Working from home?

[Iloveocean]

I had a question about working from home. I am a teacher and things are getting to the point that I may have to leave my job and stay home with my husband. Are any of you able to do a job at home while taking care of your spouse? My husband does not have ALS, he has a very rare immune disorder (40 published cases in the world) that resulted in major damage to his lungs, liver, GI system, and bones. He weighs only 86 lbs at 5'6" and is very weak. That's why I am here because there really is no support for us elsewhere and his symptoms are very similar to ALS, just takes much longer for them to set in. Thanks for any ideas!

 

[hopingforcure]

I was thinking maybe you could teach Cyber school or something like that, maybe that could help with an answer. My son is Cyber schooled and I find his teachers amazing, some also teach a self paced type of class, maybe that would be something you could do. I am sure you could at least have the stress lessen from being able to be were your husband is, can you get any respite care? I am sorry you are going through this, makes me realize people are dealing with tough situations everywhere, sometimes the rare diseases are just so horrible, hope we can help even a little.

 

[Katie C]

Another possibility might be tutoring, where students would come to you one on one, which would limit disruption in the house?

 

[Danijela]

Hi, I work in Higher Education. While I could probably mark some scripts at home and respond to emails, I know I would struggle to do academic research, write papers and meaningfully participate in academic life.

It depends on your workload and type of work, some form of distance learning course would work, I think. Dani

 

[Iloveocean]

I know people teach online I just don't even know where to start. I was going to take a class at an online school to see how other people do it. I don't know what the requirements are and what software there is out there etc. Danijela, thanks for your info, i know there are bunch of universities and colleges who have their courses online and wondered about that.

 

[joelc]

Contact some schools that are already doing it and see if they will employ you. I see this as being the best way to go.

 

[Iloveocean]

I will be taking an online speed reading class to help me with the avalanche of materials I have to get through on a regular basis ,to get myself familiar with online schooling, and to find out how an online class looks like. Someone told me though that working from home would be very difficult because I would not be able to do both the care and the work. They said it is simply too much. Does anyone have experience with that? I either have to find something that will provide health insurance and I can do from home or go on welfare in order to get Medicaid. No other alternative here.

 

[shelly2612]

darylwlenka, I have found that you do what you have to do to survive with these illnesses. If you have to work and do home care then thats what you will do. It won't be easy but it can be done.

 

[Ladyinn]

Shelly is right - you do what you have to do, and only later do you question how you did it.

My husband and I owned a bed & breakfast and boarded horses when he had a head bleed 6 years ago. He became "locked", with a feeding tube and a c-pap machine, wheelchair, etc. I was his primary caregiver until he died and didn't turn a reservation away the whole time.

People kept asking me if they could help and I said "no". Then they asked me how I was able to do it all. I didn't have an answer except to say "You do what you have to do".

Good luck. I look back at those years now, and I ask myself the same question "How did I do it all?"

I have all kinds of admiration and respect for CALS who are keeping the bills paid, the clothes washed, the shopping done, the meals made and the kids raised while caring for their PALS. I now am a PALS who knows what love it takes to hold things together while your heart is ripping apart and you are trying to prepare for the inevitable while hoping it is a bad dream and you will wake up.

Hugs,

 

[hopingforcure]

Do not let people tell you what you CANNOT do. I believe your a special CALS, and are capable of not only doing online teaching, but being an inspiration to your students and the families who love them. I think that the benefit of this option is the flexibility, sometimes my son says he will here family members in the background of his teacher's homes, and that only leads me to believe that some of them are doing this job in all different kinds of situations, mom, caregivers, dad's, semi-retired, you name it. I only care that they are caring, efficient, helpful to my son and love that they bring lots of different skills and background to his experience. You can do it..

 

[LizT]

are you wanting to work because you need the insurance? does your husband qualify for SSDI? If he does, then i believe as soon as he is aproved, he can then get medicare and any other state-issued help, ie: foodstamps, subsidised housing, medicaid, etc...
I dont know how it works for the spouse though. So sorry, maybe this is of no help at all.

 

[Iloveocean]

Thank you all for the replies. Liz at this point I earn too much for my husband to have Medicaid. In Mass to qualify for Medicaid for a couple last time I knew you had to earn under $16,000 combined income. We would barely make it with absolute basics but I would not be able to get him all the things that healthy people consider luxury but for us they mean the difference between extreme difficulty and bearable circumstances. I know you all know exactly what I mean. If I have to go that route I will. So far I am trying to avoid that and make his life as easy as possible. Plus any private insurance is million times better than Medicaid. Thanks for all the encouragement, I need it!

Today my boss asked me to supervise this boy one period per day who will be taking an online class and I am so excited! I will get to see how this particular company does the online teaching and I am thrilled. I also got a knitting machine last winter, not like I will be able to earn much knitting but it's better than nothing and for me it's strictly a fun thing that earns money. I was also thinking about training one of the dogs as bed bug sniffing dog. I hear you can earn a lot of money doing that. While that would take me away from home it would be for short periods with large return so I am considering that too.

Again, thanks for all the support. It's a completely different thing to hear it from those who have been through it and it makes me feel so much better about what's ahead.