disibility

kmhbeauty

New member
I wanted to get some info about going on disability. Here is a general background of me. I am low income, food server and in school full time. I have very little family, only my mother who lives in the same state as me but can not afford to help me financially. I am single, not married, and I support myself fully. The last 3 years, I have seen a decline in my health. I am still at 80 percent lung function but I am noticing I really have to take care of myself an between work and school, I don't have the time. I can not miss work, because I will not have money for food. I live pay check to pay check and I am barely making it financially. I just had surgery on Tuesday and I am forcing myself to go back to work today (Thursday) because I barely have anything in my bank account. I don't want to quit school because I am 29 years old, behind on school, and I feel like its now or never. I wont be able to do this later so Im doing it now while I have 80 percent lung function. I want to work out and exercise and do my treatments but I barely have time. I have worked and paid taxes since I was 17 years old, I am going on 29 years now. Ive never taken any time off, always worked since 17. Would going on disability be the best thing for me? I want to get my health on track before its too late. Would I even be able to get on disability with 80 percent lung function? I feel like the boat is going to tip soon. I have no money, the bills are barely getting paid as I get more sick. Im not sure how much longer I can keep pushing myself daily at work struggling, being tired, and having no joy in my life. Please help! Suggestions please! I just got finished with my 11th polyp surgery, 13th general surgery (2 were for kidney stones) and I was just hospalized two months ago for coughing up a ton of blood when I got off work. Drowning in credit card debt as this damn illness takes over my life
 

RockyLass

New member
Hi khm,

I am just like you, have ok lung function at %77 but bounces a lot. I started getting disability at around 80% lung function, was even little high, %85! I was running around, trying to juggle everything, and was just too hard and had to stop, I did alot of odd dead end jobs in my early teens and 20's, and unfortunately I didn't pay enough into the system, so I get SSI. My diabetes was out of control, and I got sick very frequently and couldn't do my treatments. It was hard decision at 21, before I even battled MAC and sinus complications! It took many months for getting approved, getting doctors notes, ect, they will deny you first time. I qualified because I was low income and 'disabled' under social security rules and my routine of treatments and what my doctors told them. They will want a record of everything and you should talk to some others one here who either get SSDI or SSI. You definitely sound like you qualify with all your hospitals and multi surgeries.

For me personally it was the best BLESSING for my health and LIFE and COST OF MEDICINE, And I thank God for it! my lungs improved, diabetes under control and more happier in life. I still live with my folks, but I contribute to my household and they are super supportive. You can also still work under SSI or SSDI, BUT it must within an income limit that they set with the rules in your state. (NEB)

Any more questions PM me, hope that helps, !
 

jaimers

Super Moderator
If you search disability, SSI or SSDI there are a lot of threads that come up about this that will have some helpful information for you I think.
 

jshet

New member
My son has cf, autism, severe gi issues, bleeding disorder and a few other things going on. He will be 18 in a few months, so i have been speaking with all of his specialists regarding this upcoming endeavor. One of the main criteria is being unable to perform any substantial work. I would worry that as long as you are working you will be denied based on this fact. You may need to stop working prior to filing because you will need your doctor(s) to say you are unable to work.

I hope you are awarded disability so you can begin to focus on your health.
 

Gammaw

Super Moderator
Are you working full time or part time? Does you doc feel you need to slow down or quit work for health reasons? Find a supportive doc in your team of providers and 1. call the CF Legal Hot line for support, info and maybe referral. You may already qualify for SSI so 2. call the local Social Security Administration and ask. I think you'll find that disability lawyers will be able and happy to answer your initial questions quickly. So 3. call one and ask about fees too. Some may take fees out of the actual initial award which often includes a lump sum for back disability while the action is pending. Do not wait. Call now. And yes, virtually all disability claims I've ever heard about are denied first.
 

kmhbeauty

New member
I work part time as a food server. Do they look down on being in school also? I looked over the different forums, what 3 CF requirements is everyone talking about? What are the 3 things cfers need to qualify? I didn't understand what everyone was talking about. Thank you!
 

Gammaw

Super Moderator
Call a disability attorney and file. Now. You want your claim on file sooner rather than later since benefits run from the time you file. Take a look at the SSA's section on CF - http://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/3.00-Respiratory-Adult.htm. You should also call your local SSA re SSI. And if your income is that low, call Social Services for potential emergency assistance too. Every locale has different requirements and programs for social services (that's different from the social security administration and disability). You may qualify for food stamps for instance. Don't keep stressing - it's not good for your health. Just call. Take a deep breath and call one at a time.
 

RobinB29

New member
Go to CFF.org, contact the law offices of Suffian & Passimano. They helped me file my initial application and were great. They had a grant to help folks file so if they still have that they can probably help you too for free.
 

kmhbeauty

New member
I called social security today. I found out that I have 37 credits towards disability and the woman said that is enough. She said I would make 1100 which is a little low. Im gonna talk to the social worker at my cf clinic and then talk to some law offices. The woman at social security said that once you are on it for a year, then you can start working a couple days a week. That was going to be my plan, just to work one or two days to make some extra money. I wonder how a 1099 would work with this. Have any of you gotten help with housing? I am going to look into that too eventually. I am basically trying to learn all the info I can right now so I can come up with a game plan to make this work where I can afford my bills, have some joy in my life, and start an aggressive treatment plan.
 

julie

New member
Just know that they deny almost 95% of applications that come through to them initially. The initial appeal is also at about 90% denial rate.

Are you on any IV or nebulized antibiotics?
How often are you having sputum cultures?
The surgery you mentioned, was it CF related?
Have you been hospitalized in the last year and if yes, how often?

These are questions that I ask all my new clients so I can determine if they have a possible case or not. Next step is getting all of their medical records for the last 12-24 months (depending on their situation). How many hours are you currently working and how much are you making a month right now?

www.dafcf.org is my website and organizaton
 

kmhbeauty

New member
Just know that they deny almost 95% of applications that come through to them initially. The initial appeal is also at about 90% denial rate.

Are you on any IV or nebulized antibiotics?
How often are you having sputum cultures?
The surgery you mentioned, was it CF related?
Have you been hospitalized in the last year and if yes, how often?

These are questions that I ask all my new clients so I can determine if they have a possible case or not. Next step is getting all of their medical records for the last 12-24 months (depending on their situation). How many hours are you currently working and how much are you making a month right now?

www.dafcf.org is my website and organizaton
Hello Julie,
I am not on Iv or neb anti, I am having sputum cultures every 3 months at the CF. I have staph, MAC, and aspergillus. I have had 11 sinus surgeries that are CF related to get rid of nasal polyps. 2 surgeries were from kidney stones which I believe is CF related. I have been hospitalized twice in the last year. One for 3 days, one for 4 days. I am currently working 25 to 30 hours a week and making around 2,000 a month. I have not treated the MAC in my lungs either because I have no time with work and school. I see my health going down the drain lately, it sad. I noticed I need to put more time to my health, more time to sleep, and more time to rest. Im running my self into the ground and my health is on a downward spiral.
 

cflawyer

New member
Contact the CF Legal Information. Hotline at 1-800-622-0385. Or email CFLegal@sufianpassamano.com The attorneys there can tell you what you need to know.

The CF Social Security Project may be able to help with an application. The Project typically gets people with CF approved in 3-4 months.
 

cam

New member
I wenr threw this few yrs ago they will most likly deny u but get attorney only way to really get it in my opinion and I had to stop working for awhile til I went to the court date and there was the judge and 10 other people in there and ur attorney all of them saying what jobs u can do then u have to show how u cant do those jobs and with all the treatments and vest time and hospital stays we have I won in 5minutes then afrwr u win u get back pay from when u applied and denied amd stoped workin then out of that money u pay ur attorney a percentage of that was best thing ever happened to me now I can work part time and have time todo all my ttreatments and have insurance and disability check to so go for it im sure u will get it in time well worth it and will give u more time to do things and take care of urself good luck and hope that u and everyone stays healthy and pray for the cure bye
 
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