Donna Johnson, hereinafter referred to as "Employee", testified at the final hearing of this matter. Employee testified that she was 47 years old and resides in Scott County with a Sikeston address. She attended Bell City High School in Bell City, Missouri. She completed the 10th grade at the age of 17. Upon completion of the 10th grade, Employee left school because she got married. She has not returned to school nor attained a GED. She has not obtained any vocational training or certification. She left school in 1979.
While Employee was attending Bell City High, she was employed at the Bell City Café as a cook and waitress. The dates of employment are from 1977 through 1978. She believes she was employed at Bell City Café for approximately two years. Her duties included waiting tables, cooking burgers, doing dishes, cleaning up, sweeping and mopping. She was approximately 15 to 16 years old at this time period.
While employed at Bell City Café, Employee was suffering from bunions and hammertoe on both feet. She was not under a doctor's because she did not have health insurance. Employee modified her activities by sitting whenever she had the chance and wore shoes that accommodated her condition as much as possible. Employee testified that she could stand for approximately for 30-60 minutes before she had to sit down.
The aforementioned foot problems prevented Employee from participating in volleyball or softball in school. The shoes which she was required to wear were a hindrance to this type of activity. While in high school she could not help out in performing household chores because of her feet. She was working at Bell City Café when she left school and for a few months thereafter. Employee left the work force while she was pregnant. She believes she re-entered the workforce in approximately 1980.
Employee: Donna Johnson Injury No. 03-084699
In approximately 1980, Employee moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to work at her sister’s bar. Her job duties included waiting on tables, cleaning, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping and cleaning the bathrooms. She did not cook. At the time of this employment, her physical complaints were limited to her feet. Her feet were worse than when she was employed at Bell City Café.
Employee had surgery performed on her feet. She could not recall whether this surgery was performed before or after she moved to Louisiana. Upon further reflection, Employee believed that the surgery did not happen prior to moving to Louisiana because she did not have insurance.
While working with her sister in Louisiana, Employee testified that she had to sit after working for an hour. Employee testified that her average daily foot pain was approximately a 7 or 8 on a scale of 10 during this period. She testified that she did not take any medication and worked at this bar for approximately two years. She then moved back to Missouri.
Upon returning to Missouri, Employee began working at Tri-Con. She made seat covers for Chrysler. Her specific job duties consisted of attaching foam padding to the seat covers. She believes the period of employment was from 1983 through 1984. During this time, her foot complaints were worse than while working in Louisiana. Employee testified that she was unable to perform job duties that required pushing carts too far. She had to modify her duties by not putting as much in each cart. During this time, Employee also had difficulty performing household duties. She had difficulty cooking, doing the laundry, and getting down on her knees to clean the bathtub. She was not under a doctor’s care. She stated that the foot problems interfered with her resting and engaging in recreational activities or hobbies. She explained that the sensation she felt was similar to someone trying to pull her toes off. She was unable to wear shoes for a long time and could not go outside to play with her children.
After working at Tri-Con, Employee began working at Smith’s Grocery Store. She was employed as a cashier. Her job duties included taking money for purchases, slicing lunchmeat, sweeping and mopping. She states that her foot pain was worse at this time. She believes that her average daily foot pain was approximately an 8 on a 10 point scale. She was not under the care of a doctor because she did not have insurance and she testified that she did not take any pain medication because she could not afford it. She testified that her foot complaints interfered with her ability to sleep and engage in hobbies. She gave the example that when playing with her children outside she had to go barefoot. She believes she left Smith’s Grocery Store in approximately 1985.
For a short time, Employee stayed home with her niece and nephew. She continued to have feet problems and described burning and hurting, which was worse than before.
Employee believes that she sought treatment for her feet in approximately 1985. She acknowledges that the records may disagree with her recollection regarding the date of treatment. Dr. Ritter performed a bunion surgery at St. Francis. Employee was shown records that suggested the surgery was performed in 1990 and Employee did not disagree with those dates. She states that she did not undergo physical therapy. Employee complained that her foot problems did not go away after being released by the surgeon. Her post surgical complaints included burning and aching in her toe joints. Her