I Have Marfan Syndrome

Social Security Disability Court Appearance

Thursday, 29 July 2010 11:21

I am applying for Social Security Disability. I applied 2 years ago and was summarily denied.

Before all of my doctor reports had been received, and after getting a very quick examination by a government "doctor", after about 4 months, I was denied. I then immediately appealed with the help of a Social Security lawyer.

The lawyer said that it would take at least 2 years before a court date. Finances have been extremely tight, and, every once in a while we have trouble having enough money at the end of the month to buy food. We haven't paid many medical bills, and are behind in quite a few others. So, being approved for SSD would be a gigantic help.

If you've been following this blog, then you know all of the Medical/Health issues that I have. In the past three months, my knees have steadily become worse, and last week, my knees began to hurt constantly. I am definitely not one of those people looking for easy money.

So, about two months ago, I got a letter from the Social Security Administration, saying that my court date would be in July. I was thrilled. This meant that the end was near!

As we got closer to the date, and I began to prepare, it became obvious that I had more issues than I was willing to admit. My memory, whether because of the surgeries that I've had, or the medications that I'm on, has become really bad. I wrote down all of my issues by system or body part - skeletal, knees, back, etc. And I took that with me to court. I met with my lawyer one week before the court date, and I still did not feel confident. Maybe that was just my Pessimistic Optimistic view of life.

At the meeting, my lawyer said that she was not given a disk by the government showing all of the papers that they had. Usually she gets a disk. My paranoia meter began to rise.

Sleeping has been difficult, even with my CPAP machine.

The day of my court appearance came, and Pauline joined me. We arrived at the Social Security Administration offices in Poughkeepsie about 15 minutes before my court appointment. My lawyer was there. The judge wasn't. This was going to be a video conference, with the judge physically being in New Jersey. He ended up signing in about 1 hour late.

I was asked many questions, and my lawyer helped me answer them by pointing to the notes that I had written for myself. Pauline also helped by whispering some reminders.

After all of the questioning, the judge asked me if there was anything else that I wanted to say. Pauline whispered, "The kids".

I started to answer and broke down crying. The thing is that the way I was raised is that as a man, it was/is my duty to take care of the family... and I am not able to play with my children as other fathers do with theirs. I am not able to carry Samantha on my shoulders (I did once for a thanksgiving day parade 2 years ago, and I had to prepare for that with a back support belt, and after I was exhausted); I can only carry Olivia for a couple of minutes before getting too tired. In the summer, with the extremem humidity, I can barely do anything!

As I tried to calm down, the judge talked to my lawyer about some of the details. Apparently, he was surprised to find out that the government "doctor" that examined me about 2 years ago, was not actually a doctor. He was also interested in seeing many of the documents that were missing. So, we got a 2 week extention to get the missing reports.

I was then able to say the following (as I remember it):

"I was raised to take care of my family. However, ever since I graduated from college, and began to work full time, at a desk job, I have been unable to work continuously. After one year of working, I had my second surgery. When I returned to work, it was for about one year, and then Iw as out with Dural Ectasia for about two months. My next Full Time employment was only for about 4 months, during which time, my blood pressure rose, I experienced anxiety attacks, and I was out for a week due to my back locking up. I have tried to work to support my family, and I cannot do it."

I... my family REALLY needed there to be a decision that day, but that didn't happen. So, I'm still not sleeping well, getting a bit of a cold right now from the lack of sleep, but - all of the missing papers have been received, and have been sent to the judge.

My lawyer says that it generally takes about 30 days for a decision. The longer it takes, the better.... we'll see.

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Comments (4)

m-d-Y H:i:s | robbie - any news

Hi geoff,
I hope you have heard any news yet? Who did you use as an advocate? I use Binder and Binder.
robbie

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m-d-Y H:i:s | Geoff

Robbie,

Glad you found my site! No news from the judge. REALLY need the money though!
My legs have started to hurt tremendously and am looking at a Fybromyalgia evaluation next week (8/24). That would fit with many of the symptoms that I've had for a very long time. I've been busy with headaches, pain, and lots of other stuff, while thinking about how to write about it as a blog entry.
I use a local lawyer around where I live.
Good luck with your case!

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m-d-Y H:i:s | robbie - good luck

Thanks geoff,
It's just nice to meet someone going through the same thing as me. I know how money can get tight, I've been living with my grandmother for the last four years. And I know how it feels to not be able to support yourself. Keep me informed and hopefully we'll both have good news here in the near future.

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m-d-Y H:i:s | robbie - finally some good news

Hi Geoff,
Had my six month CT yesterday and finally some good news. No new dilation from six months ago. I am setting at 45mm, but it shows that the physical restriction my doctors have me on are having a positive effect. I hope this a good aguement for me SSDI lawyer.
Hope your day is going great.
Robbie

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