[Rickey]

I am a 51 year old male with several medical problems. I have been working since I quit school in the 9th grade at 16 years old. In the past 10 or 12 years, my health has gone down hill. I have managed over the years to hide my medical problems from previous employers just so I could continue working. Some of these medical problems include degenerative arthritis in all my joints. Cervical arthritis in my neck. Cholesteatomas in both ears(I have to wear hearing aids). COPD, Grand Mal Seizure Disorder and several other problems.
My main work experience is in truck driving but this all came to an abrupt end a few years back (2003 or 2004) when I had a seizure while driving out in west Texas. I put about $250,000 worth of truck, trailer and freight out through the pine trees south of Waco. This did not set well with the owner of the truck; I guess luck kept him from suing my pants off. Needless to say, I was prohibited from driving in Texas for 2 years. And with that on my driving record, another job driving was out of the question. I haven’t been behind the wheel of a truck since.
I did manage to keep working at short term odd jobs to try to make ends meet. But my conditions keep getting worse and they are at the point now that I can’t hide it any longer. I had to quit working back in August of 2009 because of these medical problems. I applied for my social security back in Dec 2009 and of course they turned me down. I filed an appeal and I hired a lawyer that I haven’t heard from since he got the signed contract from me. I went to the VA and got all of my medical records and took them to the lawyer. He still refuses to return my calls or contact me in any way. The main problem that made me have to quit is with my left knee. It got to the point that I could not walk or stand for long periods of time because the knee would lock up or start hurting so bad that it would bring tears to my eyes. I have been treated for this knee problem since I fell when I was 18 years old. I was in the Army at the time. I also developed a seizure disorder while in service. I have had to have several operations on this knee and finally it had to be replaced back in Aug of 2010. This operation went bad because of infection and now they say it has to be done all over again after a long antibiotic regiment (about 3 months) which I don’t even know when they will start.
I am a 100% service connected disabled veteran and I do receive a comp check from the VA. Since I have had to quit working, every thing has gone from bad to worse. My wife is 67 years old and she draws about $460.00 a month on her social security, she has battled aches and pains common with someone her age and she refuses to go to the doctor because she says we can’t afford it. She some how has managed to get us this far “robbing from Peter to pay Paul” but it has gotten to the point that we are so far behind, with the cost of gas, utilities and groceries going up every day, we can’t even do this anymore. I have caught my wife several times crying her eyes out trying to figure out how to make ends meet and believe me, this hurts like hell. All our bills are at least a month or more behind and we have had to file bankruptcy. Paying all the utility and other bills and making the bankruptcy payment out of our income leaves very little to live on.
We can’t even afford to eat decent food, hamburger and bacon is about the only meat that we can afford. Eating hamburger with every meal gets old in a hurry. We have several pets, my wife is a cat lover and we have even went so far as to try to give away all our pets because we couldn’t afford to feed them but no one wants them and we will not have them put to sleep or let them starve. We have cut every corner that could be cut and even some that didn’t need to be cut.
We have 2 old worn out Chevrolet trucks that are on their last leg to get around on. Both of them have over 300,000 miles on them and we have to make that 390 mile round trip to the VA hospital in Birmingham Al at least once or twice a month. This has a tendency to make me get knots in my gut quite a lot wondering if we will be left sitting beside the road a long way from home because the truck gave up. We have road side assistance on our insurance but this will only pay to have the vehicle towed to the nearest garage, it don’t pay to fix it or get us home.
We had to go to a title pawn place to borrow money on both the vehicles to pay bills. They loaned us a total of $1200 on both trucks and this is costing us $200 a month in order to keep our vehicles. We have been paying this for several months (at least a year) and we have no way of coming up with the original $1200 to stop this. I know this is stupid to do something like this but it was a matter of keeping the lights on and eating at the time.
We had to go to a check cashing place and borrow $300 at another point in time for the same reason and this is costing almost $100 a month and it has been going on for several months now.
Our light bill has been outrageous with all the cold weather, from $350 to $500 a month and it is still a month or so behind. Our power company allows 3deferred payments a year and we have used all 3. We owe the power company several hundred dollars in overdue bills. This is very, very frustrating to have to deal with every month that god sends. I was told by an employee of the electric company to go to OCAP to get help with paying the bill. OCAP told me right off the bat that there was a 2 year waiting list for assistance and no guarantee that they could help even after the wait.
We have had an electrical fire in our home in the last year. Our insurance paid $3,000 for this to be repaired. I am no electrician at all and now we don’t have lights in the master bedroom or the master bathroom. this is not related to the previous fire. We can’t even afford to have an electrician to come out and fix this. Are we just waiting for another fire?
We are currently under bankruptcy; we had to do this to keep from loosing our home. The payment on this bankruptcy is around $695.00 a month. A bill consolidation loan is out of the question, no bank or finance company will even talk to us because of the bankruptcy.
We rent the lot where our house is setup (it's a doublewide trailer) and we have been here for 18 years. The lady that owns the land is getting on up in age. She turned everything over to her son. Now they have put the whole place up for sale. I can’t ask him to just sell me the spot where my house is because I can’t afford to make a payment even if he would finance it for me. He has not asked us to move so far. But if the land sells and the new owner dose not want to continue to rent me the lot where my house is, I have no clue as to where I can get the money to have my house moved let alone getting a place to move it to.
We don't have any relatives that have the ability to help us so thats not a choice. I realize that I am not the only person with these kinds of problems and I know that I am not the only person with medical problems. I wish to god that I was able to just go back to work and pay my bills. At this point that is pretty much out of the question. I can’t even walk for Christ sake.
Even if I could walk, with so many people out of work and looking to find a job. Who in their right mind would hire me at my age and with my health like it is before they would hire someone a lot younger and healthier? I can’t drive a truck anymore because I can’t pass a DOT physical and I don’t have much experience in anything else. I don’t have a high school education and most places won’t even talk to you without one.
I know that social security has their rules and policies that they have to go by and I realize there is a very large back log. With my health like it is, I can’t understand why they turned me down to start with. I don’t see any way for us to survive waiting another year for a hearing, by then every thing will be gone and we will be out in the cold.
I don’t have a lot to show for all my years of working but I do have a little, I have a home (at this point in time) and I have a very good wife that has stood beside me through thick and thin. Being on the verge of loosing everything including our home is putting a very hard strain on our marriage. I realize that my financial situation is nobody’s fault but mine. This is not like I am applying for a loan, I am only asking for what is rightfully mine. I have paid my social security diligently for 30 some odd years and now I desperately need a little help. Could anyone offer any advice on sending a "Letter of Dire Need" to social security? Should I contact my congressman? My lawyer is obviously not concerned too much about my problem.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[lefthanded]

First let me say I am very sorry to hear of your situation. For many Americans this is exactly what they fear may happen to them as they watch everything they know slip away.

Second, fire your attorney. Find a new one. That is probably easier said than done, but an unresponsive attorney, while not being on the endangered species list, should be!

Third . . . it sounds like you live in Texas? Why do you drive two states away to Alabama to go to a VA hospital? And won't VA pay for the medication you need to get your knee surgery? Try googling Rx assistance programs and see if there is one that might be able to help you.

You may need to close off rooms and keep your thermostat lower . . . $300-500 seems rather high for a light and heat bill for one month. And I would suggest that a post roast can last days for less $$ than it would cost to eat hamburger for the same period, plus you can roast it with a few potatoes and carrots for some vegetables. I would also suggest supplementing your diet with some canned tuna, chicken (roast a whole fryer and you can eat at least three meals for two people), and pasta with tomato based sauces, for better nutrition and equivalent costs. Bacon is expensive around here . . . and not the best choice for health; in our house it is a rare treat! We have learned to live by the 3-4 oz of meat per serving rule and that helps stretch proteins a lot further. If you don't qualify for food stamps, I would suggest seeing if a food bank could help supplement your food budget.

I am sorry I don't have much help to offer for your finances. Most of us are scrambling to stay out of situations like yours, and options are running out for many of us.

I do wish you well, and that 2011 will find you getting some relief.

[echoes long ago]

yes definitely contact your congressman and fire your attorney. your attorney should be helping you to file for a dire need from SS and expedite your hearing date.

[Rickey]

I do live in Alabama; I was in Texas driving over the road when I had the wreck. They say if I try to fire that lawyer that he can hit me up for fees. I really don't know of any fees he could charge as he hasn't done any thing. I got all my medical records myself and took them to his office. He just simply told me that he knew all the social security lawyers and judges here in Alabama and that he could get quick results, in other words he lied to get me to sign the contract. I just don't understand it, we the people of this country vote for and elect people to run this country and to protect our rights. We pay very high taxes and social security from the time we are old enough to work. These people we voted into office have the right to take our tax dollars and use it to bail out big corporations without even asking us. Then they sit back in their big chairs while one of their organizations (social security) jerks people around about getting what is rightfully theirs. I'm no politician and I really don't follow politics that much. The point is, why do the people we elected to office just sit back and vote themselves in a new pay raise every year and then watch social security destroy people’s livelihood, their dignity, their pride and anything else they might own. My wife has been drawing her social security since she turned 62, she has not gotten a cost of living increase for the past 3 or 4 years but the government hasn’t missed a year without a pay raise. I know there has to be rules to decide who is eligible and who is not, but I don’t see why it should take from a 1 1/2 to god knows how many years to decide. These social security offices are all state run, why doesn’t the state government try to put people that need jobs and are able to work to work in these offices to help with the backlog. I guess I’m just rambling because of my situation. Sometimes I think about just sticking a gun in my mouth and pulling the trigger. Or maybe say to hell with all of it and move to Mexico or Canada.

[Kitty]

Take a good look at the contract you signed with your lawyer before you fire him. That small print can come back to bite you later!

Please don't give up. It's always darkest before the dawn.

[Rickey]

Originally Posted by Kitty

Take a good look at the contract you signed with your lawyer before you fire him. That small print can come back to bite you later!

Please don't give up. It's always darkest before the dawn.

Thanks Kitty,
I really couldn't stand too many more bites at this point in time. When and if I ever do get a hearing, I will make it very, very clear to the judge that this lawyer has done absolutely nothing to help me, not even a phone call. I think I am going ahead with the Letter of Dire Need myself, I think I have to send it to the Social Security Hearing Arrangement Office in Mobile Al. If anyone actually knows where to send it, please let me know. I guess if anyone there takes the time to read the letter, they will then give it to the ALJ and he will make a decision as to whether or not he will expedite my hearing. Everything I have stated in this reply is stuff I have found on the web, I truly have no idea if it will work or if they even consider a Letter of Dire Need in the state of Alabama. I did ask the lady at the social security office the other day and she knew nothing about it. She had never heard of it. But anyway, all they can do is approve or disapprove it.

[echoes long ago]

contact your congressman also

[Cblue]

rlj1959, I don't have any good advise, but I will surely say some prayers for you and your wife! I hope you get approved for everything that you desperately need. You did a wise thing by looking up this website.
Take care! God bless!!!!

[Samm]

All I can add is I was a driver for over 30 years. Also suffer from advanced Cervical arthritis and diabetic Neuropathy .

Anyway, my Doc wouldn't pass me on the required DOT physical, unless I saw a Neurologist and was given the OK. After tons of testing, the Neurologist said I was not physically qualified to drive a commercial vehicle.

When I interviewed with SSA, she said my age (57), high school education, and lack of skills that could be used doing other types of work, my chances of approval were very high.

I explained all of that in my medical review, and included a copy of my DOT physical report the Doctor had denied me on. I don't know how much influence that had, but was approved on the 1st application, with a 5-7 year review.

[Rickey]

Originally Posted by Samm

All I can add is I was a driver for over 30 years. Also suffer from advanced Cervical arthritis and diabetic Neuropathy .

Anyway, my Doc wouldn't pass me on the required DOT physical, unless I saw a Neurologist and was given the OK. After tons of testing, the Neurologist said I was not physically qualified to drive a commercial vehicle.

When I interviewed with SSA, she said my age (57), high school education, and lack of skills that could be used doing other types of work, my chances of approval were very high.

I explained all of that in my medical review, and included a copy of my DOT physical report the Doctor had denied me on. I don't know how much influence that had, but was approved on the 1st application, with a 5-7 year review.

Thanks Samm,
My cervical arthritis is also advanced. This is probably from bouncing up and down the roads in an old truck. I did it for 19 years. When I was interviewed, they told me that with all the medical problems that I have, I was sure to be approved. They requested all my medical records from the VA. But 4 months later, BAM I was denied. I filed the appeal immediately and now I wait and wait and wait. I sometimes wonder do those folks at SSA even know or think about the fact that people are loosing there homes and everything else while they try to think up more reasons to turn down really and truly disabled people. It's like I said earlier, I wish to god that I was able to tell them where to stick it and go back to work.