Hello my Mum died on Monday after 12 years of dementia. I feel I have spent so many years grieving for the person she used to be . I was going to go back to work today but decided against it , or Monday coming. I am entitled to 5 days I think. I just don’t know what to do, some people are telling me to go for a doctor’s line. I am a teacher with a lot of commitments and it’s hard for others to provide cover etc. I have been sending cover work every day - one of my colleagues was off for a day after her Mum, another 6 months . Any advice- thanks in advance.
I’m an ex teacher, left the profession in July because it’s such a time and life consuming job, with many stresses that is mentally and emotionally draining. I needed more time to spend with my parents that I didn’t have working in teaching. I got another job and started in Aug. Dad deteriorated rapidly with his cancer and died in Oct. Mum couldn’t cope and she died unexpectedly in Dec. I’m so glad that I had left teaching because like you, I would have put the children and my colleagues before myself. You need to look after yourself because you can not be there fully for your class if you’re not taking care of yourself. You might think you are OK, but think about if a pupil acts up, or a parent complains over something trivial or petty, or management piles on your workload or makes unreasonable requests - think about how would you cope? It doesn’t take much to be pushed over the edge. Please don’t compare to your colleagues and how much time they had off. Look after yourself.
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Hi
Thanks so much for replying, it certainly puts things into perspective. You are totally correct about everything. I am sorry for the loss of your parents. I did not mention in my post but my husband was also diagnosed with cancer in October. He has had an operation to remove a lot of it but it’s a rare thyroid cancer which will require lifelong monitoring and treatment. I am trying to maintain normality but it’s hard. I also have two teenage children.