hi jeff,
i'm glad you're getting the MRI sorted out w/Dr. Yue... i agree it's better to have it all electronically available to Dr. Yue through Yale, just if that wasn't happening i was proposing another option.
re: FMLA... do you work for a company w/more than 50 employees? i believe this is a stipulation. You have to have worked for your company for over a year to qualify which you have.
Unfortunately any time you take off under FMLA is unpaid, but you do keep your health benefits and i believe your job is protected (but please confirm this). You can take up to 12 weeks in a 12 month period... if continuous you'd have to pay your employer their portion of your health benefits; if you just take part-time (hours) off then you should still be covered under your employer's policy (and not have to pay anything additional for benefits but you'd have to check w/your HR dept for your company's policies). This is what i did... i only worked 5 miles by bus from my apt though and when my pain became unbearable to focus and be productive (i would have to stand a lot in my office working and in mtgs b/c sitting was excruciating as you know) or i was having an episode i could take a shorter work day to go home, take meds and lie down, or go see a doctor, PT, etc. If this is the case FMLA can last longer than 12 wks b/c it's the cumulative number of hours. My life was like yours... just working long days and then coming home, taking meds and lying down... not much of a life.
there's a form that you, your employer, and Dr. Yue would fill out for "employee's serious health condition" for FMLA, see
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/.
Re: financial assistance, you'd have to check w/your local social security office, see
http://www.ssa.gov/disability/
There is a very low limit (i think $3K) to qualify for supplemental income from social security (if you own a house i don't think you'd qualify), but if you can no longer perform your job duties you could file for social security disability. i know this is not ideal and ideally you'd like to have surgery and get on with it and get back to your life.
do you have a private disability policy? either through your employer or one purchased privately?
is there anything you could do remotely from home?? does your job require you to be in the office 5 days a wk? it's worth asking about if you haven't already.
i hope your wife can help you sort some of this out, as i know it's overwhelming to deal with in addition to the pain.
i also hope you can figure out a solution to your pain soon so hopefully none of the above will really matter for long.
hang in there!
Liz