DUer has nowhere to turn for help (SEX OFFENDER)

[Ghost in the Machine]

147. Thanks for the chart! It really explains it better and I don't like arguing with someone who doesn't

seem to understand the FACTS, then turns around and basically says the same thing I just said. In Tennessee, you HAVE to be turned down TWICE before a lawyer will even look at your case! I had one of the best attorneys around and the FIRST THING he asked me when I called was "Have you applied, been turned down, appealed, and been turned down again?". I said "Yes sir". He made me an appointment to see him.

After getting all my paperwork from my Worker's Comp Lawyer, and surgical reports from my Neurosurgeon, he called me about 2 months later and said "I think I have found the problem! Your workers Comp attorney did a GREAT job for you, but they have you listed as able to return to work on "Sedentary Duty", which there isn't any in Commercial Roofing/High-Rise Carpentry, but SSDI says that "Sedentary Duty" means I could sit behind a counter at a convenience store, or sit at a desk all day pushing a pen and papers. Problem with that was that my doctor already had me on 2 pound lifting restrictions, and could not sit, stand, walk or lay for long periods of time... between 2 to 4 hours each.

This was like around June. He told me that if I could get my doctor to write a letter saying that, that it would make things a LOT easier. It just so happened that I had an appointment scheduled with my Neurosurgeon 3 days later. While talking to the doctor, HE asked ME if I had gotten approved for disability yet, and I told him no, and what my lawyer had just said.

My Doc looked at me and said "there is no way in Hell that you will EVER work again, and I will write a letter to your attorney and include copies so he can give them to whoever needs them". We already had a date set for December to see the ALJ for a determination, but I got a call from lawyer in September telling me that we didn't have to go, that my claim had been approved due to the letter from the doctor.

Last month, I got a review letter from Disability to determine whether I was still disabled or not. One of the questions was something like 'In the past 3 months, I have discussed returning to work with my doctor" and the answers were ;No, I haven't spoken with my doctor', 'Yes, and my doctor said that I CANNOT return to work' or 'Yes. and my doctor said I could return to work'. Well, it just so happened that I had just had MRI's done on my thoracic spine and lumbar spine, and had a follow-up with my Neuro for the results in 2 more days.

I took the letter with me, showed it to him, and asked if I could return to work. His response was "HELL NO! you can't return to work, EVER! I will write whoever I need to and stand behind my statements. YOU are 100% LEGIT... disabled for life, and will NEVER be able to have gainful, substantial employment. I have seen a LOT of fakes and frauds in my time, but YOU are not one of them! I will do whatever I have to do to get that point across to them." I already had the rest of the letter filled out, and marked the box where my doctor said I could NOT return to work and dropped it in the mailbox.

Turns out, per my latest MRI's, that my condition has gotten worse. Just in my thoracic and lumbar spine, I have 8 or 9 bulging disks, most with nerve root impingement, and 2 in my thoracic spine that are deforming my spinal cord. That doesn't even include the syrinx in my cervical spine, which runs from about the T-3 level through C-1. The condition is called "Syringomyelia". There are 3 kinds: Congenital, Trauma Induced, and Idiopathic. Mine is Trauma Induced.

Syringomyelia: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/syringomyelia/detail_syringomyelia.htm This article only mentions the Congenital and Trauma Induced....

Peace,

Ghost

P.S.: I can remember when down in Florida, you could get disability just for being an alcoholic, a drug addict, or if you had a tattoo on your face that made you unemployable. I think that they have fixed that since then...