When you have a child with special needs whether it is a physical or mental disability or if they have a chronic or terminal illness there come some problems that employers do not take into consideration. I am having this problem not with my soon to be ex employer. Eight years ago when my oldest son was diagnosed with epilepsy and my one year old daughter was being tested for everything from cystic fibrosis to cancer to see why she was having a failure to thrive. At the age of one she weighed about 16 pounds and the doctors were testing her to try to figure it out.
So in 2003 I was having difficulty getting off work for appointments or if my son had any seizure activity the day care would send him home. I made the choice to stay at home with the kids until their medical issues leveled out.
In 2004 I got a call from a company I had worked with previously to see if I wanted to start working again. I was leery there were too many medical things still happening and now my middle child was diagnosed with epilepsy also. The company offered me the greatest gift a chance to telecommute instead of working in a physical office. This was incredible timing we definitely could use the income but finding a competent daycare willing to have two epileptic children was very hard and very costly. I worked for that company for 3 years and then got laid off.
I was bummed but shortly thereafter my companies sister company called and offered me the same working environment. Because they had known me for the previous three years they knew the medical history of my kids and why I needed to work from home. They said that is the position I was being hired for so it was wonderful.
I was going to be able to still work from home and be there with my kids when they needed me. They were in school now but if the boys had any sort of cold, flu or any type of infection their likelihood of a seizure was increased so they had to be kept home and watched.
I had heard that my company who I was with for 4 years now was finally opening a Texas location. The office will be about an hour to an hour and a half away depending on traffic and I was not crazy about it but I was willing to do it. The only problem I had was when the kids were sick, or on vacation who was going to stay with them? My oldest son ages out of being able to go to daycare in June and because of his seizure activity still being high he is not able to be home alone so I would have to hire someone to come to the house for vacations and hope that the person could be on call also if there was a seizure problem. Well I am not a rich person so I could not afford to do that and would be barely breaking even by the time I paid gas and a daycare person at the house.
I did offer to go in to the office when the kids were in school but vacations I would need to telecommute and now all of a sudden it is just not an option.
What other options would I have but to stay home and hope for a miracle where I can work and still telecommute or a job where I could make money and pay for child care? Any suggestions?