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Billy B.. Ya know, Billy, I've noticed in several of your posts you've commented that "You don't have to work," when referencing PD and all those of us who live with the disease. I don't know why you believe having PD automatically means someone doesn't HAVE to work or doesn't WANT to work, but I feel you're WAY off-base with this one. I'm a single woman of 54 years (GULP!) <grin> who would have no other income than SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance, which took me 3 years to get due to "the system" dragging it's feet), in the amount of $516 a month, plus a private LTD (long term disability) payment (until I'm aged 65) of $494 a month. Since the total amount is less than my mortgage, and because I like to do things such as EAT, and drive a car, I *absolutely MUST* work! And by working full time, I automatically lose the SSDI payment, within 9 months of my start-of-employment date (long since come and gone), and lose all but $100 per month of the LTD payment. IN addition, when I've worked a total of 3 years, I'm also stripped of the PRIVILEGE as well as the "official title" of being considered disabled by SSDI, and if in the future I'm rendered unable to work again I must start the qualifying procedure all over again... even tho all along I STILL have the same CHRONIC degenerative neurological disease. The ONLY way I'm able to have a decent paying full time job right now is because I work out of my home, and can rest or go for med. treatment whenever I need to. This is because my employer is a online service and is up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, thus enabling my to pick my own work hours daily, depending upon how I feel physically. It also means I work a 7 day-a-week work week, ALWAYS, which takes it's toll on me. In addition to losing SSDI, if I'm still working 36 months after my employment start-date, I will also lose my Medicare benefit, which means I'll be out-of-pocket each month - IF I CAN GET private medical coverage once again, due to the PD. I'm currently using the services if Kaiser Permanante, an outstanding (in my opinion) HMO, due to Medicare, and I'm not sure if they'd take me on if I was off Medicare. In addition, medical costs would rise dramatically for me, because I"d have to pay about $175 a month, plus a $10 per visit co-payment. Finally, Billy.... I not only HAVE to work, but I WANT to work... I feel validated personally AND by the greater community by having an interesting, unusual-for-a-woman, and decently paid job. My personal pride and sense of self-worth is battered enough by this damnable disease, since I've lost so many individual, seemingly insignificant things which I'd formerly totally for granted - such as the ability to handright, to drive whenever I WANT to, instead of whenever I feel well enough to, to sleep comfortably, if at all each nite, to think clearly and verbalize those thoughts succinctly as I used be able to do, to metal "multi-task," to stay awake while sitting in a noisy restaurant at 5:30 pm while dining with a bunch of friends, and much, much more. Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange On Behalf Of Heather Elizabeth Baird Sent: Friday, April 25, 1997 1:47 PM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: Re: Muscle pains - please can anyone help? Like, I like to think that 'attitude' has everything to do with it, and find that this helps. I like to look at the good points of having this, such as: You don't have to work. You get these terrific dreams. There is a lot worse. You don't get a cold or the flu. People actually care, ( can you say the same about Aids ? ) It is not our fault, that is nothing we did caused this. Pain is usually not involved. Anybody else care to add to this list? Billy Baird ([log in to unmask])