Then it dawned on them; that at some point in the department’s past, employees could “donate” their sick leave. And as these are guys who would go to work with a broken femur — and probably not mention it — they had a lot of sick time to give.
So, that is what they set out to do.
“For me, it was one of the best things they could have ever done,” says England, 56, who gets a little choked up when talking about the kindness of his fellow workers. “They don’t know how much it means to me.”
Anthony Trotter, who works alongside England, says when he saw his friend start taking a turn for the worse, they began discussing options.
“He got in pretty bad shape after he was diagnosed, and he has been having to go to Atlanta to take treatments,” adds Trotter who, alone, has amassed 2-300 hours of sick time. “He (England) burnt up of his sick time up…It’s our time, and I don’t’ ever take any of my sick days off. I just try to tough it out. We’ve got some out there that’s got over 1,000.”
However, the grand notion is not quite a done deal.
Road Superintendent Jerry Burgess, who was onboard to swap from the start, took the idea before the County Commission because the county no longer allowed for such swaps. The change in the law passed on first reading and is scheduled to go before second and final reading at the County Commission’s next meeting.
Meanwhile England pushes on. After being treated at Vanderbilt, he decided on seeing oncologists at Cancer Treatment Centers of America — five hours away in Atlanta.
“I have taken either four or five treatments (gemcitabine chemotherapy) down there already, and I have got to take two more and then they are going to run tests on me to see what it’s done,” says England who says he “heads out” on Thursday night, and so needs at least that Friday to make the trip.
Those sick days don’t include the days England is simply too drained from the illness, meds and the chemo treatments to go to work.
“It pulls me way down. It feels like you are in slow motion. I have felt like this ever since February,” England says.
England used up all of his sick time and “went as far as he could go,” he says.
Phillip Littleton, one of the department’s mechanics, said time was a commodity the guys could certainly trade.
“We can do that …. I think I’ve got something like five weeks. I mean I don’t know that I would donate it all,” says Littleton laughing. “But that’s how much I’ve got built up.”
No one knows yet how many days the group will need to donate, but from many accounts it might be quite a few; pancreatic cancer is one of the most punishing of all cancers because it is rarely found in the early stages and has a harsh treatment protocol.
“There are days I have to take so many pills so many days and so many other pills another day, and that’s what gets me through this mess,” says the Charlotte resident, adding that he had not been to work in three weeks.
When he does back, England will likely receive a warm welcome from his friends at work who seem to be very grateful they might have something to give.
“I will tell you one thing; they are the best guys one could ever work with,” Garland says.
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