To Work or Not to Work?

[beachbum]

Not sure how to ask this. I've been having a really hard time getting answers. When I wasn't feeling well in December and was diagnosed with ESRF I applied for SSI. I've been denied twice already. One letter said the reason for denial was that "our doctors decided your kidney function will get better gradually over time." That isn't true and that isn't my doctors' opinion. I have also been told even though I have ESRF but I'm not on dialysis yet I won't qualify for SSI. A social worker at the hospital told me it depends and even if I get on dialysis I may not get disabilty. What the....?

I am so confused. I know everybody's situations are different but I can't get any kind of answer. Meanwhille our bills are piling up. My wife is working two jobs just to keep us afloat. Boston is a very expensive place to live. I want to help my wife. At this point I can't contribute anything and this bothers me.

Here's my dilema. I actually feel better and I think I can go back to work. The only issue is going to be finding a job that is flexible enough to work around all my doctor appointments and possibly dialysis. I've been denied SSI twice and now I'm up for a hearing. I feel if I do go back to work then all this waiting for SSI is for nothing. I'll walk away with nothing. On the other hand the back pay really won't be a lot, and that's if I get it. I could make that in a couple of months. I want to help my wife now. She's getting so burned out. She's awesome, she doesn't complain. I can just tell this is hard for her and even with the 2 jobs we are still falling behind.

Does anyone have any advice? Maybe somebody that's faced a similar dilema? I'm thinking about hiring a lawyer if I stay with the SSI route. At the same time I'm ready to give up and start looking for a job but I don't want to burn any bridges. I feel stuck.

[noahvale]

^

[okarol]

My husband was denied SS after being disabled due to a back injury and failed surgeries. He appealed but was denied again so he petitioned for a review. SS provided him with an attorney to plead his case and he won his appeal after all.

[sullidog]

If you can work, then work, especially in todays economy. Have you tried for SSDI? I'm not on SSI but on SSDI. As far as getting a job goes I'd talk to them about it. I can't speak from experience because my kidney failure happened when I was already working, my employer just submited for me to get FMLA and my doctor filled out the forms.

[malaka]

Whatever you do, do not start your own business unless and until you know with certainty that you won't be on dialysis and will be able to handle the stress and hours.  Franchise companies are happy to take your money and have you sign big promissory notes while often providing little but a name in exchange.  Plus, you are a captive customer of theirs and think they might overcharge you for your inventory?  Car dealers have laws protecting them (outside of manufacturer bankruptcy, that is) but coffee shops, print shops, ice cream stores, hairdressing/barbering chain store owners do not.  Ever hear of the phrase "buying a job"?  That's often what you end up doing.  And, because of financial comittments backed by personal guarantee, you can't just quit.

SSD, absent being on dialysis, means you have to fit into their "grid" of age, job experience, educational level, and other factors to be determined to be unable to do any productive work.  It doesn't matter that no such job is available. The older, less educated, less skilled you are, the better your chances. Fair?  No, but that's the way it is.  Doctor orders and opinions can win these cases--and I'm talking on the dr.'s letterhead, not you telling Soc Sec. what your doctor said to you.  And the disablility has to be expected to last more than a year, as I recall.  So even if you show up looking like Wylie E. Coyote after the Acme Bomb went off, if you'll recover within a year, you lose.  That's why the treating doc's opinion is essential.

Why no dialysis if ESRD?

[SocialSecurityDisability]

If you do decide to stick it out and try to get SSI, I definitely recommend hiring a specialized Social Security Disability attorney.  Your lawyer will definitely help you during your hearing in front of the administrative law judge, so much so that just having him/her there for the hearing makes it worth it in the end.  I was denied disability benefits twice and waiting over a year to get an attorney on my side.  After going to www.socialsecurity-disability.org I was connected with an attorney in the Boston area and was awarded benefits 2 months later!!!

[okarol]

If you do decide to stick it out and try to get SSI, I definitely recommend hiring a specialized Social Security Disability attorney.  Your lawyer will definitely help you during your hearing in front of the administrative law judge, so much so that just having him/her there for the hearing makes it worth it in the end.  I was denied disability benefits twice and waiting over a year to get an attorney on my side.  After going to www.socialsecurity-disability.org I was connected with an attorney in the Boston area and was awarded benefits 2 months later!!!

Please be careful about posting only about this fee based site.
You never say what or why you're eligible for disability and are beginning to sound like spam.