Read Dee’s Story

“I now have the best job in the world, one that allows me to tailor my days based on how I am feeling that day and because of this I am making a positive contribution to society”.

My name is Dee, and I am 52 years old. I have had back pain, neck pain and sciatica for over 10 years, I have had to learn to manage my pain to the extent that made working manageable. I graduated from university in 2018 as a teacher, I dreamt of being a teacher since I was a little girl. I couldn’t go to university in my early twenties as my parents were both ill and died shortly after. So, I was thrilled to have fulfilled my ambition to teach young children later in my life. 

I had just secured my first permanent contract at a large school and was due to start in the September as a Reception Teacher so was very busy in the summer holidays getting my classroom ready. One day, out of the blue my leg and back were hurting more than usual but I carried on doing household jobs. Whilst walking upstairs with a pile of clean washing I fell forwards and had a sharp pain running down my left leg. The pain intensified, my husband and son were worried so took me to A&E. They didn’t know what was wrong so gave me some codeine and sent me home. The next day or so I was struggling to walk across the room at home and had to hold on to furniture to balance myself. I then noticed my left foot was drooping and turning to the side. I tried to move it into a natural position but couldn’t, I also couldn’t move any of my toes, my ankle or lift the front part of my foot. I was very worried it was paralysed so went back to hospital. 

They did an x-ray which was clear, so I was referred to the Osteopath. As soon as the Osteopath saw my foot, he said I need to be referred to Neurology. I was referred to a Neurosurgeon, four months later the surgeon said he would operate on my lower spine. He said he couldn’t guarantee it would fix the foot drop, but it would most likely reduce the sciatic pain. The operation went well but it meant I needed time off work. I attempted to work for 2 weeks using crutches before my surgery and on my first day back I fell over with a young child in my arms. 

My confidence in myself and ability to do my job lessened with every day I went into work, it became untenable, so I had to have time off. It took several months to recover from the surgery, the headteacher held regular meetings with me to check on my progress. The head then started to apply some pressure on me about my future and returning to work. The meetings started to become a little more hostile, so I asked for my union representative to attend future meetings with me, she did and asked for reasonable adjustments to be made, the head said there were no adjustments they could make for me. I felt I was being pushed out, I asked my union representative if I was permitted to look for other jobs in smaller settings nearer to where I lived, and she agreed I could. I secured another job so resigned from the other school and got to work building my strength up.

As with the last position, I reached out to my new team and the head teacher and began to plan for the new academic year. I then received a call from my new head teacher to say they were withdrawing my job offer because I didn’t meet the essential criteria on the person specification. I couldn’t understand what had changed but felt it must be something which was put on the reference. I made a Subject Access Request, and it was true, the other school said I wasn’t capable of teaching.

I was utterly devastated. My lifelong ambition had been taken from me, and in the teaching world, any reference requests must go back five years. So, this meant I wouldn’t be able to set foot in another school as a teacher for over five years. I was devastated, very upset and felt like giving up with the world of work. My foot drop was still making me fall daily, even with a walking stick, but I got my motivation back and began to search for other jobs working with young people.

I now have the best job in the world, one that allows me to tailor my days based on how I am feeling that day and because of this I am making a positive contribution to society. I have a brace for my foot which I have had for about a year, but I only wear it when I go to unfamiliar places as it is uncomfortable to wear for long periods. I have four dogs and can now walk all four of them again together for short distances. I have thrown out all the shoes I can no longer wear, which was very difficult, and I am coming to terms with the fact that I will never be able to wear high heels again has been hard. I haven’t yet claimed for a blue badge (UK) because I am stubborn, but it is getting more difficult at work when I need to park and carry items to venues, so I am thinking now is the time I should probably apply for one. I have had several falls once in the middle of the road and more recently in the bath breaking several ribs, but I am determined I am not going to let this stop me from doing the things in life that make me happy and the things I need to do to keep me healthy.

I hope my story helps others to show that with grit and determination you can overcome life’s obstacles and learn to adapt your lifestyle, I’ve felt like giving up many times when I wake up at 5am every morning in pain and it taking four hours to get on top of the pain so I can be alert and ready for work at 9am as I don’t tell people there is anything wrong with my foot for fear of being treated differently. I have fallen over in public places when attending corporate venues to present our service to GPs, the wider NHS and educational services but I always dust myself off, wipe the tears and carry on!