The Saga of Applying for Social Security Disability

The process of applying for Social Security Disability is not easy. I can only imagine how someone who is struggling with Huntington's Disease would be overwhelmed by it all. I am somewhat overwhelmed by it and I don't have the cognitive issues that my husband and so many others do.

We filed the initial application towards the end of January. We filled out numerous forms on line that gave them permission to contact doctors for test results and medical history. We provided exact dates, addresses and phone number of each appointment. We gave extensive work history for all jobs he has had for the last 15 years - including pay. We even gave them our contact info and let them know that we had paper copies of all the test results, doctors appointment and medical history.

Last week, I made a call to the local office to see if we could drop off copies of this paperwork and even a letter from Robert's former employer who detailed the struggles he saw Robert dealing with and how they gradually seemed to increase as time went on. That in itself was beyond annoying. I would wait on hold anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes only to have my call disconnected. I would immediately call back and get a busy signal.  

Talk about frustrating

Finally after a couple days of calling at various times I was able to contact a live person. Yes, I cold drop the paperwork off at there office in a drop box because most people were working from home. I just had to put the name of the person handling our case. 

Then, this past Saturday (March 6th), we got a letter in the mail saying we needed to fill out yet another form and provide copies of all of this information no later than March 4th. Supposedly, this was the second request for this information. Considering I never got the first request, it was frustrating. Luckily, there was a phone number of our case worker and we were able to call her and discuss with her. 

Only problem... she is actually at an office in Albuquerque, NM. If we dropped if off, the office in Grand Prairie would have to scan all the stuff and then email to her for processing. This process could take several days. It would all depend on how busy the office was. I got the distinct impression that even though it was important and time sensitive to us, it really isn't to the Social Security Administration. 

All of this to say, we are only a little over a month in to the process and it is already overwhelming for Robert. Luckily, he has me as an advocate to help make sense of it all. I wonder what people who do not have someone to help them do.

It really does make you feel like you are beating your head against a wall. We are once again waiting, waiting, waiting.