Sick Days

I too came from working for decades where if you were sick and took time off you were fired or at a minimum handed the worst possible tasks upon returning.

I'm not about to risk my safety and those around me by operating the vehicle if I'm sick. I've shut down for a couple days due to some bad chicken. My DM totally understood, they just kept me on the load and rescheduled it.

I'll share my experience with being sick on the road, but first I have to give props to PackRat. You are hilarious good sir!

In nine years I've been sick twice on the road. Here's how it was handled each time. For perspective, my home is in Texas. Many years ago while in Connecticut, I came down with serious flu like symptoms. I was miserable and called my dispatcher to tell them I had delivered my load but couldn't go on. I needed to rest for a few days. It was no problem. They told me to let them know when I was ready to roll. I got a hotel room for a few days and rested until I felt I could get back at it. There was no pressure and no conflict.

The second time was when we first started having the covid craze. I got extremely ill. I called my dispatcher and he got me a hotel room near a hospital. I stayed at the hotel five nights until I began to recover. This was before the testing was readily available. We never could confirm a diagnosis, but whatever went on during that five days left my heart damaged permanently. I could barely go up a flight of stairs slowly after that experience. My heart has improved since, but is still not near what it was like before that.

My company covered all the hotel expenses during that time. I just couldn't even get myself home I was so ill. If you are ill enough that you aren't sure its safe to drive, you need to communicate that information to your dispatcher. They will assist in getting you some relief. Nobody wants you driving when it's not safe.

I was at a receiver one time and got really sick. I thought it was food poisoning. I called dispatch and told them that I needed to go to the hospital. They were in full support. Called 911 and got an ambulance to me. I had the truck parked and waiting on for a dock door. I just locked up the truck and rode the ambulance to the hospital. I hadn't been able to sleep while waiting to be given a dock door assignment. The anticipation of waiting for that phone call just wouldn't allow me to fall asleep. I was only 3 months solo at that time, so that was part of the issue. Since then, I have learned to just shut off concern for the load when I need to get sleep. At the hospital, the doctor told me that I was dealing with exhaustion, dehydration, anxiety, and altitude sickness. He said the combination of all of those things had my body in a state of preparing to shut down. I got an IV of saline, a sedative to help me rest, and a low carb/high protein meal to help me recover. I had to buy a Lyft ride from the hospital to the receiver when I was released from the hospital. Company reimbursed me for the ride. Once I was unloaded, I drove to a truck stop and slept for a good 12 hours. On to the next load after that.

I won't drive if I don't feel well. Have a good rest