Profile For Ahmalia

Ahmalia - how are you doing girl?

It's always great to hear from you! I'm thrilled to see you're still in the game. That means you're healthy and still able to drive these beautiful big rigs.

It's really great to see you in here!

Hanging in there. Just Trucking right along. Last year when I went for my physical they made me do a sleep study and then determined I had to have a CPAP machine answer 30 days of usage before they would renew my med card. 30 days off with no pay and then I go back in only to have a different doctor tell me the test results show I do not need a CPAP machine. Which I knew all along. But that little Fiasco cost me about 6K between lost wages and paying for tests and equipment I didn't need. But while I was off for that 30 days they had me fill in at the dispatch window and what I learned from that experience is that I do not miss office work and that I will drive a truck until I'm physically unable to do so anymore. I have no patience for drama and BS.

So what are you up to these days?

Just checking back in. It's been awhile. Joined up back in 2012 when I decided to become a truck driver. For any newbies I highly highly recommend the CDL practice course on here.

So, I am still with Swift. For the last two years I have been on a dedicated shuttle Fleet. That means I pick up at our yard in Kansas City and drive to St Louis where I meet another driver at a truck stop and we swap loads. Then I bring that load back to our yard. This is Monday through Friday overnight. So I'm home every night, well everyday, and off on the weekends.

Anyway, just saying hi. 😊

My main concern was that warehouses and distribution centers were going to start closing down causing a lack of freight. And that could potentially still happen I suppose. But at the moment with all the panic buying of toilet paper we actually have more freight than usual for this time of year.

Thanks all!! Yes I was very worried DOT was going to deny me forever. It was a HUGE relief. And Swift has been amazing through all of this. They could have terminated me last year and told me to reapply if/when my cdl was reinstated. Instead they kept me employed and while I was on leave without pay, that did keep my medical insurance in place. Considering I had 3 major surgeries, physical therapy, and tons of tests in my quest for a diagnosis, this was extremely beneficial.

Just a little side note. During one of those medical tests it was determined that I have an extra lumbar spine. Meaning most people have L1 through L5 but I have an L6. Of course I immediately asked if that could have caused my numbness issue, and was told no. I asked if it could cause me issues of any kind and was told no. So I said basically what you are telling me is I have an extra spinal bone? And the doctor said yes. So then I replied, then how come I'm not taller? LOL

Anyway, like I said, it's great to be back! Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and support.

And I'm back. Medically cleared, cdl reinstated, and right back on the dedicated fleet. It was a long rough stressful year, but I'm glad to be back. I was also happy to discover truck driving is like riding a bike. Especially since when I walked into the terminal I was literally handed a set of keys to a truck and told to go pick up a load. No refresher course or Road training or anything. So I was a little nervous having not driven for a year. But I've been back at it 3 weeks now and it's like I was never gone. And what is really cool is all of the places I'm delivering to a lot of which I have not been to in over a year or more and the people there are greeting me with where the hell have you been? It's nice to be remembered. :-)

Just popping back in with an update. Thyroid surgery went fine and the nodules were benign so not cancer. Went to renew my license as my birthday is tomorrow so it was due for renewal and found out it was automatically downgraded to class D when DOT put the hold on my med card. I have to present a valid med card by May 15 to get my class A reinstated. Otherwise I will have to retest to get my cdl back. I'm not sure what date I can go get my physical done to get my med card back because I think May 15th is the date DOT put the hold on it. I am working on getting all of my medical records for the last year together because I have a feeling I will need to present that to the doctor doing my physical. And I want to be prepared because I don't want any more delays in getting me back out on the road.

Well, the good news is still no further issues with numbness. The bad news is I have a rapidly growing nodule on my thyroid that is resulting in my getting to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital, as the surgery to remove my thyroid is scheduled for the day before. Apparently the nodule is very close to my carotid artery, so of course my first question was, could this have caused my numbness issue last May? The answer was, possibly, but nobody is will to put that on paper for DOT.

Thanks, Brett. And who knows, maybe after dealing with my family constantly for the next 8-9 months, I'll WANT to go back OTR for awhile LOL. But also if Swift won't let me return to the dedicated fleet, I'm fairly sure I can find a job elsewhere for local driving. At least I hope so, don't know how potential employers would view me coming off a medical hold. But I'll definately keep ya'll posted on how DOT handles my situation, so if something similar happens to a TT driver in the future, ya'll will have a little more info.

Hey ya'll. OK, so update on me. I'm still on a one year medical hold per DOT, even with all doctors releasing me to return to work. My understanding is since I don't have an official diagnosis on what caused the numbness, it is a mandatory one year hold through DOT to wait and see if it happens again. My fear at this point is if nothing else occurs medically, will I be reinstated next year, or can DOT say without an official diagnosis I can never return to driving. I don't know. Medically I have had nothing else occur since the original episode.

In regards to employment, I am still technically employed by Swift, as I was approved for an 18 month medical leave under the American with Disabilities Act. The good news is that keeps my medical insurance in place, as long as I continue to pay the $67 per week. The bad news is of course it is leave without pay. Also, there is no guarantee if/when I return to Swift that I will be allowed to return to the dedicated fleet I was on. While my 2 years OTR was an adventure, after being on a dedicated fleet for 2 years where I was home every night and off on the weekends, I don't want to go back OTR. Of course, this is all up in the air until next May.

In the meantime, I have been drawing unemployment which ends this week. I have applied at and been interviewed by numerous companies in the last three months, with no job offers so far. The problems being that potential employers want to know why I would leave the job I had. When I tell them I'm on a medical hold, that scares them off. When I tell them I'm planning to return to driving, that scares them off. When I tell them I may not return to driving, that doesn't work either. Its very frustrating. However, my brother owns a bar and grill and just had some cooks quit/get fired, so I'll be filling in there starting next week. Nowhere near the money I made driving, but I think I'll be able to survive until next May.

Anyway, I'm hanging in there. Just wanted to pop in and give ya'll an update.

Thank you Brett. I know I did the right thing but like you said, it's hard to not regret it a little right now. But I'll get through this and hopefully next May I'll get my med card back and be back out there.