I finished my treatment 6 months ago but have been unable to work for the last 15 months. The long term disability insurance company (thru my employer) is now making me apply for SSDI...they have set me up with an advocator group and I have my first telephone appt tomorrow. At the same time I have a vocational rehab case going to help me find a way back to employment. I am waiting for a call to go do some occupational physical & cognitive testing to see where I am at. As it happens, my voc rehab worker used to be an SSDI advocator so I have gotten some good advice and ecouragement from him that one path is not totally exclusive of the other. He was the one who suggested I try some volunteer work to test my stamina...there is no way I have the stamina or the cognitive abilities needed to do my old line of work, at least not on a consistant basis. Even if I am denied, I will still recieve LT benefits through Dec and they will also help me though 1 appeal process. Documentation from Voc rehab services will be used in my appeal. Either way I see this as a win, and a way to keep paying my bills. I am lucky enough to have a pretty decent domestic partnership medical insurance policy through all this.
I think I just need more time to mend and if things go south for me I will already be in the pipeline for SSDI. All I want is a chance to recover and to be healthy enough to earn my way in this world...
Now I just need to focus on getting all this paperwork together...through the friggin' fog and the pain and the fatigue...yeah, piece of cake, right?
Donna