POOR AND DYING IN AMERICA inc.

[dotymed]

I have had a wonderful life. Not so much the last three years but... I have critical stage heart failure. Prior to all of these heart attacks and stents, I was a very productive citizen. I am (still) a Union carpenter. I worked non-Union for 20 years first...because all of the propaganda my bosses fed me about the perils of joining a Union. They lied. I regress. I have been fighting to get my SS disability for about 3 years. My latest "hearing" was 11/25/2009. While, (they say) the Judge has made a determination, it has yet to be "written", so they cannot inform me of the decision. During the hearing, (I also suffer from extreme orthopedic degeneration and past injuries with many pinched nerves and a dead sciatic nerve from non-treatment for too many years)I presented a document from my Cardiologist. He insisted that I cannot hold any job, because I have good and bad days, unpredictable at best. My Cardiologist is a medical professor at I.U. Medical School, a researcher (many published studies) and a heart surgeon. He has worked on my heart. The SS have their own Dr.'s. They do not see any patients except SS referrals (the one I went to anyway). He had an "office" in a "strip mall" and no receptionist, only him. At my "hearing" (my lawyer just sat and farted and smiled, I swear), the SS "Dr." was on the phone. He said I was able to do work of some type. They also had a "labor" statistician there. He said (really), I could be a "ticket taker" and he rattled off how many positions in our economy, there are for "ticket takers." I used to earn $30.00 an hour + benefits, now I can be a ticket taker...somewhere... Before the hearing, my "lawyer" said that he had never seen such a strong case or such a strong Cardiologist statement. After the (farting) hearing, he said "I don't think it went too well." I just had another trip to the E.R. two weeks ago because when I stood up from my computer desk, my feet had no feeling or control. I fell and severely sprained my foot. I thought it was broken, yet I drove 25 miles (manual, "clutch" transmission...ouch)to the hospital because I can't afford an ambulance, even though (until April 1), my Union is STILL paying for my insurance and paying me a small disability. Thank God for Unions!! Three years ago, rebuilding in New Orleans, I had a massive coronary (MI) and was told that I probably would not survive the night. 5 stents later, I still exist and have joint custody of my 13 y.o. son. I have paid into SS since I was 12 y.o. I can't comprehend. My "Representatives in Congress, do not bother returning my correspondence anymore. Maybe if I was silent about my political beliefs? In N.O., they (after 3 surgeries) said I would probably live another 5 years. So far, 3 of them have been battling SS, so I can get my Union pension and SS. This is not a pity letter. I do not want pity. I am very independent. I have 2 degrees (B.S. and A.S.) and I take full time courses on-line. But, if my last name were different, or I was already wealthy (and did not need SS to survive) I have no doubt that SS would have already "disabled" me.

[Turbineguy]

1. The "SS Dr."?

[Mopar151]

10. Insurance co's use 'em too.

"Independent medical examiners". It's what they do with drunks, addicts, and incompetents who are barred from actually working on people. And they will diagnose to order - it happened to me.

[Withywindle]

21. Makes me think of a different "SS."

They had "doctors" too.


The death panels are already here. Have been for a long time.

:cry:

[fasttense]

2. Wow, if anyone had a case for disability, I would think you had.

These Social Security doctors have such imaginations. They are always coming up with the perfect job for your disability, yet the minute you mention you have a disability to an employer, out the door you go.

I think these Social Security doctors are so insulated from reality they don't know what they are talking about.

Thanks for the tip about the lawyer. My husband has degenerate bone disease and can barely walk or even sit. But they managed to turn him down too. He sys he wants to get a lawyer for an appeal but at this point I think it just a waste of money.

[dotymed]

13. From what I understand, No Lawyer No Way

Even though my lawyer was totally useless. I understand that if you do not have a lawyer, you can not "win." Good Luck

[shrike]

17. Get a lawyer

A friend of ours was turned down, I think twice, for disability. Her lawyer not only got it for her, he was able to get her two years worth of back pay. Bad news was, it cost $5,000. Good news was, they waited for their money 'til she got her back-pay check. (I didn't know this before I referred the OP to these attorneys.) She had enough leftover, though, to reimburse her mother and brother for the money they gave her during the years she didn't work.

She now gets $1,470 a month. Not a fortune, but with budgeting she can pay her mortgage and her bills. It'll hold her 'til Social Security kicks in (at 65). She also has a pension from her old company that will kick in at that age.

[Daveparts still]

3. The Original Death Panel

This story is common. My Sister inlaw has MS. Nobody gets SS disability without hiring a lawyer and fighting for it which is just wrong. The opposite of the way the program is supposed to work. The program changed under Reagan, if you can hold them off for a year or two or three maybe they will die and save SS a bundle

[izquierdista]

4. I helped a buddy get disability

His disability was alcoholism and Hepatitis C. He drank so much right-wing Kool-Aid with his booze that he didn't have a clue that he was eligible for benefits. All it really takes is persistence, when you run into one roadblock, you just figure out how to back up and go around it. It is somewhat like a rat going through a maze for the first time. Lawyers pretend to know the layout of the maze, but they are really just spectators and get paid by how long the rat stays in the maze, not how many make it through.

Anyway, I helped my buddy get his paperwork together and keep submitting it, and finally he got approved and got his first disability check. Then two weeks later he died.

[HillbillyBob]

5. I hear and understand

I am disabled too. In order to get disability I had to lose ever bit of assets I had and be homeless for 2 yrs then land in ICU with Pneumonia and then CMV solid organ.
They still denied me even getting a hearing.
A friend who worked with SS prior to becoming disabled himself walked me through the process and then my dr who had also worked for SS as one of the qualifying drs went toe to toe with the powers that be.
It still took about 9 months for it to go through.

I have a list of health issues, HIV/AIDS (full blown) and seizures and a back injury from work, then from the meds and such I have a heart condition, liver and kidney involvement from the CMV.
If I had been able to get medical treatment in some kind of orderly fashion I might still be able to work.
As it is I never know when a seizure is going to hit and my attention span though it has not always been so great I could do detailed work which I cannot now do.
I cannot even keep up with the house work.

I suggest you call Binder and Binder, I think they are the ones you see on tv advertising for SS benefits attainment.

I am sorry you had to go through all of this.

I did not fall for the anti union stuff I got fired for telling the bastards they were lying. My dad was union.

[dotymed]

14. lol..good for you...good luck

[UpInArms]

6. keep persisting - in spite of these horrible things, your issues appear to

be just what SS disability is for.

:grouphug:

[12string]

7. S.S.Disability

I was a Steamfitter,member of the Plumbers&Steamfitters union,when diabetes hit me like a locomotive.It killed my bladder and created a host of problems that made it impossible to hold a job because I could no longer guarantee I could work two days in a row much less a 40 hour minimum work-week.It took three turn-downs and a hearing in front of a S.S. judge before I was awarded my S.S. disability.Total time involved:54 months.They finally gave it to me based on sustainability,in other words because I could not sustain a job because I couldn't keep a schedule.I should also point out that they put it off til after I turned 50.Don't know your age but that could be a factor.I know how tough it can be.I went from 28 dollars an hour to zero income for 4 and1/2 years.Good luck with your battle.I was sure they were hoping I would die before I got a dime.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[shrike]

8. Check your inbox. n/t

[Gman2]

9. My SS doc spent the lions share of her time, teaching me how to get over on the system.

She warned me that you dont really get your bene's. You go for your initial, and everyone is turned down. Then, you forge on, and get an appeal. You will get turned down. Then, you hire a lawyer, and if you are lucky, you win, and he takes a huge chunk. If the SS is lucky, you are dead in the process. The fact that most serious illnesses need peace, mnakes the gauntlett torture. I too have heart failure. But God granted me a reprieve. I am only needing meds yet.

[Vidar]

11. K&R.

[happy_liberal]

12. K&R

I dream that someday our country can be a place with compassion for all but we have so far to go and it seems we are going backwards fast.

Thank you so much for helping out after Katrina...but what a price to pay...

[dotymed]

15. It's amazing

I thought I would get a lot of troll replies...welfare, etc..thanks

[avaistheone1]

16. Try to keep the faith.

People have posted some good ideas. I hope one or more of them work out for you.

Sorry about all the hassles you are going through. That really stinks.

[bobbolink]

19. Every one of these stories makes me sick. There is almost ZERO awareness of disability in this

country. I am at a loss of what to do about that. People, and that includes "progressives", simply don't want to hear it.

ALL of this needs to be shouted from the rooftops! We need a Rep. Grayson to bring all of this to light.

This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me nervous about *this* government running health care! There reallyy are serious problems in the system. (And, no, I don't think the corporate-run is better, for those who can't hear.)

Is there any way to start publicizing these?

I will be thinking of all of you who have shared, and hope that things get better for you. I am sick that you are being treated in this way, but I know that thousands are going through this, and we don't know how many are dying.

:cry:

[winyanstaz]

20. Although you did not ask for advice...here is mine...

Change lawyers as fast as you can.
Your lawyer sounds like a loser.
Finding a good social security disability lawyer is the key to getting help faster.
The best of luck and may you get the help you need soon.