The World Keeps Going And So Should You

By Fred Bittner

On the day I delivered the notice to my employer that I was going out on disability, they were sad, but supportive. As a Middle School teacher I worked with two hundred students each day. I was always around people and in front of people. The idea of my leaving left students uneasy. I had a great relationship with so many kids, and I was sure that my leaving would cause irreparable harm. But it didn’t.

Perhaps one of the biggest realizations for a person who has been put on disability is that the world keeps spinning. Society keeps going, the company where we worked continues to operate, and people go on with their daily lives.

We are remembered for a time, but eventually people move on, and the memory of us having worked for that company fades to a distant memory. Let me tell you what I am learning.

Your value is not found in the size of hole that was left when you went out on disability. Nor is it based on the declining number of people who call to check in on you. You are not measured by number of things you can’t do anymore but by what you do with what you have left. I am learning to deal with the fact that I am much more than the twenty-pound limit I can lift, or the amount of time I can stand or sit.

Like you, I have a disability, but it does not change the fact that I still have a lot to offer. We are told that when a person loses one of their senses, the other senses become more acute. I did not lose one of my senses. Instead, I lost abilities. I must now trust that other abilities will grow stronger to make up for the ones I have lost.

So, I must ask myself a series of questions: What can I still do well? How can I use what I can still do? Is there a project I can be passionate about? What did I start out wanting to do, but didn’t do because my career path took me in a different direction? Are those desires still in me? How can I stretch myself to accomplish those goals?

I must admit that giving in to a disability is very new to me. I am still spending way too much time watching the world go by without me. I am fairly certain that I am not alone in this. I guess we must continually check our focus. Are we concentrating on the person we are not, or are we stretching toward the person we have yet to become? One path leads to defeat, the other to victory.

Fred Bittner is an author, pastor, and educator. He and his wife Kim have been married 35 years. They have three kids, and five grandchildren. He has a web site at http://butyoudontlookdisabled.blogspot.com/

Popularity: 8% [?]

Speak Out and Take This Survey on Invisible Illnesses and Hidden Disabilities

Laura Brydges, B.A.Sc., M.A., and Jennifer Martin, PhD, Industrial/Organizational Psychology have put together a survey about invisible disabilities and have asked those involved with National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week to be involved!

These women bring their personal experiences of having disabilities together with more than 30 years of research and health communication expertise. They began a group last year on Facebook called “Hidden Disability” and now have launched an invisible illness and hidden disability survey that asks some very important questions about disability. It is a secure and confidential English-language survey that will give adults everywhere their chance to share their opinions on some new disability issues.

The survey is the result of advocacy efforts of two women who both have disabilities. They have funded this research through garage sales, and are relying on word-of-mouth for this survey to reach as many people world-wide as possible. So please forward this message onto all of your contacts, friends and family, and ask them to take part too.

The survey should only take 15 to 20 minutes to do.

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Savoring the Privilege of Walking

By Ann Pietrangelo

Do you recognize disability when you see it?

Last week’s post [at Care2] about an able-bodied woman using a handicapped parking space, then suing over the ticket she received, resulted in spirited conversation in the comments section.

It’s an emotional topic for a lot of people, not the least of whom are those who have the legal right to use the specially marked spaces, but who have an invisible disability. Judgments are often made based on nothing more than appearance.

When a person with an invisible disability pulls into a handicapped parking space, even with the appropriate legal tags, they are apt to get stares, glares, and outright anger.

We can try to educate others to understand invisible illness, should the inspiration strike, but we should never apologize for needing or using a handicapped parking placard. We owe no explanations. It stings, but not everyone will get it or care. Such is life.

If you’ve ever observed a seemingly healthy person pull into a handicapped parking space and felt anger toward them, you might want to consider there might be more to the story… and thank your lucky stars for your good fortune.

It could be a heart condition, a neurological condition, or any of a long list of chronic illnesses that affect mobility. Appearances can be mighty deceiving. Not all disabilities require a wheelchair.

Rather than give up and lock themselves away, these folks choose to go out into the world. Bravo! The little extra help from a more convenient parking space makes that less daunting.

While you observe them walk from the parking space, you are not privy to the advance planning that allowed them to get this far on this day. You don’t see added burden when they find that a business has stairs, but no elevator; or a door too heavy to pull; or the long line at the register that will severely test their strength and stamina.

If you don’t need special parking, please don’t resent or judge those who do. It is called a privilege, but no one really wishes for health problems in order to get this privilege. No, people who need it would rather not. Trust me on that.

Daily life is can be a hassle, and wouldn’t it be great if we could all just pull up in the first spot in the lot and get to our business?

That we have the ability to walk and take care of our own errands… that we can climb the stairs and pull the door open and even hold it for the next person… that we do not need the handicapped parking spot… that is the true privilege.

I have relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis, and with that comes constant change. Sometimes I can’t walk more than a few feet at a time, sometimes not at all; much of the time I can walk, and it is a glorious privilege, one I shall not squander or take for granted.

If you can walk without too much difficulty, if you do not require a handicapped parking placard, you are fortunate indeed.

Savor the privilege of walking.

Writer Ann Pietrangelo embraces the concept of personal responsibility for health and wellness. As a multiple sclerosis patient, she combines a healthy lifestyle and education with modern medicine, and seeks to provide information and support to others. She is a regular contributor to Care2.com’s Reform Health Policy blog in Causes.

This was originally posted on Care2.com and has been reprinted with the author’s permission. Follow Ann on and has been reprinted with the author’s permission. Follow Ann on Twitter @AnnPietrangelo

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New Symbol Needed For Invisible Disabilities?

The international symbol for disabilities is nearly always the wheelchair, but only a small percentage of people with a disability use a wheelchair on a daily basis.

Laura Brydges hopes to change this and has a Facebook page set up to spread the word.

She explains. . .

What do you think of this symbol as an international symbol for hidden disabilities? It is meant to be used as an ID card carried by people with hidden disabilities. They can show it to identify themselves and their needs when they are having trouble coping or when they need help. The back of the card would be individualized, allowing them to state their specific disability, and what assistance they need.

She says. . .

Help this symbol be adopted as the international symbol for hidden disability. Many people with hidden disabilities need help, and with this symbol, they can identify themselves and ask for help when they are having trouble coping. Join as a fan.

Find out more at her Facebook Page and show your support if you are interested by becoming a fan.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Will You Receive Disability Benefits If You have an “Open and Shut” Case?

Most people who file for Social Security disability benefits are in for a fight, even if it seems to them that they have an “open and shut” case. It’s important for those filing for SSD/SSI to realize that there is no medical condition in and of itself that qualifies one for disability (though there are certain conditions that may qualify for expedited processing).

Disability decisions are based on two things:
1) The existence of a severe, ongoing mental or physical impairment, and
2) an inability to earn living as a result of this impairment (which, for the social security administration, equates to the inability to work and earn at least the monthly SGA, or substantial gainful activity, amount that is in effect for the current year).

Proving the existence of a severe medical impairment can be difficult, particularly if the claimant hasn’t recently sought medical treatment for the condition, a situation that can easily come to pass, of course, if the individual no longer has health insurance.

The general rule of thumb is that if the claimant hasn’t seen a physician in the 90 days prior to the evaluation of the disability claim, a disability examiner will schedule the individual for a consultative medical exam (CE).

CEs are performed by doctors who are in private practice (not Social Security employees) and who are paid by Social Security to perform medical examinations and mental examinations and mental testing. CEs can be very brief (physical CEs probably last an average of only 20 minutes), and are intended to provide only a snapshot of the claimant’s current state of health.

There are really no substitutes for solid medical records from a treating physician documenting the date of onset (when symptoms began), how the impairment has developed over time, a prognosis, and, especially, some indications of how the claimant’s condition has reduced their functional ability to engage in normal activities of daily living. However, when this information does not exist for whatever reason, a claimant will likely be required to go to a consultative exam.

Are the results of a CE a good substitute for records from a treating physician, particularly a medical source statement from a treating physician that succinctly explains that the claimant’s remaining functional capacity does not allow a return to work activity? Of course not. And as a disability examiner, I found few examples of cases that were approved solely on the strength of a consultative examination report.

Medical record documentation from a physician who has an established history with a claimant and who continues to provide medical or mental treatment will always be the bedrock on which social security disability and SSI disability cases are decided.

Yet, just the same, even those who have copious medical records in support of their disability claim, and even physician statements, sometimes get turned down for disability. About 70 percent of all disability applications filed each year are denied, and first appeals are even less likely to succeed. Does this mean that the majority of people who file for benefits are not really impaired in some way? Hardly.

Statistics also show that most people who request a second appeal, a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), go on to win benefits. This fact alone strongly throws doubt on the ability of the federal disability system to make accurate decisions at the initial claim and reconsideration appeal levels that occur right before the disability hearing level.

Of course, it can take years to work through the entire disability process from initial application, to reconsideration appeal, to the disability hearing.

Some would argue that’s the idea: wear people down over time so that they just give up and go away. However, those who stay the course and go through with the disability hearing win their cases more often than not, and these individuals are usually rewarded with considerable back pay in addition to monthly benefits. However, by that time the financial and emotional toll is considerable.

The lesson in all this? If you are disabled and unable to work, do not assume that your case will be “open and shut.” When it comes to winning SSD/SSI, there’s no such thing. Instead, begin documenting your medical treatment as soon as you begin to experience difficulty working.

And, if your application for disability is denied (and most are) do not give up. The chances of being approved for disability go up at each level of appeal, particularly at the administrative law judge hearing level.

Tim Moore is a former disability examiner and the creator of Social Security Disability Secrets. He currently writes at My Disability Blog

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When Police Don’t See Your Invisible Condition

In 2004 I was involved in a terrible auto accident caused by a negligent driver. This resulted in my living with constant severe pain throughout my body primarily caused by a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and the herniation /rupture of 8 discs in my spine. As a result of this I now need tinted windows as a medical necessity since the sun is too bright and causes me to have severe migraines.

In May 2009 I was pulled over by a local police officer. I have with me a Letter of Medical Necessity, a visible disability placard, and a mobility scooter in my vehicle. The policeman’s first question after telling me I had illegal window tinting, after I mentioned it being a medical necessity, was “what is wrong with you?”

This was rather very hurtful and shocking, so added more stress from being pulled over in McDonalds for no apparent reason. The policeman treated me as if I was guilty of breaking the law which I was not according to the Michigan Vehicle code. I kept my cool as I sat there in severe pain for 30 minutes until I was ticketed and he let me go. In the end I was upset and wept for the injustice that had just occurred since I am a very safe driver and actually drive very little due to chronic pain. I get severe migraines caused by even just a little sunlight on a cloudy day. The officer told me that everyone has a Letter of Medical Necessity and that doctors hand them out like candy here in MI.

The Michigan Vehicle Code Act 300 of 1949, 257.709 –which includes rules for vehicle window tinting– is in need of revision so that disabled people, such as me, are not pulled over and ticketed by police unjustly and needlessly. States such as Ohio, Texas, and Washington require a sticker be placed on one or more windows of a vehicle with legal tinting. I believe that Michigan needs this incorporated into the vehicle code. House Bill 4343 supports adding this exterior identification for vehicles with legal tinted windows and this amendment also protects my wife if she is driving me in my personal tinted window vehicle when I cannot drive myself.

I now await a letter of approval from the Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (517) 335-7051 which I have been directed to take to my local Secretary of State to have a tinted window restriction placed on my Driver’s License. Please help protect those of us that legitimately need tinted windows to drive safely.

I think what I’ve learned the most through this tinted window ticket by the police is that even law enforcement cannot see invisible illness; I do not have to accept their false assumptions or disbelief.

Now I have to go to court and fight the ticket but I have an attorney if I need him. Being in my mid-forties I know that people may assume I am fine even though I suffer from chronic pain due to a host of conditions attributed to an auto accident that was not my fault. Being a systems thinker with an eye towards continuous improvement I realized that vehicles with legally tinted windows should have some way to identify them to law enforcement.

Tinted windows seem to be all the rage here in MI and I see several cars with them when I drive. A proactive approach would be to certify cars first with a sticker in order to get window tinting applied. I checked online to see what other states require and I discovered that Ohio, Washington, and Texas all provide a sticker to identify legal window tinting. This protects the law enforcement and people like me with medical conditions. I then checked online with the Michigan House and Senate for laws related to window tinting and I discovered House Bill 4343! This bill was introduced in 02/09 and if approved will require a sticker to identify legally tinted vehicles and it will protect my wife if she is driving me or driving my car alone to get gas, etc.

I have contacted several organizations and government representatives about this matter. I have received many positive responses including my State Representative Marty Knollenberg, the Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, Michael F. Dabbs President of the Brain Injury Association of MI, the American Chronic Pain Association, and Leah Vassas Member Services Coordinator of the National Pain Foundation.

I hope that my efforts will make Michigan a safer place for all of us to live in especially when we hurt. This unpleasant experience is not over yet so more pain is to come but I hope in the end to help others avoid this type of very unpleasant experience.

7/2/09 Update: I went before a magistrate at court today and my case was dismissed so I am very glad and thankful to God since this has been a terribly stressful event!

David W. Stickley

Popularity: 2% [?]