If anyone has a solid recommendation for an ADA/employment attorney that works on contingency, I could sure use it and would greatly appreciate it. Iām doing my absolute best to mitigate my stress levels so as to not exacerbate my recovery and to avoid another potential rupture.
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Sorry to read this Benjamin. I was also fired, didnāt know it, went in and cleared my office as I finally figured I wouldnāt be returning. Took back some confidential documents and the agency phone, etc. Got a call Monday am and was told I wasnāt allowed to be unescorted in the building! I asked why as I hadnāt been fired yet. Was sent an email the next day. I despise folks who donāt have the cajones to tell a person to their face. What the fart is this world coming to when conflicts canāt be handled in a respectful way? I need to step down as this isnāt helpingā¦
It sounds as if your employer did what mine did, wait until the FMLA was used up as theyāre not allowed to fire you whilst in FMLA. Not knowing the location (major city and State) it would be difficult for any member to suggest someone as laws differ in each State. Not sure this will help but itās a starting point for ADA issues https://www.ndrn.org/. Iām thinking unless youāve been declared disabled, there may not be something they can do, but it never hurts to ask.
I think it may be better for you to start with the local EEOC to find out and then search for an attorney who specializes in wrongful termination.
Donāt forget to look into COBRA or the ACA marketplace, if youāre not covered under someone elseās insurance policy. We paid COBRA for awhile, not cheap but cost a lot less that anything available for someone who ruptured on the ACA marketplace. Fortunately, when the majority stock owner of the company where BH found out what we were paying, he included me in their plan. Getting Medicare disability was a nightmare to say the least. My Federal Senatorās Health Aide helped me tremendously. I had met him when we were up on Lobby Day a year or more earlier. He was excited as he āknew a guyā in Social Security and I was able to get it in a few days. Interestingly it was not for my rupture, exactly, it was for the lumbar surgery the year before I ruptured that allowed me to qualify. Thank goodness for the excellent notes the specialized PT wrote up! Depending on our age and education level helps us qualify or not as well. The government in all their wisdom believes that folks with a higher degree can get a job in a factory. Iāve had factory jobs in the past, thereās definitely nothing wrong with working in a factory or any other job. My disability attorney told me if I had only gone to high school and not university, only worked in factories., was closer to 55 or some age I had not yet gotten to, I would have had an easier time getting disability. My SIL got it pretty fast once applied for chronic depression after BHās bother passed away through her therapist. A colleague was able to get disability within a couple of months for a mild concussion through a friend she went to work for who wrote a letter explaining she couldnāt do simple tasks. There was that big TBI movie that had come out and there were many things happening in Washington about TBIās back then. Social Security has check off boxes that cerebral aneurysms donāt exactly apply in my opinion, they use the ischemic stroke worksheet I guess one could call it.
Donāt let everything build up, come talk to us whenever you want.
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DEFINITELY agree with @Moltroub!
I, too, was terminated when I moved from short-term to long-term disability. Just a matter of days, but the calendar date fell on December 22nd, the Friday before Christmas! Happy Holidays! Although, I had worked with that company in management, so I knew it was not their policy to do that, they tried to avoid terminations in December whenever possible, so it was just a matter of circumstances. All I can a say a year later is although I am grateful for my former employer and all the many good times I had and people I knew, a year on at a different place, I have learned new things and it is the right place for me at this time. In some way, all things seemed to have worked out at this moment.
However, to the point, being terminated is never easy: completely unfairly, but our identity in society is based on what work we do as our ātrueā identity. I am learning that although work is - without a doubt - an important part of who I am - my work identity is NOT the entirety of who I am. So, @c0nsilience, remember that YOU matter FAR more than your work persona, as it is just one small part of you. Who you are as a man, a husband, a father and a grandfather, a citizen, a neighbor, an important part of the BAF family (!), and a friend far outweigh that!
For me, having advanced degrees, Medicaid was pretty clear that they werenāt going to touch me with a 10ā pole. However, that is o.k. as I have been able to just step down in terms of positions, and have been successfully working for almost a year now at a different company. Of course, there are pros and cons, but I tell you that one of the definite pros is the less stress! We had a situation arise at work (major leak on a Friday night), and at the same time - I felt sooo bad for my boss who had to come in on Saturday to deal with it, as well as an insane amount of relief that I was no longer the boss who had to handle the situation. A blessing in disguise for sure!! 
Like @Moltroub, I also did the ACA v. COBRA debate. I, too, eventually decided that COBRA was the better option for me at the time, since angiograms, MRAs, and CAT scans were still in my future health care needs, so putting all that together, COBRA was the cheaper option.
The American Bar Association identified a group that may be of help to you, the National Disability Rights Network: NDRN Member Agencies - P&A - CAP | NDRN. You will need to select your state to identify the proper group, but it might help.
Sending many good thoughts to you at this time!!! Please keep us posted as to how you are doing.
Fin Whale Fan 
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