Shock and Disbelief.....

WTH???

I try very hard to aim for positivity with this blog and for the most part I maintain that here.  There is quite enough ugly in this world and in the lives of those of us with chronic illnesses.  But......today I must make an exception.  As most of you know there was a 60 Minutes report concerning disability filings that has slammed most of us with one fell slap in the face.  I am not going to post the video here because it is so biased and one sided but you can click on the link above and find it if you would like.

Now I am not naive enough to believe that there is no fraud in the disability process and I realize that our government is over taxed and the best decisions are not always made.  However, to come down on one group or illness and claim that there is an overwhelming  majority of fraud in that one category is painful and ignorant.  It takes us back years in the fight we have made to be recognized and accepted and most importantly understood.

Most of us suffer with other related conditions that add to our disability and I remember that the judge in my case noted that in his decision - that all of the relating disorders came together to create my disability.  Many of us worked for years after we became ill and tried very hard not to file for disability.  In my case I worked for 34 years and 18 of that came after I fell ill.  I worked from home for 14 just so that I could keep working.  I waited for over two years for the final decision on my disability and my family suffered a good bit due to that wait.  My story is not unique and is similar in many cases.

All we ask, those of us who are chronically ill, is for understanding and respect!  We have been called crazy and much worse, but we persevere - why you ask...because we are not well and it is the truth!!  It is REAL, it is frustrating and not something anyone would ask for just so they didn't have to work!!!  Most of us spent many years working very hard and were proud of that fact so don't belittle or lump us all together as one lazy bunch of so and so's who would lie just to get a measly amount of money that you can't even survive on.