the university doesn't have my back

My back hurts. 

It's like right where it bends, right above my hips. Some days I am fine and some days I can hardly walk, sit, or drive. It's really frustrating when i have one of those days because I feel so limited in every way and I find it impossible to sit and work for more than 20 minutes at a time. Sitting is definitely the worst and unfortunately for me, my job is to sit in front of the computer all day. When it hurts, it makes my right leg feels like it's falling asleep and sore - that's the leg i use for my pedal. 

After talking to a few folks, i decided to look into cutting down my work day or, drastically, going on short-term disability.

I happened to have my annual review yesterday, so after the review part was over, i decided to talk to my boss about my options. She is a great woman and offered me many alternatives, but a sick leave or new position (going down to part-time) is not something in her power to offer to me. She told me who to contact to talk to about sick leave and I called her today. 

She basically told me i don't have a "case" for sick leave. Pregnant women have back pain - that's the unfortunate truth and i wouldn't qualify for medical accommodation or medical leave. i don't know why i pay into my benefits if i can't even use them when i need them? It clearly states in our union handbook that we are eligible for up to 45 days of sick leave before the start of maternity leave if the illness was affecting my work, which i believe it is... and i NEVER had this kind of back pain with Gemma, so not ALL pregnant women have back pain. Ugh, it makes me mad to think about it. 

95% of the time, i love working for the university. Right now, it's 5% of those times where i am not happy. 

arrrgh!