Need Prayers
 

My attorney called today, and my remand hearing is aug 15th. Man I am nervous :eek:

Since my doctor visits have been sporadic because of the lack of insurance, it has me a bit worried. I do have that visit to the clinic on aug 3rd, but what can you get from first visit? Maybe I can piece together some doctor, and PT records from before I lost insurance??

I know I am worse, but how do you prove it in a little over a couple weeks?

Only I thing can think of is lots of prayers :)

This sure has the potential of making my life leaps and bounds better for sure.

:grouphug:

Dear Allen -

Start keeping a daily log on the computer. As the pain cuts in, describe it. As in interferes with your daily life, annotate it. By August 3rd, you'll have plenty there.

When you see the new doctor, bring in that narrative along with a chronological breakdown of your injury and your level of function at the time, i.e., what you were doing before hand, what treatments you've had and what drugs you've been on, and how your condition has deteriorated over time. A year by year breakdown would do just fine. Put the information in there that comes to mind and call your pharmacy for a print-out of the meds you were on if neccessary: they are required to keep records to go back years, including even the names of the prescribing doctors. A few pictures of bright red, swollen limbs works wonders as well, especially if you wind up being not particularly symptomatic at the time of the appointment.

Good luck. I know you'll do just fine.

Mike

Lots of prayers
 

on the way !!! Mike gave great advice, plus be sure to add a copy of the letter your friend wrote, maybe some others can write a brief summary of how this has affected you, as they see it. Tell them because you didn't have money for medical care you needed you have to rely on your peers to support the changes in your health condition. They may or may not allow, but it is worth a try. Hang in there!!!Better days have to be ahead!!!:hug: Carose

Hi there
 

I know i dont know you... .One more thing i would recomend... is taking pictures... If you have a flare up... It may be useful... Reason being we arent always symptomatic... So if you do have days where you can physical see the flare i would capture that... Further proof of the pain you are going through...

I will keep you in my prayers!!! I am sure things will work out just the way they are suppose to....

Best Wishes :hug: :hug: :hug:

Dear Lord,

Please help our dear friend Allen get through this time in his life with a positive outcome. Also, please comfort him as the task of trying to prove this illness is burdensome, but with your help he can overcome this burden.

Amen

Hugs. Let us know if you need anything more. I keep a daily log of my pain in a dayplanner that goes everywhere with me. I would also go back through this site and print your posts to show the doctor. You have posted numerously about meds and pain and life, use your posts to your benefit.

Wishing you heaps of luck!! For my case I had a very extensive photographic display of the undeniable changes that have occured due to CRPS.
They found this evidence the most convincing. You have a couple of weeks still, if you are like me you should be able to gather plenty of evidence of colour changes, swelling etc in that time. Is there anyway you could get thermographic evidence? Here in Australia much value is placed on a thermogram that shows the vasoconstriction causing temperature changes.
Good luck
Tayla:hug:

Hi Allen,
 

I am keeping you in my prayers. I believe you will get it this time around.

Just do some relaxation techniques the night before and get a good nights rest and go in there with what evidence you have and try to stay calm. If you can, you can remember more that you want to say and it comes out better.

I know you can get through this.

Ada

Hi Allen
Remember
This is YOUR LIFE we are talking about and YOU ARE a wonderful and decent man and you deserve all the good things that are coming to you :)
Go in their with a confident and winning attitude- you deserve these things after how much your life has been altered- they are owed to you by a company that neglected you, and altered the course of your life immeasurably, and you will persevere.
Keep in mind that Michael is an attorney so he knows what he is talking about ;) - the more evidence that you have the better off you will be even if it seems a little difficult for the next couple of weeks- the rewards will last a lifetime:)
The picture diary too is an excellent idea!!!!!
Maybe these guys just watched Sicko.You deserve healthcare.It is a basic human right!
I am routing for you !!!!!!!!
You are going to win this time .

much peace

GnP

Allen,

I will be praying for you, my friend! I hope that things go well. :hug:

Keep on keepin' on!!

Thank you!
 

Started the journal yesterday. Will do everything outlined in this thread, all great ideas!

It is soooo nice to have so many friends backing me up, I feel mucho better. Like im not going through this thing alone. It is a surreal feeling after being denied so many times.

I do have one thing in my favor acording to the attorney. The judge that denied me last time has retired, so we get a new judge. Hope this helps anyways lol. I will keep everyone posted on how this plays out. ;)

Love all of ya more than you know :grouphug:

I followed everyones advice to a T, but the doctor decided she could fix me :rolleyes:

Every new doctor just has to try to fix us lol. She wouldnt do anything for SSI, but is doing some bloodwork, xrays, and a sleep test. When she checked me over she did find that one half of me was colder than the other half, and the right leg, ankle, and foot was weak and has atrophy. Dont really understand how a sleep disorder can cause all of this, but she seems to think it can.

Mike, the attorney loved all the documented pain, even if it did come from a journal and not a doctor. He found that my medical files were not really that great as far as details, but he said it is par for the course with RSD. Just having RSD written down by a couple specialists, and a couple of doctors, including the SSI doc goes a long ways according him.

He was very assuring that everything was gonna be fine. Put me at ease, at least as much as possible when you dont know the out come :)

Only a few more days and I will be letting ya all know how the whole thing went. ;)

Thanx so much for the advice and support
:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Allen,


Wishing you so much luck---I remember too well the stress and strain I was going through before my case was heard.
All went well for me and I am hoping that you will get the same outcome, it is just so wonderful to have that huge stress removed from your life.
Fingers crossed
Tayla:hug:

think ahead
 

Der Allen..I will pray for you!! Dorrie:)

hey
 

I hope it all works it for you- u really deserve it!

Deb

Hi Allen,

You have my thoughts and prayers.

Linmarie
:hug:

Jeez, guy,

What can I say? I'm hopeful and know you deserve it, but my heart's in my throat and I'm scared ******** that they are going to screw you again.

I'll celebrate with you if it goes well, and try to comfort you if the bastards get their way, but today all I can do is pray. I don't know if God is listening, but you know your friends are trying to get His attention. Stay strong, my brother...Vic

Im feelin pretty confident...............well kinda confident................with a little nervous mixed in LOL!

The attorney had a little questionnaire that has the questions he is going to ask, and the ones most likely asked in the hearing. It said to fill them out and let him go over them so he can help us answer the questions properly. I thought it was the best thing ive seen yet!

Well he read my answers then kept it! :eek:
I guess he is confident I will answer the questions honestly, and believable :cool:

It sure helps to know the prayers are flyin, cause that does make a big difference!

:grouphug:

Praying for you!
 

Allen,

:grouphug:
It has been a long hard fight, and you are about to have your hearing. It is normal to have a case of the nerves, but rest assured that you will feel confident as you answer their questions. Many of us will be thinking and praying for you. Keep the faith! Fight the good fight! Never give up!
:grouphug:

We'll be awaiting good news...

:cool: EJ

Just returned home
 

from the hearing, and the attorney thinks it went very well. I agree that it went well, and believe this time is it.

The attorney questioned me about the entire history of how I was diagnosed, and why, and how does it effect me. The VE had 3 different chances to give me a job discription I could do, and only came up with "one" that the judge kinda rolled her eyes at. A packing house computer order person?? LOL

They let me really tell my story this time, unlike the last hearing. At the end they had my son come in and asked him some questions. I started to lose it at that point as it is pretty hard to hear someone else talk about what they see.

It feels sooooo good to have this one behind me, win or lose LOL. Now it is all about the wait for the decision. This whole process is like one looooong nail biting cliff hanger :D

Thank you all for your much needed, and appreciated support. Big hugs to my RSD family :grouphug: :grouphug:

I wonder why the VE didn't come up with grocery store computer order person, or donut shop computer order person?

In Pa, one of those jerks told the law judge the claimant could stil be a fish lure wrapping person.

If that is the only job they think you can do, I think you're in pretty good shape, my friend...Vic

Allen
 

Hugs right back:) -- we have all been waiting for your good news. I know the battle hasn't been won yet, but we will continue sending prayers for a positive outcome. Hopefully, now that the stress of worry about the hearing is over, you will feel better mentally and phyically. It is hard to hear someone we love decribe us, I know I would like to think I am still the same person, NOT!!:rolleyes: I've already had to listen to how I changed :( . Take care--relax!!Carose

Oh your post brought tears to my eyes. If that is the only job and the judge rolled eyes, then by golly, you made an impact and I couldn't be more happy to hear this.

It will be hard to wait for your post that says what happens, but prayers are definitely abundant from this household, and from what I've read other households here also.

Hugs. Hang in there.

So far so good...
 

Allen,

Keep the faith bro. Sounds like today was your day!

:cool: EJ

So glad they listened to you Allen, it helps to feel that your input maybe valued.
I understand your sensitivity when your son spoke. It is breaks my heart when I hear what this disease has meant to my children. I think we can often underestimate the impact of such a life changing event on them. It really is a family disease.:(
Good luck with the outcome.
Tayla:hug:

it has been a long road for you
 

and your wait time has been horrendous...........it sure sounds very hopeful this time.......

many thoughts and prayers are being sent to you for a positive answer, and one that will be soon in coming......................you have fought a long and hard battle...........good luck with the outcome.................

I hope it really works out for you. I was thinking about you today.

Linmarie
:hug:

Sounds good.

Best of luck.

this is what i did for mine
 

i will prefice by saying i was a w/c patient for 3 years and them my claim was denied (preexisting) so then i went to a cheap, really cheap insurance that basically covered nothing at my pain doc or pt, they would cover 1 block a month (i continued to require 4 a month). it was really insurance for the limited time required for necessary hospital stays and it paid for my insurance. since june i have been on medicare.
in an effort to support my concern about how the level of care decliened
I used a clear blue and put the calander from the time with my w/c ins.
The second one was clear green and put the calander from my time with cheap minimum coverage because that is what i could afford
I printed my calander on the clear blue sheet and added into the calander, if you kept a journal or can remember what you felt like on certain days add those comments as well. I would go through the second process. If there is another period of time that covers your current possition I would add another calander in clear (yellow) and use this one to show the challengs you faced
then boy one of those 3 ring notebook. put the blue and grean on the the bottom and the yellow on the top (in the folder)
this is the best system i havefound that allows insight not only into the varriation but also the emotions, and the challegens are faced, and after compairing the overal feelings....those words that help someone who has never cared aboit the difficalities between your good times and bad,
i discovered when i went to court to sustantiat my injuries i needed to be able to give them some kind systematic presentation they cant simpy ignore the one piece of paper. The judge is usually looking for the easiest way to resolve the probem, if you provide the evidence that you are still a person in a basic speach you will likely problem. The use of your evidence they will be unable to ignore them.
goodluck
lauren

reflecting
 

Now that a couple days have gone by, and I had some time to let the ordeal kinda sink in. Ive been reflecting back on what actually transpired in there.

There were a few times I had some real good feelings, and once a real sinking feeling. The first good feeling was when they asked about the surgery, and let me explain the turn of events, and the damage from that fateful day. As I was relating the story to them I noticed the stenographer was lookin at me with a shocked look, and she was shaking her head in disbelief. I could tell she was horrified.

The next one was when my son was telling them about what we used to do before the RSD, and I was lookin for a kleenex. The VE was lookin at me and my son with a look of saddnes at our loss. I could see the emotion all over her face.

The next good one folllowed a sinking feeling LOL. When the judge asked the VE to do her stuff she started by listing every job I ever did, and my attorney shot me this sideways glance that said you didnt tell me you were also the casino food and beverage director, and casino network administrator. At the same time I was thinking, oh man this is bad.

But she only found one job that I could tell wasnt received well by the judge, and I could tell attorney was breathing easier too. It was wonderful to hear her tell the judge "no your honor" twice in a row when asked about next jobs available to me with my current limitations.

Sure was a night and day difference from the first hearing. In that one the judge actually told me he didnt believe in RSD even though their own doctor agreed I have it. Kinda nice to finally have things seem to go in my favor after 7 years of seemingly everything you could think of, and things you wouldnt even dream of going wrong.

I know the prayers had a BIG influence, and cant thank everyone enough for holding me up in prayer. I might not be on much lately, but you can rest assured that my prayers for all of you have not stopped because of my absence here. ;)

I'm glad things are seeming to go in your favor. Its nice to have a judge that has some concern and empathy. At least it makes you feel heard and understood. I hope things work out for you. Its hard enough to be in pain and then have to deal with this is worse. Take care