[Jackie07]

Patrice,

I have lost my job every time I had a major medical procedure done. By law, if you take a medical leave, your job is preserved for a year (this was back in 1990, in Texas) All of my employers (I've had 4 major surgeries so far) 'dumped' me a year after I went back to work.

Now, my condition is a little different from having 'just' Breast cancer. I had had a 23-hour craniotomy in 1990 to resect a life-long brain tumor. Most people thinks that once you've got a head injury, you are 'done'. Well, I do have some deficits that I used to 'compensate' quite well. Except I got surgeries again and again, chemo again and again.

My last neuropsychological test came back quite low and validated all the problems I had had. But a more traditional IQ test administered by a psychologist contracted by the Texas Rehabilitation Commission still put me at a very high range. It's mostly because my deficit involves the 'short-term memory' area. I have difficulty learning/acquiring new information/skills. But what I've already known, I still know very well. And if I am given time to 'memorize' new information, I have no problem remembering it once I 'lock' it into my long-term memory.

I do not know how the insurance situation in your State is. In Texas, we have a Texas Risk Pool. I am running out of my COBRA soon (March). Was ready to send in my Texas Risk Pool application, but then received a notice that I might be able to extend another 6 months with COBRA (because of the Stimulus Act?) I'm waiting for the reply from the lady I had talked to a couple of weeks ago.

COBRA is a deal that allows an employee who is separated from his/her previous job to carry the same insurance for 18 months. I'm pretty sure it is a federal law. The Texas Risk Pool allows people who have run out of COBRA to 'pool' together in a State plan which currently is contracted out to Blue Cross Blue Shield.

So, theoretically, you can always carry insurance as long as you are able to pay the premium. I'm also waiting for the result of my disability application. If approved, I will qualify for Medicare after two years (I think it retros back to the time when I first made the application.)

I got my last job offer in summer, 2007 while I was standing in line at the hospital/clinic waiting for my pre-surgery appointment. I figured I will be recovered well enough to take the new teaching job in a local high school which is less than 10 minutes drive from our house.

Everything was fine until the new insurance with the school district kicked in in October. Because there was a dispute between my previous insurance carrier and the new insurance carrier - I was a hot potato that nobody wanted to claim - my medical condition became a 'public information'. The principal who had hired me understandably was not very happy.

So a year later, my contract was not renewed...

And I've been on the longest unemployment period in my life.

I often joke about my special status as a 'disabled foreign-born female minority'. But most government employees, including my job coach, did not find it funny at all. I think people are sensitive about 'discrimination' claims and are worried about law suit.

It's kind of funny that after my ultrasound on the right neck/shoulder area was done, I was a little bit alerted by the extra courtesey the technician had given me. She walked me all the way back to the waiting area - made me wonder if she'd seen something on the scan. She said it'll be tomorrow or next Monday before I get my result from my doctor.

But, anyhow, I just wanted you to know that your current insurance will be extended for 18 months (though you will have to pay the full amount by yourself) if you are separated from your current job. And most states have a risk pool available for those who have run out of COBRA.