Health Issues and the budget

 Apparently focusing on the positive isn't enough to keep bad things from happening. The day after my last post my MTW 'assistant' came down with shingles and missed those work days. Did the boss suggest a substitute come in? No. Did she suggest I get more time to do all the work? No. <sigh>.  Instead I rounded up my TH-F assistant to give me a hand on Monday and Wednesday and did everything myself in my new shorter hours on Tuesday. I know we all have problems at work and that this was relatively minor given everything else I've dealt with the last couple of months.
And then the other shoe dropped. I woke up last Sunday with a suspicious rash on my torso that felt mildly 'stingy'. Everything I read about shingles led me believe this was not them. The rash wasn't painful and you have to have skin to skin contact to contract them from someone else which I did not have obviously. I went to work on Monday even though the rash felt a bit like a mild sunburn.  I began to worry so I got together with the school nurse and the principal who insisted I go to the ER and be checked out. Better safe than sorry. And they were right. I did indeed have a mild case of shingles. The ER doctor was awesome (helped that middle daughter is their evening unit co-ordinator and she called in and spoke to staff before I arrived) and said it was good that I'd come in right away (which in all fairness I would not have if the assistant hadn't had them). I am on a 10 day course of an anti-viral and I had a three day "vacation" from work until they all scabbed over . And the staff is now better informed about the causes of shingles (chicken pox virus+stress and/or fatigue). The really horrible part is that the medication cost me a whopping $163. ACK. I also realized that the diocese does not issue prescription cards unless  you call and ask for them (?????). I phone call has been made and as soon as I have the card in hand I can return with it and the receipt to the pharmacy for a partial reimbursement of what I paid out.
Of course this unexpected expense left me without enough in my checking account to cover some bills that are due. We are running so very close to the line with the cut in hours that any little thing is going to be a major thing. I spoke with GF about a short term loan. He had another idea. Instead of loaning me the money I'd spent on meds (not to mention the copay at the ER) he offered to pay me $200 to do some major cleaning at his house. I'd much rather earn the money than be in debt so I jumped on the idea.
So today I will be doing a big clean at his place and another one later in the month in addition to cleaning out the coat closet in preparation to him once again putting the house on the market.
I also filled out and mailed in an application for a seasonal guest services job at the zoo and am pursuing a couple of other seasonal leads. Contracts for next year will be in our mailboxes tomorrow. If inclined please say a prayer that I get one, I am not entirely sure that will happen ( I did after all miss three days of work with the shingles and they can't cut anymore of my hours and still have lunch program so what else is left to punish me with?).  If it does appear I will move on to looking for something part time to make up what I've lost in pay due to the cut hours. If not I will cross that bridge when I get to it.