Workplace Flexibility – This Week It Was Personal

I am lucky enough to have a great group of friends and family who read this blog to support me.  So if they read a November post they learned that my daughter had a heart murmur and were understandably concerned (I have quite a family history with heart disease.)  That was a tough couple of days…and then we had more in January.

You see pre-schoolers aren’t the most cooperative patients sometimes.  They don’t really like to sit still and for some tests you can’t be crying…well…she wouldn’t stop crying.  So in January we spent lots of time in the Cardiac wing of Boston’s Children’s Hospital (3 separate 1/2 day appts in all) to try to get an echocardiogram to find out what was up…finally we knocked her out and got some pictures.  Then there was the 2nd opinion appointment which thankfully was in the same hospital as the doctor’s office I needed to drop off the pictures for our 3rd and final opinion.  (Did I mention my scary family history with heart disease?)

Now it is June and we spent 1/2 day yesterday meeting all the great people who are currently fixing my daughter’s heart as I write…it will be another long day.   Today is the procedure followed by a lot of laying around without moving…again not my little one’s forte so I hope they have some sedatives standing by…for both of us!  And tomorrow we’ll need to keep her fairly calm as well…clearly another day where work productivity will suffer.

What is my point other than a pity party or a parental pat on the back? Actually, it’s neither, it’s to thank my lucky stars that I make my own hours, am accountable to me only and can spend my time being exactly where I need to be throughout this process.   I cannot imagine how people who do not have understanding workplaces or paid sick time could go through something like this.   And while this is an incredibly major event in our lives, it is a minor procedure compared to some of the other comings and goings in this hospital today.

I also thank my lucky stars for my husband and his career choice.  He is a financial consultant and because of some recent news stories, it may surprise you to know that he has an amazingly flexible work life.  Yes, when he is needed for the client he is on and works upwards of 70 hours/week, often in a different city than the one we live in.  But there are also weeks when he is between clients and while he may have a meeting or two, or some work to do…he is home, at the playground, on a date with me, or hanging out with friends just enjoying his free time.  And he has not missed 1 minute of the tests, doctor appointments, or hospital meetings during this whole process.

Of course, our child’s welfare is a priority in our lives…that is not a surprise…the surprise is that we do not feel pressured by our work lives to do anything other than be right here, right now as needed with no repercussions.  Don’t get me wrong…our life has tradeoffs – but that’s why I really don’t like using the term “work life balance.”  Because it isn’t about balancing…it’s about being able to manage our commitments and working in a supportive environment that trusts we’ll know how to choose what is needed of us…both personally and professionally.

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Now for all of you friends and family…we just saw the Doctor and heard “It went fine.”  She’s sleeping it off and will be out for us to make a fuss over her very soon.

What’s next? Next Sunday my family and I will be participating in the 7th Annual Harbor Walk/Run in memory of my father and as thanks to the amazing heart transplant team that made it possible for him to meet his granddaughter.

And then? In about a month we’ll have at least one more 1/2 day appointment for an echocardiogram check up.   Who knows if it will take as many tries to get the test done this time.   If it does…we’ll be there every step of the way…with the encouragement of our employers.