Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2014 10:00:45 -0600
From: Carol Phillips
Subject: Disability
I am disabled. You would not know it if you saw me. I am only out and about when I am feeling well, generally no more than 2-3 hours in a day. Longer and I need additional rest and quiet the next day. Sometimes I can go for days: that’s when adrenalin has kicked in. Then it may take me several days or even weeks to recover. I attempt plan that I out and about only 3-4 days per week. I have a mild traumatic head injury and fibromyalgia.
There are all kinds of illnesses and diseases that don’t show themselves in easily identifiable ways. People who have them, like me figure out ways to accommodate them to minimize the effects and, in the process, make them even less obvious. Everyone I know who is disabled, and I know a few, don’t want to be; would much rather be able to work and be a productive member of the community. We do what we can.
Obtaining SSA disability benefits is not as easy as some may think. At the time I applied, SSA automatically denied most claims, forcing people to go through the appeals process. It was a while back, but I am not sure the process has improved much. It took 18 months after I first applied, and the help of lawyer to get that far. I stood before the administrative judge and heard a man say I was not capable of doing a single job listed the nine-inch thick book that he held. Though it was the answer I wanted, it was still devastating to hear.
Part of his reasoning was my age: I was 56 at the time. It was an official acknowledgement of what every older person knows. Age discrimination exists..
Are there frauds? Of course. There are frauds in every society, in all aspects of life. I think it rather sad (not to mention down right annoying) when people immediately assume fraud.
carol