Steve was 51 years old and had
been feeling a bit the worse for wear for a few months. It
seemed to get worse as his shift went on, so that by the
end of each shift he had an ache in his groin. While it troubled
him a little, Steve did nothing about it and continued in
his normal routine as a baker. He assumed it was just a part
of getting older.
It was a particularly busy time of year, approaching Easter. On top of all the normal baking, they were making hot cross buns every night. Steve had been working hard and had only to move all the loaded crates before he could clean up and go home. He leant down to pick up three fully loaded bread crates from the floor. As he started to lift, he felt a sharp pain in his side. Steve quickly put down the crates and stood up. He rubbed his side and felt a lump. He told his boss, Bill, who told him to “go see a doctor before you burst”. They laughed.
But Steve took the advice and went to a doctor later that day. The doctor quickly diagnosed a hernia. He explained to Steve that, while not life threatening, he should definitely have it repaired as soon as possible. He referred Steve to a surgeon and told Steve he should avoid lifting off the floor in the meantime. Steve made an appointment with the surgeon for the next week.
When he got to work that night, he told Bill about the doctor's advice and gave him the medical certificate. Bill told Steve they had to notify their insurer, and started the claim. He told the other workers they had to cover for Steve and not let him lift anything. He also gave Steve a copy of the job dictionary to take to his doctors so he could recommend suitable duties following surgery. For the next week, Steve carried on doing his job but with assistance for any heavy lifting off the floor.
The surgeon agreed with Steve's doctor. He explained that the surgery was quite simple and as he was a candidate for keyhole surgery, it would be a day procedure at local private hospital. He could even fit him in right away. The surgeon contacted the insurer to discuss Steve's case and approval was given for the surgery to proceed.
Steve's surgery went as planned and was without complications. He was discharged home and encouraged to take it easy for a couple of weeks. When Steve went back for his next check up, he asked if he could go back to work. His doctor was concerned that doing heavy work too soon could slow his recovery. Steve explained that only part of his job was heavy. He told the doctor how his workmates had helped out in the week before his surgery and showed him the job dictionary. The doctor agreed to let Steve go back to work but he was only to work for 20 hours in a week and absolutely no lifting to or from the floor.
Steve returned to work without incident. He found that Bill had been busy in his absence. Flour bags had been placed on pallets so that he did not need to bend to the floor, and a scoop had been provided so he did not need to lift the bags. Bill proudly wheeled out the new self height adjusting pallet lifter he had purchased. Steve would not have to lift crates of bread to or from the floor and he would be able to wheel them instead of carrying them. “I wanted to make your recovery as easy as possible,” Bill said. “And I didn't want you to burst again!”
With the help of the new equipment and his co-workers, Steve's recovery continued smoothly. He steadily increased his hours and was back to normal duties 6 weeks after his surgery.
