Do As I Say, Not As I Did

By Sandy Long

In my forty plus years in the trucking industry, I have known a lot of lady truck drivers. Many of us share the same bad habit, that of not wanting to take time to adequately take care of ourselves. How did this bad habit get started, upon reflection, from many sources.

When women started going more solo rather than run team, we had to work harder, longer, and be tougher than our brother drivers. We had to do this to overcome the attitude that we would take off five days a month, have to stop more, were too weak to hold up, and not be as productive as our brothers. We developed the habit of ignoring pain, periods, and fatigue, and just worked. We would show them!

Furthermore, many of us only had ourselves to depend on. If we did not work and run hard, we could not meet our financial obligations or get ahead. Added to that, many of us had family obligations, children, or other family that we were taking care of in one way or another. We could not slow down; others would suffer.

None of the above is not to say that our brother drivers do not do the same. They do, but not to the extent of us ladies. We all tend to make light of illness and not go the doctor when we should; though trying to make an appointment is hard for all truckers. We end up spending time in our sleeper or in a motel room, sicker than dogs, until we can crawl back in the truck and keep pushing. It all can have an accumulative effect on us.

I will admit, I was terrible about really taking care of myself. The last dozen years, that got worse instead of better. Well, of course, I did what I had to do to keep my CDL, but little beyond that. I disregarded medical advice other than diet and dodged going to specialists. Twelve or so years ago, took on the responsibility of taking care of my elderly mother, so my stress levels increased tremendously. I took no vacations except to stay home for a week with mom. Eventually I had to give up over the road and go regional to be home weekly, and I got sicker as I got older. I let things go until it cost me my truck driving career; my ticket got punched in February this year.

I had planned on retiring at sixty-five or sixty-six. I missed it by a year. I was not only devastated, I was not prepared financially for it. Hard to admit it was mostly my own dumb fault. Now I use a walker, have spent six weeks in the hospital so far, have unrepairable heart damage, and I am on dialysis. Do not feel sorry for me, I do not for myself. But I do accept responsibility for my own fate.

I am not the only one who does this by any means. A friend is driving with bone on bone in her knee. She says too many people will be affected if she stops to have it fixed. Several have been forced into retirement due to ignoring health issues too long … back problems, heart problems brought on by stress and poor diets, and unrepairable structural damage to their backs or joints.

Do as I say and go to the doctor if you need to do so. Take care of yourselves utilizing any means possible to do so. Take time off and away to relieve stress routinely and to make doctors’ appointments. Quit being so hardheaded. Yes, you may lose a couple of days of work. But without you, everyone suffers and things fall apart, you included. Please do not do as I and many of my sister lady drivers have done, and let things go too long. The results are not fun at all.

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DiAnna Ramsey - Monday, September 18, 2017
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Thank u for sharing!!

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