 |
 |
Judith, m'dear, oddly it's comforting to know I'm not the only one getting sh*t on by my government. And I'll keep slugging away at 'em till they give me a court date 0 maybe 3 or 4 years down the line (3 years is the average wait) and THEN, by God, I know what to do and say to get my benefits restored! It's aggravating, depressing, frustrating, and time consuming - not to say just plain BORING to have to keep trying for YEARS to get benefits one's already earned, and to be treated like a FELON for needing them because of having a chronic disease. BUT... before I go to court THIS time I'll just STOP taking - or maybe take too much - Sinemet for a coupla days prior to going before the SSDI judge. And you cna imagine what my body'll be doing as I go totally dyskenesic!! UGH! I'd rather shoot myself in the kneecap then go without Sinemet, but hey... ya do what ya gotta do. Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] ---------- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of Judith Richards Sent: Sunday, March 22, 1998 9:55 PM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: Re: Do PWPs Have Nerve & Muscle Damage? Barb, For some reason I didn't get your post. I remember reading Shari's post and another, and commented to my husband that I hadn't seen anything on the list from you about your disability problems. My husband gets the digest and after checking, I found there were four posts that I didn't receive. I had to leave my job in February 1996. I applied for and received my disability through my employer with no problems at all. I had documentation from the health unit doctor, my family doctor, neurologist and a psychiatrist. The employer's insurer paid my full pension, but required that I apply for Canada Pension disabilty, which would be turned over to them. I applied in June 1996, and within a couple of months received a letter stating that I did not meet the requirements for a disability pension. The letter did not say what the requirements were. I then had to appeal the decision, which I did in December 1996. At that time I was told by a Canada Pension staff member that whether or not your application is approved can depend on whether the person who evalutes it has any medical knowledge or compassion. Over the course of the next year, I was called frequently by the insurance company wanting to know the status of my appeal. Each time they called, I assured them I would notify them as soon as I heard from CPP. I was sent more forms to be filled out by my doctors, and the frequency of the calls was quite distressing. In December 1997, I wrote to a member of parliament asking for his assistance. I received a call the first week of January from the MP's office notifying me that my disability had been approved. During this conversation the young man said he had recently been to a seminar at which he learned that because the system was being abused, Canada Pension had clamped down, and it was suggeted that they had gone too far, and legitmate applicants were being turned down. A friend of mine who was also turned down last summer when she applied for CPP, has just recently been approved. I still do not know what the criteria are for getting a CPP disability pension, but I was never asked about nerve or muscle damage. My application was based on the symptoms that I had at the time, which as you know Barb, are very similar to yours. It does seem that you may have to get help from a politician or a lawyer. Best of luck, Judith [log in to unmask]