Hi Zorro,
I'm happy to fill you in. If you don't ask, you might never know what you really need to know.
For Emily, being approved for disability was a long process. She was turned down twice and finally approved by the Administrative Law Judge in Nov. of 2006. This is often the course of the disability process in Georgia. And, when the person is young, they want to stall as long as they can (IMHO).
She has several disabling illnesses in addition to DDD, the worst being interstitial cystitis. There's some consensus among the doctors she's seen that some of the severe pelvic pain and bladder symptoms she has may be due to both the lumbar DDD as well as the IC.
Regarding filing for SSDI... with spine problems, your medical records must be extremely thorough in documenting how your problems prevent you from functioning normally. Of course, pain and the inability to sit or stand for any length of time pretty much covers that. It would be awfully hard to work any full time job with those kinds of limitations.
Having a supportive doctor is a huge help, too. The doctor's notes as well as any letters that he/she might write on your behalf are VERY important. The more doctors you have seen who suport your need for disability, the better.
In Emily's case, she went to a disability attorney after her first denial. Eventually, the attorney received 25% of the back pay due to Emily as payment, but it was worth it as the attorney had a lot of experience with the judge that would hear Emily's case.
Once she was approved for disability, she automatically qualified for Medicare. Since she was indigent by that time, she also qualified for Medicaid which pays her premiums for Medicare part D (medication plan).
I don't know where she'd be without the help that Medicare is providing now as well as the small monthly check she gets from SSDI. As it is, she can't live on her own with such serious pain (or on her very small check), so she's living in my basement apartment. Some days she can't even stand long enough to take a shower. Other days she can't rise from a sitting position without help because her back "locks up." On a good day, the ton of pain meds she takes just takes the edge off the pain that she has in just about every spot from her waist to her toes. So, it's great that she can be close by for when she needs my help.
I strongly encourage people who will need disability to file for it as soon as possible. If you're still working, then you can't prove your case, but if you've been unable to work, you need to file ASAP because it's such a long process to approval.
I'll be glad to go into the specifics of the filing process and the different stages of consideration if you're interested. Just let me know how I can help.
Betsy
|