Sick About Taking a Health Leave

I feel for Steve Jobs.

Dealing with a serious medical condition is hardly easy, less so when running one of the most dominant companies in the world. It was difficult enough for me to take time off to take care of a complicated sinus condition.

Now granted, I can’t compare my health problems, which are minor when considering that Jobs has battled pancreatic cancer and has undergone a liver transplant. I was only in constant treatment for about two months and took three weeks of medical leave to undergo surgery. Still, being seriously sick is scary, and I definitely didn't think that I'd be facing it in my early 30s. Even at 55, Jobs has had to deal with his share of illnesses. Every day business owners and entrepreneurs, in their 20s and older, are battling serious conditions. And while each sickness is different, when the time comes to decide to step aside for medical reasons and thereby relinquish control of day-to-day operations, some of the concerns and fears are the same.

The first concern is often what will happen to the company when I’m not there? For Jobs, that’s a loaded question, since he’s credited with bringing Apple back from the brink of failure to the tech darling it is today, thanks to products like the iPhone, the iPod, and the iPad. The “i-product” has become a household name around the world. So it’s no wonder that stocks initially fell on the news. That’s because Jobs—and the brand he created—have become part of the economy. And rumors of his failing health eventually all end with musings about Apple’s future without the visionary executive.

My concerns didn’t move markets, but the burden that my leave had on my company was still a big one. When working for a startup, every person in the team has a bigger stake in the success or failure of initiatives. And since we each do so much more on a daily basis than our job descriptions call for, being down one person for any amount of time has an impact.

I was also worried about what my absence would mean to a company in transition. Jobs has some experience being away from the company. He resigned from the company he cofounded after losing a battle for control in 1984. When he left Apple at that time, he already felt that the company was on a downtrend, but the board didn't. Still, his time away, and his innovations at Pixar animation studios and at NeXT, a computer-platform development company, made such a mark on the industry that Apple bought NeXT and rehired Jobs as CEO.

In January of 2009, he stepped aside for six months due to medical reasons. The move came after a few years of speculation about his general health and several worrisome appearances at an annual Apple developers' conference, which saw an increasingly gaunt and ill-looking Jobs delivering the keynote. As he temporarily steps aside for the second time now, Jobs is arguably in a more precarious position. The company is a huge success, but to sustain growth it still has to keep coming up with innovative products. His creativity is key to making sure that happens. In my world, the media sector is in the midst of an identity crisis, and we’re not immune to it. Refining our voice, our audience, and what we cover is a daily challenge, and one that fuels our creative imaginations. What was I going to do without that every day?

Recovery can be a lonely process. Sure, we have excellent caretakers—I’m lucky to be under my doctor dad’s supervision and my mom’s TLC—but I couldn’t risk having friends visit lest they bring in a horrendous germ, like the cold, into the house and make me sicker than I already was. Ditto for other family members. When my sister caught the flu, she was relegated to her room upstairs, and we had to forgo our daily gossip sessions. I don’t know whom Jobs leans on, since his relationships with his family have been reportedly estranged (he initially denied paternity of his daughter with San Francisco painter Chrisann Brennan, who had to raise her on welfare), but having someone to turn to is key to a speedy recovery.

Being able to unplug is another necessity when treating a health issue, and that may prove to be the most difficult. I successfully did it when I was admitted to the hospital, and I’m glad to say that I gave my BlackBerry a rest for a full 48 hours. But I also have to admit that when I got home I was tempted to catch up on what was going on every time my device chirped. I tried to only respond to urgent emails and refrained from logging into my work account.

Whether Jobs can successfully unplug is questionable. In the letter he sent Apple employees, he said that Tim Cook would take over day-to-day operations, but that he plans to remain a part of strategic decisions. That statement is important to employee morale—and to shareholders. But until we know more about what he’s battling, nobody can be sure how realistic his pledge to stay involved is. Not that I doubt he has every intention of doing so.

Finally, coming back to work can be just as daunting as leaving in the first place. Thanks to the Family Medical Leave Act, I was able to take the time to make sure my recovery was well on track before having to go back to work. And it gave me the peace of mind of knowing that my job is protected, which is no small worry these days. Having a caring and understanding boss (and team) went a long way towards my positive state of mind, which my doctor assures me was responsible for my speedier-than-normal healing.

Still, as my parents prepared to drive me back from Boston to New York, my mom asked if I was ready to return. In a word, I said no. Sure, I was anxious to get back into the groove, but I also worried about whether I was strong enough to last through the day, let alone the week. But as with most things, anticipation is the worst thing. And knowing that I’d be returning to the warm fold of my team made it a lot easier. I hope that Jobs can take the proper time to heal and come back to the company he loves so much. Being in good health makes all the difference, and these days I’m almost glad when the alarm goes off signaling it’s time to go to the office. And that I'm well enough to brave it.

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Romy Ribitzky is an associate editor at Portfolio.com.