Hi all,
I am the caregiver for my mother who is currently on dialysis for PKD. There has been various times where I catch her sniffing paint or fumes from nail polish. She pours the nail polish into an empty medicine bottle and sniffs it until she coughs. Is this common amongst dialysis patients? Do you advise me to make her care team aware of this?
-sincerely a stressed daughter who is losing her shit.
I’m really struggling to move on after losing a job I gave nearly 10 years of my life to and I don’t know if I’m overreacting or if this really is as unfair as it feels.
I grew with this company. I showed up, stayed professional, and consistently went above and beyond. It wasn’t just a job to me it was part of my my routine for almost a decade.
Then something small turned into something that completely derailed my life.
I witnessed a coworker (someone I genuinely considered a friend) doing something they weren’t supposed to. They thought it would be a good idea to start stamping the walls and piece of work equipment with an ink stamp. It was removable, yes, but still not allowed. When the situation came up, I encouraged them to speak up and each time they refused to take responsibility. Not even a simple “it was me.”
Because no one came forward, the company escalated it, especially since the equipment belonged to corporate. I didn’t immediately speak up. I was conflicted. This was my friend, and at the same time, I didn’t feel it was my place to speak for another grown adult.
Eventually, I told the truth.
And I got fired.
Just like that, after nearly 10 years, it was over. Meanwhile, the person who actually did it never took accountability.
Since then, everything has felt like it’s fallen apart. This didn’t just hurt emotionally, it set me back financially in a real way. I lost my stability, my routine, and honestly, I’m just feeling lost. I’m behind on bills now and I have applied to so many jobs.
What’s made it even harder is realizing who this person really was. Someone I trusted completely avoided responsibility and, when confronted, reacted in a way that felt incredibly immature and manipulative, including making alarming statements about harming themselves and threatening to say “is it because I am gay that you are accusing me of doing this?” It put me in such an uncomfortable position and made the whole situation feel even more overwhelming.
I can’t stop replaying everything, wondering if I should have handled it differently or spoken up sooner.
Has anyone else gone through something like this? Being let go in a way that feels deeply unfair, while also losing trust in someone you thought was a friend?
How do you actually move forward from something like this emotionally and financially?
You read that right.
I worked for a company for nearly 10 years. Over that time, I grew with the organization and took pride in maintaining strong professionalism, often going above and beyond expectations.
At one point, I witnessed a coworker writing on a piece of work equipment (it was removable, but still inappropriate). When the situation came up after management made a complaint, they refused to take responsibility even for something as simple as admitting it.
Because no one came forward, the company escalated the issue, especially since the equipment belonged to the corporate office. I didn’t speak up right away, partly because this person was a friend and partly because I didn’t feel it was my place to answer for another adult. I stand by being an honest employee and once I was interviewed by my manager I felt it was only right to say what I knew.
When I eventually told the truth, I was the one who was let go for apparently not speaking up “soon enough” while the person responsible avoided accountability.
I’m left feeling hurt, disappointed, and angry. After dedicating so many years to this job, I feel like I’ve lost my routine and just feel a bit lost at the moment.
Has anyone else gone through something like this? How did you cope and start moving forward?