Hi - I'm just here for the first time. Nice to find a place where I can voice my concerns and maybe learn from others that have walked in my shoes.
My husband a hyper active young guy was told last year that he either had to have back surgery (T11 T12 lamenectomies, facetectomies, instrumentation) or he would be in a wheelchair within 2 months. After two opinions he had the surgery. He walked into the hospital with no pain only some minor spacticity in his legs. After three months he finally came out, however, more than a year later he is in constant pain and has difficulty walking. We finally went to a specialist to be diagnosed as a partial paraplegic.
All this being said, even though we have health insurance, which we pay for on our own, this whole thing has cost us a small fortune. Now the doctors are telling him he cannot work, however, having been self employed most of his life, he does not qualify for SSD. As his paraplegia was not caused by a work or other injury, there is no workman's comp., etc. to file. We've applied for SSI but they've basically told us we have to be living dirt poor in order to qualify for ANY benefits. Don't get me wrong, we are not wealthy by any means, but we do own a home a business and a car. We pay our bills. Problem is if we give up our retirement savings to go on SSI we won't be able to pay our bills. They, somehow, expect a family of three to live on 572 dollars a month. How, in God's name do you do that?
Just wondering if anyone else has had similar issues and how they might have dealt with it? I want to be supportive and make the right decisions for us, but I don't think that just because my husband is disabled we should have to give up all that we've worked so hard to obtain.
Thanks in advance for your responses!
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How Do You Afford Partial Paraplegia?
Started by
*Laurel*
, Feb 01 2006 12:00 AM
1 reply to this topic
Top#2
mrhoopermd
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Posted 01 February 2006 - 05:54 PM
Social Services is almost a joke if you are middle class working people. I'm not married but I take care of someone I consider my sister and we lived together before she became a para. We were fine financially and had fun with some of the left over. When all this happened I went to qualify her for SSI and SSDI at the same time. In the meantime, she qualified for Temp. Emergency Assistance for her housing and food and everything costs. I couldn't believe it but she only got $185.00. Even if she had been living on her own in her own appartment when this happened she would have only received $185.00! How is someone supposed to live on this?
The woman at social services said my sister would have had to go to a nursing home until housing could have been arranged. So social services will pay for nursing home arrangements and the government would have had to pay for her housing arrangements after that which of course there is more than a two year waiting period in our area, but they can only give someone $185.00 a month until they get SSI.
And one more kicker, when you get your SSI you have to pay back the $185.00 for however long you received it! Social security takes so long to get any balls rolling it was 7 months before she received her first SSDI check! So for 7 months we lived on credit cards. Now we are in debt.
So, after all that, I know how angry you must feel. Why work? Why not just be lazy and have lots of kids and get on welfare. More kids you have more money you get. And free health insurance.
Might not be the greatest insurance but hey it's free.
Hang in there and some how it all works out. And the government wonders why so many people want to do things to make money without them knowing about it.
Why work to pay taxes to programs which will never help you?
Sorry, I'm closing my vent now!
The woman at social services said my sister would have had to go to a nursing home until housing could have been arranged. So social services will pay for nursing home arrangements and the government would have had to pay for her housing arrangements after that which of course there is more than a two year waiting period in our area, but they can only give someone $185.00 a month until they get SSI.
And one more kicker, when you get your SSI you have to pay back the $185.00 for however long you received it! Social security takes so long to get any balls rolling it was 7 months before she received her first SSDI check! So for 7 months we lived on credit cards. Now we are in debt.
So, after all that, I know how angry you must feel. Why work? Why not just be lazy and have lots of kids and get on welfare. More kids you have more money you get. And free health insurance.
Might not be the greatest insurance but hey it's free.
Hang in there and some how it all works out. And the government wonders why so many people want to do things to make money without them knowing about it.
Why work to pay taxes to programs which will never help you?
Sorry, I'm closing my vent now!
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