What to do if I am sick and can't drive myself home?

Question

I have celiac, and if I ingest gluten, about 2-3 hours later I will suddenly get sick. I'll spare you the details; suffice to say I will be unfit to drive for several hours, and unable to work the rest of the day. By "suddenly", I mean that I would probably not make it home even if I left immediately when I started feeling bad. (My current commute is 40-60 minutes. I've second guessed symptoms before and thought it was a false alarm, ten minutes later... nope.)

I'm worried that one day I'll go out to lunch with my coworkers and my order will get screwed up somehow. I try to be careful, but this has happened multiple times (most recently with a restaurant that claims to specialize in gluten-free cooking!).

To address the obvious:

• I don't have local friends or family who could come pick me up
• I don't want to be sent to a hospital, as there's no point (the one time I went, they just gave me some fluids and a large bill)
• For the purposes of this question, assume none of my coworkers will offer to drive me home. (It's entirely possible someone would, but I haven't asked anyone in advance - would that be a good idea or too imposing?)
• I am not willing to never eat out. As bad as this sounds, it's only happened ~5 times in the last 4 years, so I feel it's worth the risk rather than missing out on team bonding.

How can I best prepare for and handle the rare occurrence of dealing with the repercussions of consuming gluten at work?

Answer 1

At my previous job I had a coworker with a similar problem to yours. On the few occasions when he ate something that made him sick, no one on our team was anything but sympathetic as he spent the majority of the afternoon looping from his desk to the bathroom and back.

So one solution would be to stop worrying about what your colleagues think, and just go to the bathroom as required. If you still get work done inbetween, all the better.

Ideally, talk to your manager about this in advance, and possibly inform some coworkers you trust, so they will understand what is going on when it happens.

Answer 2

Unless you have a very close friend at work I would leave this to someone outside of work.

If you ask someone when you are in this condition, this is something that you are putting on someone, as it will be hard to say no. And if they do drive you home and you get sick and it makes them sick... well that is not a good experience. And they may feel sorry for you but also may associate you with negative things - even though that isn't your fault.

I would call a taxi. Or I would just wait it out. If your condition is that bad I would also not "chance" eating out. I personally eat out at lunch 3-4 times a year. If you have a condition I would refrain from taking chances given that you are so far away from your work. It certainly isn't like you are asking for a 10 minute drive you are asking someone to cart you an hour away then go back to their home. If it is a close friend they might do it a few times a year, if it isn't a close friend you got way too personal too quick and maybe have put that person in a very awkward position.

Answer 3

You should consult your company policy for this.

For my company, it says that if the employee is not able to get home safely due to various reasons (e.g. too late, bad weather, drinking on company events), They should take taxi home and the expense will be reimbursed.

If there is no company policy on this, you should bring it up to your manager and/or HR so they will be aware of the issue, and potentially cover this situation in the policy.

Answer 4

I might look into hotels close to you. Renting a hotel room for several hours (or even the night) might be a good way to avoid having to impose on your coworkers.

Answer 5

I don't know how common this is in the US, but it might be worth checking if your company has a first aid room.

In my own work environment (research institutes in Germany) this is a very standard thing to have in almost every building. The first aid rooms are equipped with a medical couch to lie down. These rooms are not exclusively for first aid after accidents, but they are also explicitly meant to provide a temporary privat space for recovery in case of a sudden illness. In some cases a different room (e.g. a library or storage) might double as the first aid room.

If such a room exists, I would suggest to check it out in advance. Find out if it is freely accessible. See if there is a sink and how far it is to the nearest toilet. Depending on your own needs you might even be able to add more equipment (e.g. sick bags).

Also find out who is responsible for the first aid room. The same person has likely also gotten some first aid training and (if they volunteered for the job) is probably not one of the most squeamish of your coworkers. In the case of a sickness tell them that you are going to lie down, whether to call someone or not, and if you would like to be checked on or are fine on your own.

I think knowing of a good place to retreat to for a few hours might often be preferable to taking a long car ride home immediately (even if not driving yourself).

Answer 6

If it were me, I'd have a few trusted co-workers on the ready. But maybe your relationship with them isn't good enough and that's why you don't want them to see you like that.

I'd probably always bring my lunch from home to minimize the chance of problems.

It makes sense to take a taxi home until you are feeling well enough to come back and get your car.

Answer 7

Modern American office redesigns often include, along with the traditional men's and women's group restrooms, one or two larger single-occupancy restrooms to collectively accommodate those with disability issues, non-binary gender, privacy desires, and associated issues. Commandeering a single-occupancy bathroom for a few hours would be much less disruptive to your co-workers than spending that time being sick in a restroom shared with all co-workers of your gender. (I'm assuming American restroom patterns here.) You may wish to suggest this the next time your office is remodeled or moved.

As a shorter term solution, the suggestion offered elsewhere of a nearby motel room may be cheaper and safer than taking a cab home and back the next day.

Answer 8

My current commute is 40-60 minutes
Are there other options I could consider?

Yes, move closer to the workplace, or (as Grzegorz Oledzki points out) find a workplace closer home.

Answer 9

To an extent, this should be something you can put on the restaurant.

You asked for a meal that would not make you unfit to drive*. They have instead delivered a meal that makes you unfit to drive.

If the most you're asking from them is that they pay for your taxi home and back, they're getting off light.

Beyond that, this is a medical condition. You shouldn't be ashamed to ask for gluten-free, it's an option on most menus. And if you were suddenly taken ill for another reason and had an anaphylactic attack, your colleagues would be anxious to help you.

Bottom line, if you have an active condition that requires you to seek help, seek help. Don't be afraid to mention it in vague terms as in "I'd like to come to lunch, but if they accidentally poison me, I might need people to help pay for a taxi home."

---

*: As you point out in a comment, ALWAYS TELL THEM, because it makes it their responsibility. Plus you get horribly ill less often, which is a nice bonus

Answer 10

This happened to me on Friday.

I was just happily eating a muffin, when suddenly had that suddenly-cold, all-blood-left-my-face sensation that sometimes precedes vomiting. Stopping only to grab the security card, I walked quickly out of the offices, across the hall, round the corner, up to the bathrooms, through the door would I make it would I make it there's a stall free, push open the door, kneel, YES! Made it.

Had no idea what was happening, but told boss I was off home. Made it as far as the toilets again, for half an hour.

Felt good enough to stand, walked down to car, drove as far as the front gate of the campus before pulling over with emergency flashers and kneeling on the verge.

Drove another ten minutes, thought I might make it, then a red light on a left turn. Two lanes of traffic either side. Slow light. Gorge rising. Wind window down. Lights go green. I'm driving, turning, there's a park to the left, I might just make it, indicate, make the turn, stomach is starting to convulse, it's in my mouth, key out, belt off, door open, on my knees in the grass again.

Five more minutes home. Wife greets me at the door, I walk past her to the bathroom without even acknowledging her presence.

An hour later it was over. Don't know what it was. Four days later, my chest still feels bruised from the force of it.

So, yeah. I'd recommend just camping out in the company toilets for a couple hours. Save yourself this. Nobody giving you a lift is going to love you if they give you a lift and you barf, barf-bag or no.

Answer 11

Is there a "support group" (social media, etc) for people with celiac disease in the area you are working? Could it be possible to find enough people with a common problem so that you can get help from the "mass"? Help each other out by notifying the group when you have lunches at unfamiliar places and help each other if the worst scenario happens? If everyone is like you then you would have to help someone else commute home 4-5 times over a 5 year period in order for this combination matrix to add up. Is that feasible?