Snow in Newberg, OR

We got snow for the second year in a row. It is amazing. The poor tree has not seen snow for over 4 years and now it gets it two years in a row. Snowman was my roommates idea.

Christmas 2009 Family

Here is some pics of my family during the Christmas 2009 holiday. The two girls older one Brianna, then Sydney and my step grandson Ryleigh. Then the father Raul putting together a transformer (not like the ones when I was a kid) Michelle the kids Mother and the Pumpkin Roll for desert,

My Christmas Tree

This is my big Christmas Tree. A whole 2 feet tall. Pull out of box and plug in. Unplug and put back in box. Yup my kind of Christmas Tree.

Sissy Loves Watermelon

This is my Pug Sissy, Eating Watermelon

Another of the dogs playing together.

Dog decides to play

Here is Johns dog and my dog learning to play together.

Moving to Southern Oregon

Well, by the end of this year or the beginning of spring I will be moving out of the area of Newberg and to the area of either Culp Creek OR or Sunny Valley, OR depending on whether or not my home is built or not. If my home is not built, I will be moving to Culp Creek, OR out in the boonies and in with my mother. If my house is built, I will be moving directly down to Sunny Valley, OR. Of course, built means with a toilet indoors especially if it is the middle of winter!

Grandkids

Heres a picture of my four grandchildren. From left is Dakota age 5, Sydney age 6, Brianna age 8 and Ryleigh age 7.

New to Family

Well, I have a new addition to my family. I now am proud owner of a Rott/Lab mix age 12, a Manchester Terrier age 11, a Pug/Shitshu mix age 8, a SharPei/Lab mix age 6 and now a Shitshu/Laspa age 1-1/2.

My Best Friend

This is my best friend I see every six years

My Backyard

1st view of my back yard

2nd view of my back yard

My Back Yard 2

This is the second part of the property where I am moving.  This part of my back yard has all the running area I need for my large dogs along with a creek you cant see.

After the Psychi Eval Results

Well needless to say, Not going to work, I feel lost. I used to enjoy going to work and visiting with friends and such, now TriMet has not only taken away my ability to do my job, they have taken away my social interaction as well. I looked forwards to breaks because I got to see all my friends and each new sign up I got to see friends I had not seen in a while. This TriMet has taken from me with the job. So far Short Term Disability has not kicked in and I have an appointment with a Pshyci with a MD behind her name. Maybe she can get this whole thing fixed and I can come back to work.I still can not see how TriMet can say that I am not safe, I have not had an accident, customer complaint, or even a ticket! None of this started until after my son had passed away. I guess grief is not a consideration with the company any more. Anyway to all of you that I don't see anymore, I do miss seeing and visiting with you all. Luci

Results of Pshyci Evaluation

Here are the results of the Pshyci Evaluation (Copied from Letter)

Dear Operator Abernathy,

You recently requested accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in a meeting with Human Resources on October 1, 2008, for various medical and mental health conditions including Bipolar Disorder, ADHD, with severe depression and grief due to the loss of your son.  The medical information from your Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner also indicated you have symptoms of PTSD including flashbacks, high anxiety, hyper vigilance, mood swings, and frequent poor sleep.  In November 2008 we provided you a reasonable accommodation as outlined in Human Resources November 24, 2008 letter.

You met with Dr Harris on December 1, 2008 related to your required DOT exam in order to hold a valid CDL.  At that time Dr Harris felt your emotional health was stable and medically cleared you for the remainder of two years.  On December 18, 2008, after informing Dr Harris your emotional difficulties had improved, you were seeking assistance from your Assistant Manager, Greg Larson, for time off work as needed in order to attend support group meetings when you were emotionally upset, and you requested the time loss be protected due to your disability.  You also requested accommodation in a January 14th email to Human Resources that you were emotionally upset on Dec 15th, 24th, and 29th and requested the protection time to cover the absences relating to yhour disability.  While you indicated to Dr Harris that you were feeling much better, it appears that your disability was still not well managed.  You had also requested November 1st and Dec 23 but later rescinded your request because you determined those absences were not related to your disability.

On January 16, 2009, you, Bruce Hansen, Human Resources and Ruth met to continue the ADA interactive process related to your requests for additional protected time off from work due to your disabilities.  During our discussion you indicated that you did not feel that you were safe driving the bus when you were emotionally upset.  Specifically, you stated that you were continuing to experience dreams that triggered your emotions, and caused you to feel stressed and upset to the point that you suffered migraine headaches brought on by crying.  You stated that you didn't want to come in to work at times when you felt upset and emotional.  You were afraid that you might "cause an accident" if expected to work at times when you were upset, and you didn't want anything to happen to you or your customers.  We share your safety concerns about your ability to safely operate the bus.

On January 28, 2009 Ruth met with you, along with Human Resources, Bruce Hansen, to discuss concerns related to your statements that you felt unsafe to operate the bus at time when you were experiencing stress or emotional upset.  In that meeting we advised you that you were required to participate in a independent evaluation by a mental health professional to determine whether you are fit for duty and before you would be allowed to return to work, and whether there is a reasonable accommodation for your disability.  In regards to your request for protected time off from work, an essential function of the bus operator position is regular work attendance. A person with a disability as defined by the ADA must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without accommodation.

On Wednesday, February 4, 2009 you met with Dr Larry Friedman and completed the independent medical evaluation.  On Tuesday, February 10, 2009 following your appointment with Dr friedman, he contacted Human Resources to report his findings.  In addition to your mental health issues, you have some ongoing medical conditions that are of concern and may impact your ability to safely perform your job as a bus operator.  Dr Friedman informed TriMet that your mental and physical health conditions, disabilities and prescriptions are not well-coordinated between your medical providers and psychiatric nurse practitioner.  TriMet has been advised that you are not currently able to return to your duties as a bus operator.  Based on the information we received from your nurse practitioner and Dr Friedman, you are required to complete the following steps to assist you in resolving your prescriptions, medical and mental health conditions and so that you are able to return to work fit for duty.

1.  You are expected to seek a psychiatrist to manage the full range of your prescriptions and mental health conditions.  In order to expedite this process you will need to sign a medical records release form allowing Dr Friedman to communicate with your doctor.  It is your responsibility to obtain the appropriate medical care for your conditions.

2.  When you have fulfilled the requirements of medical treatment you will need to authorized your treating psychiatrist to communicate with Dr Friedman, Dr Harris and TriMet that you are fit for duty and released to return to work.  It will be necessary for Dr Friedman and Dr Harris to concur with your doctor that you are fit for duty before you will be allowed to return to work.

3.  At the time that you are found to be fit for duty and ready to return to work it will be necessary for you to meet with me and establish the conditions that will apply following your return to duty.

Effective Wednesday, February 18, 2009, you will be taken off Paid Administrative Leave and you will be placed on Family Medical Leave due to your health condition, which will protect your time off work for up to 12 weeks.  You will be compensated under the normal conditions of this leave (sick pay, vacation pay, etc).  Currently you have 8 hours of paid sick time remaining in your leave bank.  You will be eligible for extended sick leave in accordance with the provisions of the Working and Wage Agreement (WWA) once your sick bank is exhausted.  Included with this letter is the appropriate FMLA/OFLA form that you will need to complete and return to Cynthia Kodachi in our Benefits Office.  For your convenience, I have also included the extended sick leave application, which you can return directly to Standard Insurance.

I will be out of the office, returning February 23, 2009.  If you have questions, concerns or would like to meet to discuss this letter, please contact Gregory Donavon and he will assist you.

Sincerely,

I will publish my feelings to this letter soon.

 

Pshyci Eval Results

Today is saturday, Feb 14. One of the Assistant Station Managers called me today to inform me of a meeting set aside for Feb 17 at 11am. I asked him if I was going to go to work tue evening, he said no. I asked if I was going to go to work on wed, he said no. Then I asked him if I was going back to work, a question requiring either a yes or no answer, he hemmed and hawed around not answering the question at all. More to follow after the meeting on Tuesday.

Pshyci Evaluation

LUCI'S PSYCI EVALUATION

First thing that is done when I reported to the Psychirist office is we talked for about two hours about my life things that had happened in my life far back as I could remember.  After this part was over he decided I think that my behavior was related to grief from my sons abrupt passing.  Got a break then I got to fill out a short questionnaire of about 15 questions.  Then I to go into this little office with a woman who was to administer the tests listed below, not necessarily in the order that I put them in. Pictures are additional tests.

Test one - you are read a list of about 15 words then asked to recite as many as you remember.  After they have read you this list three times and you have recited all the words you remember they then again recite the list with more words in it and you have to tell them if the word was or was not in the original list.

Test two - you are given four or five cartoon cards in sets one set at a time and you have to put them in order of events.

Test three - you are shown several pictures one at a time and expected to tell what is missing.

Test four - you are read some numbers and letters in mixed up order and you are expected to put them in order numbers first then letters alphabetically.  This starts out with a combination of four and more are added as you get the next string of letters and numbers read to you.

Test five - you are given a number and told to either add or subtract a number until they say stop.  Remember accuracy and speed are your best friends. Example 72 take 6 away until they say stop - 72-6=66-6=60-6=54=6=48 etc. No paper or pencil for these.  They must be done in your head.

Test six - Several history questions - I cant even remember the questions except the one “Who is Cleopatra” which I could not answer.

Test seven - Vocabulary - They give you several words which you are expected to supply a meaning for. Example “Happy” “Compassion” and other words like these.

Test eight - They give you a word and you have to give the opposite word for the one they give. Example high- low, big- small, etc.

Test nine - You are given a picture to copy using different colors which they change at will (Sample D).

Test ten - They put down four cards, 1-blue circle; 2 yellow stars; 3 green triangles; and 4 red squares.  Then they give you a stack of cards to put down in order under these, however they can not tell you in which order they are suppose to go down, matching color, shape or amounts.  After every 3-4 row of cards the sequence changes without you knowing until you have put a card down incorrectly. Then you are told that’s incorrect and you go on to the next card.  I think this test is designed to see how quickly they can frustrate you.

Test eleven and twelve - you are shown a picture for ten seconds then the picture is taken away and you are to draw the picture.  This is done three times. (Sample A & D) These tests are not done together.

Test thirteen -:

QWERTY2DFGHJ7TGHNM2GHNJM,7YUHJK,L.7CVBUJMDFCGHJKILKHF2DVGF7KJFSXFDGHN2POKJDFGHNMLDFHJNMFCVKMDHBNREDIKXCCVBNMVCTGEX27NDFSDFCVB7POKHGR

MXVGBXJDMCHVMFKDNXHJPOKJHBV2POIKJHGF2POIKJHGBV7POKJ

123452234567890709876543234567899383645857456362375394576439202826474895494847647494303022120239384948362840476202936494920927047365382020284758523965

This goes on like this for about 20 sets three rows per set, one scans through each of these and puts a slash on all the 2’s and 7’s.

Test fourteen - You are given four blocks (Sample C) and expected to make the blocks look like the picture.  Then you are given all nine blocks and expected to make them look like the pictures shown.

Test fifteen - The picture with numbers on it you are expected to draw the symbols below the number in the little box using the line above with the numbers and symbols below them as a legend.  This is the test you cant go back on and redo if you skipped over a number. (Sample B)

These tests are not administered in order.  My way of identifying each test is by numbering them.  All of the tests except the draw pictures are timed.  The drawings are timed on how long it takes to finish the picture.  In each picture you are given the picture to look at for 10 seconds then it is taken away.  You are expected to draw the picture as you remember it.  You get three tries.

Then comes the worse test of all. . . 334 questions to answer before going home!  All questions relate to what ones personality is like.