and just really explain to them your limitations and what you need to get better. I wouldn’t let a general doctor handle it. You’re welcome to DM me if you want to ask anything privately.

I’ll definitely DM you soon. This is for you and anybody else but if I’m looking at a year plus recovery with uncertainty if that will work, when I could just stand and work tower, would it be reasonable to seek out a hardship or reasonable accommodation? Maybe even a trainee swap. My facility is fairly desirable so I’m sure the smaller tower might want to swap. My facility is not at 100% and neither is the smaller tower although the tower is very close.

I truly just don’t want to sit around for a year doing nothing when I could be working tower with minimal/ no issue.

 

[KP-ATC]

Why can't you stand while working radar? It isn't ideal but if you can get through training that would be good.

 

[Bandit117]

My point is that the union may ir may not provide templates, help filing the paperwork, etc.

There’s no paperwork or forms to file. You give your FLM a written request and it goes up the chain out out of the building.

Then, someone from faa office of civil rights will reach out. They may request medical info (doctors letter). Then they will made the decision. If They say no, then you file an eeoc complaint

Do you know where I could look into this reasonable accommodation stuff?

Google is a good start. It’s not that complicated. There is not a form. You make the request in writing to your flm.

 

[GulfBravoPapa]

I’ll definitely DM you soon. This is for you and anybody else but if I’m looking at a year plus recovery with uncertainty if that will work, when I could just stand and work tower, would it be reasonable to seek out a hardship or reasonable accommodation? Maybe even a trainee swap. My facility is fairly desirable so I’m sure the smaller tower might want to swap. My facility is not at 100% and neither is the smaller tower although the tower is very close.

I truly just don’t want to sit around for a year doing nothing when I could be working tower with minimal/ no issue.

That's not how swaps work unfortunately. And are you just never going to sit down the rest of your life? Get your back fixed.

 

[MeepMeep]

That's not how swaps work unfortunately. And are you just never going to sit down the rest of your life? Get your back fixed.

I have been working on recovery the last 18 months. I got better but relapsed outta nowhere. I believe I will recover but it’s a long road ahead. That’s why I’m seeking advice tho as I’m at a new facility where the primary work makes my current medical condition worse. And there’s so many uncertainties with my recovery timeline as well as how recovered I can possibly get. If I was in the tower I have minimal problems since I can mostly stand. It’s the sitting down WHILE controlling that gives me concern.

 

[jdatc]

I had a disc issue in my back. Let’s just say a misspent youth didn’t help it. 8 years ago it “slipped” (Herniated) in a way that left me barely able to walk, and in immense pain.

I had a laminectomy (L4/L5) I believe, which made a huge difference. I could walk! I took 6 weeks off for the surgery and recovery. Afterwards I needed chairs at specific heights, or I would get some pain. Slightly thereafter, as I healed it got better and better.

Also, I got better and better at managing it. Don’t lift heavy objects, don’t carry extra body weight (or at least try not to!), strengthen your core, etc.

By doing all of this I generally have very few to no issues since then, but I have the option from my regular doc for flexeril if I need it…. It’s also an 8 day DQ! 😂

Also it helps to talk to AMAS one of the best NATCA benefits, as they can tell you what the flight doc may be looking at, what medicines can help you and not DQ you if you want, etc.

That said, don’t mess around. I tried at first to not take medicine, get DQ’d etc, and ended up worse off for it. While we need to work to survive, be careful sacrificing your health for this job if you can.

Good luck-

 

[32andBelow]

I had a disc issue in my back. Let’s just say a misspent youth didn’t help it. 8 years ago it “slipped” (Herniated) in a way that left me barely able to walk, and in immense pain.

I had a laminectomy (L4/L5) I believe, which made a huge difference. I could walk! I took 6 weeks off for the surgery and recovery. Afterwards I needed chairs at specific heights, or I would get some pain. Slightly thereafter, as I healed it got better and better.

Also, I got better and better at managing it. Don’t lift heavy objects, don’t carry extra body weight (or at least try not to!), strengthen your core, etc.

By doing all of this I generally have very few to no issues since then, but I have the option from my regular doc for flexeril if I need it…. It’s also an 8 day DQ! 😂

Also it helps to talk to AMAS one of the best NATCA benefits, as they can tell you what the flight doc may be looking at, what medicines can help you and not DQ you if you want, etc.

That said, don’t mess around. I tried at first to not take medicine, get DQ’d etc, and ended up worse off for it. While we need to work to survive, be careful sacrificing your health for this job if you can.

Good luck-

There’s 1 muscle relaxer I have that only has a 3 day DQ nice for a weekend but the longer the DQ the better you feel 🫣

 

[Phillytroll69]

There’s no paperwork or forms to file. You give your FLM a written request and it goes up the chain out out of the building.

Then, someone from faa office of civil rights will reach out. They may request medical info (doctors letter). Then they will made the decision. If They say no, then you file an eeoc complaint

Ah thanks one of the few things I have not been involved in. Surprised at the lack of paperwork lmao

 

[MJ]

Sorry Bandit117 accendentally merged your posts out of existence. Can’t restore them but I’ll repost the text:

All opinions and thoughts welcome. Current CPC-IT at an up/down facility. Have not been at my facility long at all (less than a month, not even training.) I have been dealing with immense back pain the last 2 years that has gotten worse the last 2 months. It’s now getting to the point where sitting down for awhile is very very difficult not even factoring controlling planes while sitting. Standing I am pain free and no concentration issues. I’ve done physical therapy, chiropractic work, and pain management (injections). All of this is documented in my medical history with FAA. Still have the pain sadly. This worries me for my training in the radar as it’s all sitting down. I honestly don’t know if i am capable of doing that. I am wondering what my options are here. I doubt they would let me be tower only here, it’s a hardcore facility.

I came from a busy tower only previously. There is a small tower only in the area. I am wondering what my chances are of being able to transfer in some capacity to that facility or seeing if there is trainee swap or anything that can be done with that facility. I would be well qualified to work at the other facility and would do well since tower you stand a whole lot. I am unable to move away from the area I’m currently in. And with my medical issues that I’ve been dealing with for years, I think I’d still have a long road to recovery in order to be able to sit for a long time. Does anyone know what I should do? Is this a hardship even?

You need to Request a reasonable accommodation first. A standing workstation is reasonable. There are solutions that deconsole the stars working at AZO for example. If you need a transfer because they can’t accommodate you, you can request reassignment as a reasonable accommodation.

RAs supersede the contract and all internal policies. The contract isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on

You could maybe pursue a reasonable accommodation to work tower only. The facrep and atm would have to like you and go to bat for you.

As you mentioned hardship.

Could you look into otc anti inflammatory-any if these options would be better approached as a cpc in my opinion.

You might be 100% truthful but the gossip will be you're scared of radar, I hope you've made some good first impressions

Reasonable accommodations are taken outside of the facility. It doesn’t matter what your facrep thinks, the RA process is statutory and natca has no input on it

 

[MeepMeep]

Anybody have insight on Article 85? It’s about employees with a disability requesting new location etc. is this the avenue I should potentially take? I’m thinking (hoping) since I’m on admin schedule not even training yet it wouldn’t be as big of a deal if I go that route or do the reasonable accommodation to a tower only in the area. But still unsure.

 

[Bandit117]

Anybody have insight on Article 85? It’s about employees with a disability requesting new location etc. is this the avenue I should potentially take? I’m thinking (hoping) since I’m on admin schedule not even training yet it wouldn’t be as big of a deal if I go that route or do the reasonable accommodation to a tower only in the area. But still unsure.

don’t bother with it. Article 85 says that the rehab act is supreme, which covers the RA process. Will a doctor attest that even with a 4000 dollar mega-ergo chair you still can’t sit without pain? Reassignment can and does happen but it’s the last resort. If your doc isn’t onboard dont even start the process yet.

That said, you literally email your supervisor with what you want. You don’t have to give details about what the condition is, that’s for later in the process. The union can’t help you here, they have no say in the RA process, that “priority” is already baked into the accommodation process. Be aware, reassignment is the last resort, so they will probably try special chairs, Maybe even changing the work stations before moving you

 

[MeepMeep]

don’t bother with it. Article 85 says that the rehab act is supreme, which covers the RA process. Will a doctor attest that even with a 4000 dollar mega-ergo chair you still can’t sit without pain? Reassignment can and does happen but it’s the last resort. If your doc isn’t onboard dont even start the process yet.

That said, you literally email your supervisor with what you want. You don’t have to give details about what the condition is, that’s for later in the process. The union can’t help you here, they have no say in the RA process, that “priority” is already baked into the accommodation process. Be aware, reassignment is the last resort, so they will probably try special chairs, Maybe even changing the work stations before moving you

Thank you for this. I am wondering if a hardship makes more sense then too. Article 99 does mention “a geographical area deemed necessary to improve or maintain the health of the employee”. Might be a tough sell but i may have a case. The problem I’m currently in is I’m not even training and won’t be for awhile it seems. I’m on admin duties and won’t be in a sitting down setting until early next year. I’m just trying to be proactive in this and also not waste the facilities time. Im hoping it’s easier to accommodate me since im not a CPC there nor in training.