lost and out of options

Hi. So I am new to this forum. I have always been able to figure things out for myself and so I avoided looking for advice or support but that has not worked and I find myself with no options left. I am over 700 lbs and in January I suffered a knee injury. Because of my size, they would not do surgery and instead just had me complete PT and rest. The knee has worsened and I have reached the point where I am being forced to resign my position at work due to my mobility limitations (I cannot perform all the job functions). I am committed to losing the weight and doing the work to get my knee better but I am facing a precipice. I will not have any work a month from now, I have no resources to sustain me and I do not think any one will hire me given my size and mobility limitations for any job that is not a work from home job. I guess I am just posting here to see if anyone has any advice or ideas? How does someone who is too large and is injured and cannot go to work support themselves? Are there any legitimate work from home jobs that exist? I have a graduate degree and am willing to work but my physical limitations are significant and I cant imagine anyone would hire me for a regular job. Prior to the knee injury I had started the weight loss journey with a surgery goal but the knee injury derailed that. I am still working to lose weight but I also know that is a long term goal and I do not know what to do between now and then. IF anyone has any advice, I am willing to try anything. Once I lose my job, I will not be able to afford rent and will be on the street. If I do not figure something out soon, I do not know what will happen. I know it is my fault I have gotten to this point and I am willing to do the work but I do not know what to do. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks everyone.

I was in a similar position and wound up applying for disability.  No surgeon will do any sort of knee surgery on someone of our weight, because the weight will undo all the benefits of the surgery.  I would suggest contacting a disability lawyer, as the majority of disability applications are routinely rejected by the government.  While it may be hard to do, you will also then be eligible for insurance, though it is not as good as what you will have with a job.  If you have a declared legal disability, then you are protected by laws in the workplace, as well.

As for work at home jobs, some dispatch jobs allow one to work at home with a computer, as do programming or web design.  No matter what happens, I wish you the best of luck. :)

Sorry it took me a few days to answer back. I did not report all the details in my first post. This injury first occurred several months ago. Due to my size, the doctors would not do a surgery and so they felt that through rest and PT, it would improve over time. I used FMLA to take 3.5 months off of work and just worked on PT and some part time computer based work from home. My job was very accomodating with the time off. The knee showed some improvement and my FMLA time had run out and so I made an attempt to return to work. They allowed me to return with modified duties with the understanding that I continue with PT and my knee would continue to improve. The problem was that once I was working a full day and doing PT, my knee stopped improving and actually started to deteriorate more. Because I have been with this company for 10 year and because they had been so supportive with me, I was honest with them that the knee was not improving as quickly as hoped and I had no time frame for when I might be able to return to full duty. Based on that, they said they would need to replace me. They are helping me with the long term disability paperwork and will support an unemployment claim as well. But everything is up in the air right now and I am just nervous. I also know this is going to be a long road back and am trying to prepare for that as well. That is why I reached out to all of you. To see if there is something more I can be doing to make sure I have some resources to help me as I begin this weight loss journey and work towards rehabbing my knee in some form. Thank you all for the advice thus far. Please any thing else will help.

I am so sorry you had to go through this.  I am glad they are at least helping out, they sound like great people.    The hardest part for us is waiting through times like this.  You seem like a stand-up guy...I wish you the best of luck and if I see anything (I help people with community resources at work) I will definitely send it your way. 

Hello and welcome.

First, I agree with the previous poster to apply immediately for disability.  It takes a long time for that to go through, but at your weight and with a knee injury, I think it'd be difficult for you to be denied.  Also, you should qualify for the Home Energy Assistance Plan (HEAP) to help pay for your electric/gas/home heating bills, and food stamps/medicaid depending on your income or lack thereof.

Secondly, would you mind sharing what your degree is in?  I ask because I have two telecommuting jobs and would be willing to share information if it's something you'd be qualified to do.  

I am truly sorry for your situation.  

Thank you both. I have started the disability process so I hope that will lead to something but I know it is a long road to approval so I am worried about the time between then and now. I have an undergraduate degree in Genetics/Microbiology but no real work experience in it (other than while I was an undergraduate) and then I also have a legal degree (a JD) which I have some work in but most of my work has been with non profit management. I am adept at learning new things quickly so I would consider any work and would be able to learn a new skill in a short time frame I believe but that is my background. Given my legal experience, I believe I can navigate the disability process and I have some friends who work in that field in other states so I have reached out to them as well. Meep, is there a reason you think I need to hire a disability attorney specifically or do you think my general legal experience (I have no direct experience with disability law) would be sufficient to guide me through the process? Thank you both for your advice so far

I agree with the previous two posters: can you take family medical leave?

Disability lawyers routinely know the judges that work on the cases, at least here in Illinois, and that was hugely helpful in my case.  The judge decided the appeal without even having a hearing very expediently because she knew my lawyer and decided it very quickly.  They also do all of the running around for you.  I had thousands of pages of medical files by the time I was approved, and I was so ill I could not do it myself.  I did not have the connections, the health, or the ability to do it at that time.  Also, since you already have legal experience it is different, certainly.  Psychology and biology are my background and not law.  If it was counseling law then I'd be better able to answer, ha. I'm not a lawyer so it's difficult to say... you know yourself far better than I, certainly.

Be prepared for denial once or twice unless you are lucky, though.  I have five chronic illnesses plus the obesity and they denied my first application, anyway.  I needed my energy to focus on getting my life in order anyway.

Have you ever considered seeing if you can do technical writing at home?  You certainly have the scientific and writing background (from law) for it.  It might be a good way to get contracting work to tide you over.

I wouldn't resign....  If you can go out on sick lave if they say you can't work. Eventually if you don't come back they will let you go but that will help the disability case.

I agree wiypth nymom. Why resign?