Having a Plan
 

As most of you know...the last few years have been pretty tough for me since my fall off the ladder. Many times I have felt like I was just hanging onto my sanity by a thread...just waiting for SOMETHING to give one way or the other.

Last week, I found out I won my LTD appeal...and it's got me feeling like things are finally breaking out of their holding pattern. I'll be changing insurance companies over the next week and they supposedly are approving the DRG treatments (remains to be seen if they approve mine...but I have to get it first)...so I am trying to get all that taken care of before my next dr appointment on October 5th so we can try this again. My PT is done (pool therapy) and while I wait for doctor's appointment/new treatment I have gotten a membership to our local fitness center that has a heated arthritis pool (warmer than a regular heated pool) so that I can continue doing those exercises in the water. And all of a sudden yesterday it struck me that I am feeling really happy and hopeful for the first time in a long time. It's amazing how just having goals and a PLAN have changed my outlook on things...like now I have a sense of control over things (small things) and suddenly life has started moving forward again instead of being in this awful holding pattern.

Just wanted to share with everyone because even though my pain is still bad...I'm feeling optimistic for a change. :)

I'm so glad to hear it! When things start turning around for the better we have to grab hold of that and take it and make it work! And hold on to that happiness and use it to keep the positive moving!

Hey Catra! First of all, sorry you have been having such a rough time. Glad things are looking a little better for you! Secondly, congrats on your LTD win!! I stopped working at the end of 2012, STD and LTD denied me and it took a full year of fighting to finally win those benefits! SSDI approved me on first application and within three months, so I was thankful for that.

Thank you! That's good to know about SSDI. LTD told me that IF I was approved for it they would help me file for SS...but I haven't been contacted about that yet. It took 12 months from when I applied for LTD to when I was finally approved upon my appeal and it sounds like that is pretty standard operating procedure for LTD companies. It really shouldn't be so hard...

Your LTD policy will state when you are required to apply for SSDI. It's often 6 months. In most cases you can choose any SSDI attorney or non attorney rep and your insurance company pays it or to be specific, the legal help is paid directly from SS and the insurance is shorted that amount in backpay. You and your dependent can only receive 12 months of retro benefits from the month you file. There is also a 5 month waiting period before eligibility, so you don't want to delay past 17 months from when you stopped working. You'll have to check and see if your policy includes your daughter's benefits as well. If not, she could receive as much as 50% of your benefit. So if you receive $1400 per month, she would receive up to $700 per month. And also keep in mind Medicare eligibility begins after 24 months.

The service the insurance company will offer are generally national which they pay at a discounted rate and you can't choose your rep. It's best to choose someone local since they know the ALJ's and local policies. You really don't need one until the hearing stage anyway, but if you want to start out with help I'd recommend a non attorney rep. If you wait, an attorney is probably the better choice. So, don't feel like you must use their service.

CRPS doesn't have it's own impairment Listing, which can make approvals take a few years. If you still use a walker to ambulate, your impairment/s could equal a Listing and mean a fast approval.

If I can provide you any links or help answer questions, shoot me a pm.