DROWNING IN PAPERWORK...BUT STILL A LITTLE PROGRESS

Hello everyone!


Since the beginning of 2013 I have been battling the paper monster in my office/sewing room.  After the fiasco trip to the Social Security Office for my "hearing that never was", I have been researching lawyers and trying to organize my disability paperwork.  It is obvious that I am not going to be able to secure the disability coverage to which I am entitled without legal representation.

I have finally settled on a lawyer who handles only Social Security Disability and represents individuals with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Chronic Pain Syndrome (among many other conditions).  These three conditions are among the biggest contributors to my inability to work, so having a lawyer familiar with the implications of these medical issues is paramount.  I will be having my initial phone interview by the lawyer on January 24th and will be meeting at her office some time shortly thereafter.


In order to be completely prepared and hopefully cut down on the billable hours I will incur, I have begun assembling large 3-ring document binders for myself...with duplicates for the lawyer.  The sheer volume of materials generated since my original application for SSDI back in October 2011 is enormous!  Generating duplicates of this paperwork for the lawyer means I am "drowning" in records and plowing through mountains of 8.5 x 11 bond and rivers of HP ink for my all-in-one printer.

To date I have acquired copies of all of my medical records pertaining to the myriad conditions causing my disability, some dating back as far as 1999!  On more than one occasion I have thanked God for my experience in the medical records departments of many healthcare facilities and my understanding of medicine...and my medical conditions in particular.  If the task is overwhelming for me, I cannot imagine what a daunting task it is for individuals with no experience in the medical field.

 

As a result of these endeavors, my cutting table is completely covered with stacks of papers to be processed, one completed binder, one binder in process...and two more binders that will be assembled once my husband has stopped at the store to buy more supplies!

The stress of handling all of this is becoming more intense, and without my cutting table I am unable to begin work on the next two or three quilts I have planned; nor am I able to work on the two pillows I have promised family members.  My sanity saving crafting is on hold for at least the next few weeks while I focus on my legal representation.  Just when I need the diversion the most!!!  I am about at my wits' end!!!  Can you hear me screaming through cyberspace????

So I ran to JoAnn's and purchased a large skein of cotton yarn to make washcloths!  I have begun knitting the first of many.  I want to make at least 8 to stock my two bathrooms and I may consider knitting a few for J and his girlfriend to use in their new apartment.  Right now I am sticking to a plain garter stitch as I don't think I have the concentration necessary to tackle an actual pattern.  But maybe once the rhythmic click of the needles has soothed my nerves I can try something new!  I may not be cutting out the quilt I am itching to begin, but I'm working on quality hand made supplies for our home that will provide years of use and money savings.  The joy and pride that comes with hand crafting is just the medicine I need!  

So, please excuse me while I head to my rocker to lose myself in the click of needles, the motion of the chair and the rhythm of the music.   Ahhhhh.....serenity!!!!

SSDI

As you all know, I "retired" from working in October of 2011.  I immediately applied for SSDI (Social Security Disability).  As expected my first application was denied...60% of all first time applications are.  Over the past year my health has been declining at a steadily increasing pace. 

These days I am happy if I have TWO GOOD HALF DAYS A WEEK...days where my pain level is as low as a 5 out of 10 (my doctor has told me that there is little hope I will ever see a 0 out of 10 pain level again), when I'm not spending the biggest portion of the day in bed under a doubled electric blanket to combat the severe pain, when my fatigue is not completely debilitating and my neurologic issues are not precluding me from performing fine motion activity with my hands, typing on the computer, holding items with only one hand, turning pages in a book or walking more than a short distance at a time.  As they say, "If it's not one thing, it's another." 

Given the progression of my symptoms and letters from four of my physicians stating that I am not capable of any type of gainful employment, I expected my upcoming SSDI hearing to go well.  If four separate physicians put their names to a statement that I am not capable of working, how could SSDI rule against me?  That many doctors are not, realistically, going to be willing to put their good names and licenses at risk by falsifying facts. The fact is...I'm not able to work.  Period. 

In mid November I received a letter stating that my hearing would be on December 3rd.  Since I am unable to go down to the city on my own, and my husband could not take off that day, I had  my hearing rescheduled for December 10th.  I followed all of the instructions that came with my notification.  I filled out several enclosed forms.  I was told to send copies of all of my medical records since mid March to their office for the judge to review prior to my hearing.  I contacted all of my doctors and managed to get copies of all 25 visit notes.  My wonderful doctors jumped through hoops to circumvent the normal administrative process and make the copies available expediently...and my poor parents ran from office to office to obtain records as they became available if I was not up to leaving the house on that day.  I needed to get them mailed off quickly.  When my large stack of records and completed forms were gathered and collated I rushed to the post office and mailed them overnight (at a cost of $17.10). 

On December 10th my husband and I headed to the city for my hearing.  We fought traffic on a killer expressway, paid through the nose for parking in the heart of the city, and shoved a rotten fast food meal down our throats just prior to the hearing.  As a diabetic, I can't go too long without food and we had no idea how long my hearing would last.  Better to be safe than sorry.  We arrived at the appointed time (actually early) and waited our turn to appear before the judge.  Ten minutes before my appointment time a woman came out and handed me a packet of papers and told me to complete them when I got home and mail them back to the office.  I placed them, unopened, in my briefcase.

At exactly my appointment time we were called into the room.  After a brief introduction the judge informed me and my husband that my hearing will be in April.  Huh?  What?  TODAY is my hearing!  Nope, it's not (despite every paper I received stating that it was).  The judge called me down to tell me that I can get a lawyer if I choose, but I need to get the lawyer now.  If I wait too long and the lawyer can't get the case together in time, there will be NO postponement.  "THIS is your postponement."  Oh, and she is retiring at the end of the year and another judge will be hearing my case.  End of meeting.  We were out of there in 10 minutes.  And the paperwork the lady gave me while I was waiting for my "hearing"?...the same paperwork I had received in the mail (TWICE), had already completed, had mailed overnight and they had received five days earlier!

My husband and I walked out of the building dumbfounded and furious.  He had taken a day off of work, we had wasted our time and money for 10 minutes in front of the judge while she informed me that I can get a lawyer.  Well, duh, it says that over and over during the application process and the appeal process.  I KNOW I can get a lawyer, I just didn't think I would need one since several of my doctors say I can't perform any gainful employment.  But, if THIS is an example of how the system works...maybe I DO need to fork out money for legal representation!

So later on this afternoon I will be speaking with an attorney to discuss the possibility of him representing me at the hearing.  I often wondered why people who were truly disabled got lawyers to represent them.  Now I know.  The system is broken, and the only way to be assured things are handled in a timely, efficient and effective manner is to hire someone who can duct tape the system back together to make sure the decision is made based on the actual FACTS of the case.  For that I guess I will be more than willing to fork out money for legal representation...