Because of my recent ECT, I can’t remember what, if anything, has happened since my last post seven weeks ago. I do remember having to fill out another SSDI Evaluation, which I never did. Then I was supposed to see one of their doctors again, though that could have been for SSI. It just so happened that I was having inpatient ECT at the time, so they decided that I didn’t need to see their doctor after all. Go figure.
I found out yesterday that I’ve been approved for SSDI! I applied in frickin’ December! Nor did I have to see their doctors. Guess I’m pretty disabled, eh?
My monthly payment will be about $1k, which will cover the rent with some change left over. I’ll get a year of backpay, which amounts to five figures. They’re going to direct deposit it when they deposit my first check; they pay out on the third Wednesday of each month and are a month behind. So my March check will be deposited in April.
I talked to my adjudicator in Springfield, and she said I can toss that SSDI Evaluation! Sweet.
The local SSA office wanted me to come in so they could process my SSI claim, which I don’t qualify for because Brian makes way too much at his new job. Still, they wanted to make sure that they didn’t owe me any money so I stopped by yesterday with the paperwork. I didn’t even have to take a number; the guard took my documents to the…counselor? But when I had questions he couldn’t answer, she was nice enough to see me at her window and explain everything.
This is such a relief! And of course I’m going on a shopping spree! We’ll finally be able to get wedding rings. The ones I want are super expensive, but we never had a wedding, so we deserve it! I only wish we could get them in time for our anniversary, but better late than never! 4 years ago
The SSA sent forms to both Brian and me to fill out. WTF? Luckily, my case manager mostly filled out mine for me and had me do the rest. It wasn’t as bad as I thought, and then he faxed them where they needed to go, so they’d get there faster.
Still waiting… 5 years ago
Listen to the audiopost here. 5 years ago
Which is probably good. My case manager got me an appointment for next Wednesday, so we’ll be going down to the SSA office then. 5 years ago
While meeting with my case manager today, he was on hold for an hour with the SSA office trying to get me an appointment. He gave up, and we decided to crash the place the week after next, even if it means having to sit there for four hours waiting to be seen. I just want to get this shit going. 5 years ago
I finally managed to make myself call my past employers to track down my employment history for the past 15, that’s right, 15 years in order to complete the SSDI form. This isn’t easy when the longest job you’ve ever had was for three years, but also because when I was last able to work, I was an adjunct professor, which meant that I had to teach at whatever school had openings available.
Met with my case manager yesterday, but he said he didn’t want to call the SSA office for an appointment yet because it was the end/first of the month and they’d be too busy. Anyway, he said he’ll be meeting with one of the workers next week or so and will try to sneak in an appointment for me. 5 years ago
the SSA wants a list of all of the hospitalizations related to the disability. yeah, like i could keep up with all of that.
i have the approximate dates of both my inpatient and outpatient hospitalizations from the past three years, but my CM had an even better solution. he had some paperwork that he simply addressed to the records departments of the various hospitals to which i’ve been admitted requesting the dates, and all i had to do was sign each sheet. very nice.
now i have to try to figure out all of the jobs i’ve held in the past 15 years. that, i think, will prove to be a lot tougher, especially since i had all kinds of different jobs at DePaul while i was still there for undergrad. but at least this process is finally happening! 5 years ago
now that i have a case manager (CM) at the Social Services Agency, he is helping me apply for SSDI. i know that i should have began this process three years ago when i first became disabled because we are in dire financial straits right now, and it’s not like i can go out and get a job.
currently, i’m compiling the items and documents that i will need that are on this checklist my CM gave me. when i meet with him next week, i promised to have written down all of the doctors, therapists, hospitals, etc. that i’ve seen/been in. 5 years ago
I would like to acknowledge Red Neck Poet for sponsoring my membership for a spell. I have other acknowledgements to make, so if you think I owe you, then let me know and I’ll render the appropriate thanks.
I hadn’t been doing so well, but as of Sunday 20 August night I’m past a turning point. In a way, I guess. Of course, there are the blessings of life, of love, so dont’ take this confessional to be the stereotypical “emo” rant. But yes, I had felt as if I was spinning my wheels. And the mud was deep here. I was getting stuck.
Good news is, I did get a submission off to Glimmer Train. And good news is the only debt we have is our mortgage. Now I’m going for a different short story and chapter to a book I’m writing.
Bad news is I’m jobless, and we’re eating up our savings. We manage to pay the expenses by my disability, my wife’s job delivering the papers, and her book business. Oh, yes; I collect metal scrap and sell it. Every little bit helps.
Later today I’m going to apply for cooling assistance. Our last bill was $215.00 We’ve cut back now, and are turning off the air conditioning when it’s tolerable. 5 years ago
I need the money and the time free to write. 5 years ago
I’ve been on medical leave since last september
for adhesions and chronic pain. I’m awaiting a
decision from s.s. and dayuhm!
It’s quite a process. 5 years ago
i called her at her office. she said she’d look in the bank to see if my birth certificate is there. she also said that she will help me fill out all of the required paperwork.
part me wants to say, “yes! woohoo!!!” but then there’s another part of me that knows how my mom is. nothing’s ever “free” with her. she’s like the Godfather, seriously: “Someday – and that day may never come – I’ll call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, accept this … gift …” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/quotes – accessed 11/30/05)
so i guess i’ll accept it and see what happens. 6 years ago
already. one of the pieces of paper the SSA wants you to supply is an original birth certificate or at least an official copy from the office. if i were born in Cook County, this would not be a problem.
unfortunately, i was born in Quezon City, Philippines, and according to my dad, it isn’t so easy to obtain government documents from there. wonderful. further, he insists that my mom has a copy in a safety deposit box and that i should call her for it. for some reason, i don’t believe she has this because she may have given it to me in the past and-duh-i lost it. second, i haven’t spoken to her in nearly 2 years, and i’m just not ready to.
on the other hand, i’m tired of brooding and brooding about the things that need to be done. it’s time to take some action if this ball is ever going to get rolling.
well, i just tried her on her cell phone and got no answer. my sister said that she gets poor reception in her unit and she doesn’t have a land line set up yet. we agreed that i should just call her at work tomorrow, so that’s what i’ll do. 6 years ago
yeah!!! i still have to have an interview, but at least most of this can be done online. there’s even a checklist you can print out that lists the information you need to gather. i’m guessing that’s going to be the worst part of it. but again, it can’t be worse than gathering grad school materials. at least i won’t have to write a statement of purpose. 6 years ago
i actually dragged my ass to the SSA office today, with a very good idea that it probably closed at 4:00pm. i even got out of the car and walked up to the door, thinking that maybe i’d just get some brochures or something, but the security guard locked the deadbolt before i even reached the threshold. oh, well. i needed to get out of the house anyway. 6 years ago
the only problem i can see about applying for disability myself is that i might not do it. i don’t know about other people with bipolar, but when things begin to feel overwhelming, i end up unable to do anything at all. or very little, anyway.
there’s too much going through my head and i’m unable to keep track of any of it and everything becomes completely disorganized. then i get frustrated because i’m normally a very organized person—well, when it comes to paperwork and stuff like that. so then i start thinking, why even bother? 6 years ago
the lawyer advised me to apply on my own because she thinks that as long as my p-doc’s and therapist’s reports comprehensively support why i qualify for disability, she doesn’t think i’ll need a lawyer. she said to expect to be denied, then appeal (timely), then appeal again if i have to. if i’m denied a third time, then i’ll have to go to a hearing, and that’s when she said to retain a lawyer. otherwise, she didn’t want to take our money unnecessarily. go figure. clearly, she did not go to the same law school as Alan Shore.
the first thing i need to do is call the Social Security office and ask if i need to come in to apply, or if i can do it by phone. the lawyer said that i will need the exact dates of my hospitalizations these past 2 years, and that there will be a ton of paperwork. all this sounds overwhelming to me, but it can’t be any more difficult than getting grad school application matierals together. right? 6 years ago
the 847 lawyer left me a voice mail yesterday, but since i was sick and in bed all day, i didn’t get the message ‘til today. i called back and the receptionist/secretary/assistant (?) said he was out for the rest of the day, but to call tomorrow.
as i hung up, i almost threw up from anxiety. i didn’t think this would affect me that way. i thought i could be completely detached from this, but apparently not.
or it could just be because i didn’t take my morning meds for 2 days in a row because my sleep schedule is messed up. i think that’s why i’m sick. i don’t have a cold, but i feel really weak and shaky.
or a combination of missing meds and anxiety. 6 years ago
believe it or not, i’ve actually moved on this. i called the local DBSA chapter and got the names of 2 lawyers. a year or 2 ago Brian and i went to a meeting there where one of the attorneys gave a presentation about applying for disability, but i couldn’t remember his name. anyway, i left a message on DBSA’s machine, and someone called me back the next day.
i contacted both the lawyers, and it turns out that one of them actually practices employment discrimination law, not disability. he’s the one whose office is probably closer-it’s in the (312) area code; the other guy is in (847)-so probably 847 is the one i need to talk to.
anyway, when i called both offices on Thursday and Friday respectively, both lawyers were on the phone and i left messages for each. i haven’t heard back yet, so i’ll call back tomorrow or Tuesday.
i also found out that you can still get disability if you have a job but make less than $830 month. my p-doc will be glad to hear that because it means that i could teach a class, maybe even 2, a semester and still qualify. how sad is that? but my degree won’t go to waste. just my time. 6 years ago
this is the newest item on the list of things i’m doing. i’ve been meaning to do this, but like many other things, i just haven’t gotten around to it. well, more likely i’ve been avoiding it.
i realize that most people aren’t approved the first time they apply for SSI, so i know that this will likely be a long process, but what do i have to lose?
part of me feels ashamed about applying, though i know i shouldn’t. i started working when i was 15 and only stopped nearly 2 years ago now, because of bipolarness. and anxiety. so it isn’t like i haven’t paid any taxes.
the p-doc doesn’t want me to do this because he doesn’t want me to waste my MFA. i find this funny because it’s an art degree after all, although it’s part of English departments. on the other hand, he understands that money’s money.
he really wants me to get a job, like a blow-off job, but he and my therapist know that i’m not ready. my therapist said that she and i need to work out my issues about not going in to work if i don’t feel like going that day. certainly when i was teaching i went, but they’re in agreement that i’m not ready to teach yet. anyway, she’s talking about other part-time jobs i’ve had in the past, like ones i didn’t care about. she also pointed out that even when i wasn’t in a depressive episode, if i really didn’t care about/like the job and i didn’t feel like going, i wouldn’t. must work past this. 6 years ago
