Skip to main content

I had my appointment with the DRO today for my disability...

All I have to say is that the people who conducted my initial review must have been completely blind, deaf and otherwise incapacitated. My review officer who looked through my files prior to my disability hearing said that the initial disability rating was based on some of the following information...Is there any dizziness...NO...Is the use of walking assistance used (a cane)...NO...Is there any numbness present...NO...Are there any vision problems...NO...is there evidence of any trauma to the brain...NO (Hello, 75% of my cerebellum is gone and there are 2 strokes in my brain stem).

So, I used the hour meeting with the Decision Review Officer to let him know that there are instances of numbness on my left side, weakness on my left side, a cane is necessary from time to time, I struggle with Aphasia from time to time. I felt it was a good meeting, but it necessitated admitting struggles that I usually keep to myself. Most people never know the times that I have troubles walking, talking, swallowing; these are events that I would rather keep to myself. Overall, I thought it was a great day; I will just have to wait for 60 days or so to know the results of the meeting.

Comments

  1. I'm like you.When issues happen to me i am reluctant to share them

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do the same - it's so hard sometimes to actually admit to the problems that we're able to hide. I find I get even more depressed when I have to list/explain everything i.e. for the disability people.

    I will pray that the DRO come to the correct decision for you. I'm waiting for my own Tribunal Hearing to happen (UK) with no small amount of dread. Only good thing (I guess) is more wound up/stressed I get worse my symptoms are/more visible - especially aphasia.

    God bless!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes my new life stinks...

For the last few weeks I have been experiencing some pretty terrible headaches; not the kind that you can relieve by rubbing your temples or taking Tylenol, but headaches that radiate from the back of my head. It seems as though I have tried several things to relieve them: taking naps, lying down on heating pads, taking Tylenol, turning the lights of, etc. but nothing seems to help. Now, I don't have them all the time, only a few days a week and I can tell that they are more from muscle tightness than anything else. I have been instructed to go the ER if they flare up again, because of my past history of headaches before my stroke, but most likely it is due to the muscles that were cut in the back of my head for the Craniotomy. I would say that most days I do not struggle with headaches at all; but, the days I do have headaches they are a doozy. I don't have blurred vision with them or sensitivity to light or sound; it just hurts. As I look back over the past 3+ years I realize...

15 years already...It's only been 15 years...such a weird feeling

Today is December 8, 2023 - 15 years since my stroke. Time is deceiving; on one hand, it moves so fast that we can barely imagine that the person we were 15 years ago, and the person we are today are the same person. I have started this post 4 different times in the last few weeks; it is just so hard to put into words what I'm feeling. I feel really good for a dead guy (that is my standard greeting; several doctors have told me that I should had died at least 11 years ago.) But, it is so hard for me to talk about feeling good, considering the path we have been on for the last 2 months. My son was the one who helped me to the car when I could not walk; my son was the one who watched the girls when Laura had to take me to the hospital. My son was the one who bought me the little Christmas tree for my ICU room after my surgery, and it was my son that so often told his mom how worried he was about me when I would show signs of weakness. My son has been such a big part of my recovery,...

It's amazing what you can learn from a 2 year old...

Ok, to be fair, he is closer to 3 than he is 2, but either way, shouldn't I be the one teaching him lessons instead of the other way around? I'm talking, of course, about our grandson, Theo. He came to stay with grandma and grandpa last night, and let's just say that he seemingly never gets tired! As tired as we get, we absolutely adore our only (for now) grandbaby. This morning, is when I learned a very valuable lesson from Theo, both as it applies to life after my stroke, and my life after the loss of my only son, Brendan. Picture it, Sicily, 1924...wait, where did the Golden Girls reference come from? Maybe I should just go back and erase it, but, I probably won't. In fact, the fact you are reading this means I did not...Anyway, picture it, we are oustide this morning; it is a pretty chilly morning, there is some frost on the car windows, we can see our breath, and Theo is watching the dogs play in our backyard. And then he spots it: his "bike." He runs ov...