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    • Disability Swap, Due May 15th

    purplecat said:
    The x's are an April fool the mods are playing on us!
    I am not "disabled" per say although I do suffer with IBS and it impacts on my life in a big way!
    Jetleg kndly offered for me to join so here I am.
    Therapy artist- wow your family are from here?! how exciting. I have lived here for 9 years now, I am originally from England. So the question is when are you coming to visit??
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    My grandparents were from the UK....Granmother from Aberdeen, Scotland and Grandfather from Cradley Heath, Staffordshire...that's the maternal side. My GREAT grandparents on the paternal side were both from Ireland...ousted from Scotland for picking the wrong side in one of the ongoing wars....

    I was there 15 years ago...and would love to return but doubt it will ever happen. We had two weeks and went from Edinburgh to Poole and from Manchester to the Dover with stops at Amesbury, Bath, London, Leeds, Salsbury, Canterbury and more. An exhausting but educational and fun trip. Have hundreds of relatives over there and got to meet about 1/4 of them. "Tis a lovely country and warm and friendly people but MUST you drive on the left??? Talk about white knuckling it!!! Especially through roundabouts! Otherwise, except for mother urging us to try Haggis, it was my trip of a lifetime....
     
    Welcome Asena...lunatic at large, hehehe...you will fit in great here...You are number 12...we are FULL!
     
    I thought I would share with everyone the 1st card I finished for this swap. I REALLY like it and would like to keep it or even sell it in my etsy shop, lol! I hope whoever ends up with it likes it as much as I do! I even used image transfer for the 1st time ever which I am super excited about!
    Kati
     
    Kati...manwoman...is that me???? I love it...Jeanette
     
    OK....I think jetleg and I need to not only start saving our money, but try to cozy up to someone with frequent flier miles! I would love to come! I think my dad is planning on coming over some day...but we're not close, so I don't think I'd be invited even though I've already made the suggestion. Guess he knows he'd end up paying. Jetleg and I would bunk on your craft room floor and feel quite at home. We could order everything in and make a million atcs etc.! Let's plan it!
     
    The spirit of Inspiration walloped me in the head last night, and I got busy this morning. Here are my three offerings (please let me know if they're not OK!):

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    Asena,
    They are wonderful! My brother is autistic so they really speak to me. I think you do lovely work!
    Kati
     
    Thank you, Kati :cute:

    How old is your brother? Squirrel-butt, in that top one, will be 11 in August (and I still struggle with the idea that I have a daughter that old).
     
    Asena, these are absolutely beautiful! They all touched me...and I love how you open the door and a different aspect of the condition is inside. The 3rd card is me. I have Anxiety/Panic Disorder with a side of depression - like you! What a strange life it can be...but have you ever noticed you're more sensitive to things than others? That part I wouldn't give up for total 100% mental health. (If there is such a thing.)
     
    Social Security benefits

    ScramperSue said:
    Jetleg...My attorneys told me that SS turns everyone down the first time...no one knows why.

    (My guess is it is part of the Gov't, and they HAVE to be a pain in the A$$ anyway they can)
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    I, too, was turned down the first time and I appealed, only this time with an attorney who specialized in SS hearings, and, yes, they get paid out of your settlement, but it was definitely worth it for me. When my case was approved at the appeals hearing, SS had to pay me benefits from the time of my initial application (they go back to day one when you first applied for benefits and pay you), then the monthly benefits began right after I was paid the lump sum benefit. So don't give up. There are hundreds of SS disability claims attorneys who can help you win your case.
     
    Isn't it a coincidence that so many of us "creative" people also suffer from anxiety disorders and depression? I don't remember having those problems BEFORE I was injured and disabled???
     
    Asena said:
    Thank you, Kati :cute:

    How old is your brother? Squirrel-butt, in that top one, will be 11 in August (and I still struggle with the idea that I have a daughter that old).
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    You are welcome! Kyle will be 24 in July. He still lives at home with my folks, although my siblings and I are pushing for a group home for him. We think he would have more opportunities to be social, etc. Although I hate this phrase I will use it, Kyle is VERY low functioning. He is still wearing diapers and has limited speech as well as being aggressive. But I adore him, he's my brother!
     
    SS Disability

    akamarti said:
    Hey, Sue....me, too. The government has finally decided RSD is a disability....although I understand that even after some 50 some tests to rule out a lot of other things, it's going to be a real battle....
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    When I appealed my case, the Judge at my hearing had no idea what Fibromyalgia was and said to me "is that a disease or a result of your injuries?"
     
    smokeysmom said:
    Isn't it a coincidence that so many of us "creative" people also suffer from anxiety disorders and depression? I don't remember having those problems BEFORE I was injured and disabled???
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    I don't think it is, but I don't have any data that would back it up - just anecdotal/experiential. I don't recall anything about it in any of my psych classes, but then autism was only one half of one page in my Abnormal Psych textbook! ('Course, that was about 17 years ago.)

    I believe that there is something to the idea that artists suffer. Whether the art comes first or the suffering, I would have to say suffering. There's a certain kind of brain, IMO, that has wiring a little different from the wider population - that wiring may be ADD, anxiety/depression, etc., but it's a way of looking at the world that ends up creating something (music, art, writing). I also think that people who have pain are changed by it. So the person who becomes disabled experience a physical suffering that may in effect re-wire their brains, resulting in the same creativity.

    Obviously this is not hard and fast. A dear friend of mine has a sister who is disabled, and all she does is b* about how awful her life is. All she creates is more misery. :(
     
    Wendy...your cards are more then okay...they are exactly what Mary and I were looking for in this swap. Your daughter is beautiful. Thank you for sharing her special life with all of us through your art. I am thrilled to have you in the swap. Just send me a PM and I will send you my address for you to mail in your cards....when you are ready. they aren't due until May 15th. thanks again.

    SS Disability is certainly a roller coaster of emotions. i hated having to focus on the pain to do that dumb paperwork. It is hard when you have to educate even the officials. However, it is worth it. I am done with that and loving life.

    Thank you all for being here....this is great!!!
     
    katilady said:
    You are welcome! Kyle will be 24 in July. He still lives at home with my folks, although my siblings and I are pushing for a group home for him. We think he would have more opportunities to be social, etc. Although I hate this phrase I will use it, Kyle is VERY low functioning. He is still wearing diapers and has limited speech as well as being aggressive. But I adore him, he's my brother!
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    I know excatly what you mean, my Brother has Downs syndrome. It took alot of persuading to let Mum and Dad let him "go". He has lived in a wonderful mencap home now for 5 years and it has been the best thing for him, he is with his peer group now, it must have been so boring for him at Home , now he goes out so much he has more of a social life than me! He is not able to live independantly, he would not be able to cook, clean etc he needs 24 care. He has his own room, complete with sound system and disco ball!! Lots of friends and is soo happy.
    3 years ago, he had double pneumonia, and I flew over to see him, only to see him in intensive care on a ventilator and to be told the next 24 hrs were critical and they were looking at turning off the machines, well he proved them all wrong and pulled through, it was very emotional, and like you say he is my brother!
     
    Diana's going to be at home with us for at least a few more years. I'm having issues with her going to the junior high - I'm really REALLY not prepared just yet for thinking about a group home situation!

    She's diagnosed mild/moderate, and is fairly high-functioning. Just last year, at 10, she successfully became totally toilet trained and is out of pull-ups (she'd been wearing them to bed, and was taking care of half her business in those). We were so excited, because she really resisted that! She does talk, but her verbal skills are significantly below grade/age level, and when she's agitated it's harder for her. All in all, we count ourselves incredibly fortunate to have an affectionate and funny child.

    I do sometimes regret not having other children; I would have liked one more. But with the risk of having another child with autism 25% greater than not, we made a decision not to. We feared that another child, typically developing, would get short-changed because she needs us more, or that a more severely impacted child would need us more, and SHE would get short-changed. A friend of my mom knows a family that has three autistic sons - frankly I don't know how they manage. :no: I guess we all rise to the challenge we're given, or break under the strain...
     
    smokeysmom said:
    When I appealed my case, the Judge at my hearing had no idea what Fibromyalgia was and said to me "is that a disease or a result of your injuries?"
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    Oh, that's just lovely. :eek: Moron... Chin up, woman! It CAN be done! My sis-in-law has Fibro and successfully got Disability. She had to fight for it, but she did get it, and when they did, they made the benefits retroactive!
     
    purplecat said:
    I know excatly what you mean, my Brother has Downs syndrome. It took alot of persuading to let Mum and Dad let him "go". He has lived in a wonderful mencap home now for 5 years and it has been the best thing for him, he is with his peer group now, it must have been so boring for him at Home , now he goes out so much he has more of a social life than me! He is not able to live independantly, he would not be able to cook, clean etc he needs 24 care. He has his own room, complete with sound system and disco ball!! Lots of friends and is soo happy.
    3 years ago, he had double pneumonia, and I flew over to see him, only to see him in intensive care on a ventilator and to be told the next 24 hrs were critical and they were looking at turning off the machines, well he proved them all wrong and pulled through, it was very emotional, and like you say he is my brother!
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    Thank goodness your brother was OK! If you have any tricks for persuading parents, please pass them on, lol!
     
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