Hard day for Britt today. She made the difficult decision to stop working when she realized that buildup allergic reactions were why she started getting sick after a couple of weeks there. She did an amazing job and loved it, so this has been really emotional for her. Looking at the bigger picture helps somewhat, because a year ago she wasn't able to leave the house, her legs gave out on her all the time, and there is no way she could have even entered that part of the mall, let alone consider working there for four hours at a time. We didn't catch it at first because initially she seemed fine. The reactions we have been used to have been the instant, scary what-the-hell-is-going-on ones; this has been our first experience detecting buildup reactions (I'm sure she has had them for most, if not all, of her life but we didn't know what was going on). So this is testament to how much stronger and healthier she was going into it than she has been, but she feels that if she continued it wouldn't take long to be back where she was before, and that was a scary place.
The manager has been awesome. Very personable, positive and understanding, and has been great to work with. She planned to go in this afternoon and talk to him to quit in person, but got very emotional. So instead she wrote him a letter so she could express herself the way she wanted to and I took it in to him (I work at the same place). She wanted him to know how much she has loved working there and appreciated how awesome he has been with her. He has taken a mentor approach with her, which has been wonderful and so uplifting. She had me read the letter and I was in tears through the last paragraph;it was beautifully written and I felt so sad that it didn't work out the way she had hoped it would. She and we were floating on Cloud Nine for those first couple of weeks; it felt amazing! I know making the decision to quit was really, really hard on her, but I am proud of her for taking the right steps to take care of herself.
One of the things she expressed in the letter is that through being given the opportunity, she learned so much, including the fact that she CAN work, and she can do a great job. She discovered some talents and natural abilities she didn't know she had and found that she really enjoys interacting with customers. she is ready to work but needs the right environment, i.e. no handling of food, no perfumey fragrances in the air, no popcorn-filled breakroom, etc. and supportive people around her who won't give her a hard time about what she needs to avoid. Sounds like a tall order, but I know there are places and the right kinds of people out there; this manager we have been working with is living proof of how awesome and supportive people can be.
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