I'm disabled but don't have any outward signs of it.

let's see if I can do this in a nutshell.

16 y.o. - passenger on motorcycle hit by cops (2nd bike the cop had hit in 6 weeks)
a. broke neck but thankfully not paralyzed
b. broke both pelvic bones and separated iliac from sacro..yep there is a sacroiliac
c. broke tail bone in half
d. wasn't aware at the time but suffered severe hamstring.

Was in traction for pelvic area for 8 weeks. Home schooled for my freshman year in high school.

Fast Forward 26 years when my vertebra shifted. Surgery on c-2 to c-6 with screws and titanium rod. Once I recovered from the surgery I went back to work and continued to work for 6 years after surgery.

In 1994 I was bumped by a moving company van line. Not a fender bender but just a bump and that was all it took for me to become fully disabled.

Thankfully, I was employed for the "Big, big Bank of the Northern Hemisphere" and carried insurance and long term disability insurance.
It took 9 months for the LTD people to approve my long term disability and 26 months for SS to determine I was disabled. Thank God for the LTD insurance or I'd be dead or living under a bridge. As it was, it was touch n go since my (now ex) husband had chronic lymphocytic leukemia which bankrupted us.

Once I received the back pay from LTD I moved to the small town I live in now in order to do my best to avoid stress. I've lived in SW Ok for a little over 3 years now and couldn't even begin to think about moving back to the big city.

I still get regular flare-ups of severe chronic pain with almost migraine like headaches, numbness in both arms/hands and fibromyalgia caused by the neck surgery.

I'll save my rants about Doctor's here in SW Ok for another time. I just wanted to introduce myself. Hope I didn't go overboard.

:hi:

I have four herniated discs, the result of three motor vehicle accidents since 2000. I don't have any outward signs either, other than my wearing a back brace and walking slower than I used to - when the pain moves down into my right leg and hip (as it often does), I walk with a limp. And I still get dirty looks when I park in handicapped spots. My doctor decided I was entitled to a placard, but some assholes in parking lots seem to think they can beter diagnose my condition than a Board-Certified internist.

:shrug:

Hope your life continued to be stress-free. I type this just before I begin my daily trek to Colorado Springs....

Wayne
(CO Liberal)

I so appreciate your story here. For one thing, it goes to show that anything can happen to anyone at any time.

I'm also very sorry to hear about your husband. My beloved bro-n-law died from leukemia in Sept. '02 I could rant about doctors as well. None of us believe he got the 'BEST' care available as a Medicare user. He was only 49. His passing DID leave his wife, my sister in medical bills hell. She had to put her house into a trust and is about to declare a bankruptcy. It was their very first home.

Yes, indeed, there are disabilities that are commonly known as "hidden". Hidden in that it's not obvious by casual glance to the general public.

I have multiple conditions that allow me disability payments. Most of them relate to chronic pain as related to Osteo Arthritis. I have other conditions that made drawing disability payments a slam dunk. In any case, it is no picnic to have to apply for assistance. It can be tedious, humiliating and stressful.

It's good to know you had some alternative means with which to get some help.

It's frustrating that, depending on where you live in the country, some people get help rather nicly while others have to offer their first born child before the assistance is given. What a shame.

Welcome again and I hope you WILL share with us some of your horror stories related to the medical profession. I'm sure many of us have tales to tell on that score too.

Best, SB