Weekend Update
Dan at the Dentist
The dentist mailed us an estimate for Dan’s dental work. While it needs to be handled sooner rather than later, it is thankfully not the catastrophic emergency I was worrying about. The work needs to be done in three phases:
Phase I: $584
Phase II: $584
Phase III: $105
That’s a grand total of $1,273. Once we have raised enough to start Phase I, he’ll get it on the books. If you’d like to help us cover expenses, please consider sharing a link to our fundraiser campaign: Help Emily Suess Pay Medical Expenses for a Brain Tumor. (The site tells me every share can help raise another $37.)
Next Steps for My SSI and SSDI Applications
A wonderfully helpful woman at the Social Security Administration office in Effingham, Illinois called me earlier this week, because the Champaign office is backlogged and Effingham staff are helping out.
My initial application—which I completed online—was to see whether or not I qualify for SSI (income-based assistance, as in “we have none”) and SSDI (disability insurance). Do all the applying in one shot, you know.
“Can you tell me the approximate balances of any checking and savings accounts you have?” she asked.
I gave her the estimates, and she let me know that I have too much money in my savings account for the income-based assistance. (I won’t after paying September’s property tax installment, so I can ask them to fire off my application at that time, if I’m still waiting on an SSDI ruling.)
Before telling me that my application was being sent off to Springfield, IL for review and denial/approval, she helped me clarify my answers. (Seriously, some of the application questions are ambiguous and could be interpreted at least six different ways.)
My Current Mood
I’m doing very well, all things considered. While I struggle to complete activities I took for granted 10 years ago, I am content with the dynamic nature of my abilities and disabilities. I wake up in the morning thinking to myself, Even if this is all I am capable of accomplishing for the next 20 years. I can do that. And be happy.
I know not every day can be like that. And that’s okay too.
