Oh well

[MCBCON]

Finally did it.  Went Social Security and filed for disability.  The woman taking my claim was very nice.  She seemed to want to do as much as she could.  She decided to put my claim on the emergency list, noy sure what term she actually used.  She made the whole experience not so bad.

One good thing is that she is a Detroit Tigers fan too.

My wife and I came to the conclusion that I just could not function well enough to make a living.  Too tired, fall and stumbling too much, cannot drive, cannot see to well, my arms are jerking and flailing all around,  and my hands are curling up.  Too hard to type, which is a big part of me making a living.

The other great things are that we have to sell our house or simply lose it.  All our credit cards are two monhs in the rears.  Love all the wonderful phone calls we are getting from our creditors.

Now that I have filed for disability cannot collect unemployment or work much parttime.  No money and it is going to take a long time ot get any money from disability, if I am approved.  What are we supposed to live on until then?  We have no money.  Food stamps are fine, but not enough to feed my family with.  How do we pay for gas?  Deparment of Human Services seems to think we have too much to get any money in the mean time.

What did you all do?  Any suggestions?

Right now I am stuck at home.  I feel like I live in a box with no doors.  I am ussually too tired to do anything.  Either that or I am so unstable I just do not want to go out anyway. I try very hard to not get too down as it adversly effects my family.

[MCBCON]

No, I am not a vet.

[willowwoman7]

I don't know how old you are, but were you in the service? If you were, I know some resources that might help.

My honey was on retirement, so we had that coming in. It took me 2 1/2 years before I got my first check. In Ohio, the average wait for a hearing is about 1 1/2 years. Is your wife unable to work more hours? If you go to a disability lawyer, they may be able to get you SSI really fast. Have you already applied for disability and been denied?

[MCBCON]

no, my wife is not really employed.  She works 5 hrs a week.  not enought to pay any bills really.

[jensequitur]

Took the plunge, huh?  Well, I'm sorry it's come to this, but there is a reason why they have disability - for people who are unable to work because of sickness.  

Is your wife employed?  That's one of my fears right now - that if I go on disability, we'll have to lose the house, because I won't be able to afford the mortgage.  I don't know what I'd do!

[nette573]

I did too. I applied for disability this last year because I cannot work.  My fatigue plus the weakness nnmbness and dizzyness its too much to try to work.  My husband has a retirement and ssi (he is 65) if we did not have that I do not know what people would do.  

I think there is someone on here that knows about what you can do.  I thyought we could look it up in the healthpages somewhere. Ill see if I can find it.
Lynette

[Fluffysmom]

I think you did what you needed to do.  Do you have anything you can sell on E-Bay?  I hear that Dept. of Human services considers that a hobby and doesn't count that as income. DHS can be pretty tight with money, as they have a limited amount to work with and strict rules about how to use it.

I didn't have a family, so my story is different, but I'll share some of it, anyway.  I lived on unemployment, trying to work for a temp. company, which didn't work out, even when they had me assembling cardboard boxes, for pities sake.  

I had filed for unemployment soon after I lost my job, and since I kept trying to work, though Voc Rehab said I was not able to work, I was denied twice, until I got an attorney.  I finally got my Disability, with a nice lump sum in back pay.

I had student loans to defer and then default on.  I went bankrupt while still trying to believe I could go back to work.

While waiting, I moved from my nice apartment into a single room in a house with a bunch of dysfunctional people.  I was able to do some work for my landlord (secretarial, grouting tile floors, etc.) in exchange for rent, so I was able to keep what money I had.

I lived on General Assistance, which at the time was around $353 a month.  My only possesion was a car that I owed money on.  I had payed for disablility insurance when I bought the car, but had to continue paying as the insurance company fought my disability claim.  I finally got a check back from them, too.

Since I didn't have any resources, I got the maximum food stamps, and found out where to get food boxes.  The Salvation army also included things like toilet paper, feminine hygeine products, etc.  

It took a lot of changes in my way of thinking, and a good therapist, too.  I had been making decent money, had a Saks Fifth Avenue credit card (didn't use it much), carried an expensive purse, bought cute work-out gear.

I learned to find nice clothes at Goodwill, and then much nicer things at TJ Maxx, Marshall's, and Ross Dress for Less.

Look through this window here; travel the world when your hands work well enough to take you there.  

If you don't want to see a therapist (DHS can probably hook you up with a low or no cost organization), and an antidepressant won't work for you, then let us be your support system.  You can cry out to us, let your worries out, and maybe have a little easier time keeping up a good attitude around your family.

Remember that they love you, too, and understand how hard this is for you.  They know that you didn't ask for this, and if you could, you would have bought them the moon.  

Some churches have funds to help people with bills, you could look into that.  

Hugs and prayers,

Kathy