Tuesday, March 07, 2006

A Good Thing

A good thing happened to me Friday, but I really had no intention of blogging about it. In the past few days I haven't been blogging much. In fact, I've only posted once since it happened, and after writing that post I felt like a fraud. It's not that I feel I have to share all my secrets with the Internet (believe me, there are some things that will never make print, here or anywhere else), but what happened is huge, HUGE, life-altering for me, and it seems I can't write about anything else until I've written about IT. So, here it is:

My husband was granted Social Security Disability.

To know what a big deal this is, you need a little background. All of my adult life, I have struggled financially. I moved out on my own much too soon, and have always "just scraped by." Even at the time we bought our house, we really should have waited. Every penny we had went into the downpayment (including some pennies from my wonderful family), and we moved in with absolutely nothing in our savings account. A few months later Hubby was laid off from the job he'd held for fourteen years. Then there was unemployment, and other jobs that didn't pay as well, and we managed, but started getting behind on bills. Then came the accident, which put him out of work for a year. Seven months after the accident he was granted Social Security Disability, but by then we were behind on so much that we just couldn't catch up. He went back to work, but after the head injury he had a lot of trouble keeping a job. And then, four years later, the seizures started.

Since then, we've been getting by on my income and money pulled out of the equity in our house. Fortunately, we live in an area where the housing values have more than doubled in the past ten years, so the equity was there, but it's really not a good way to live. With the last equity loan, we finally managed to pay off the last of the medical bills (which were substantial), with enough left over to get us through this winter, at least until our tax returns came in, which would hopefully be enough to get us through until my work started up again in the spring, which if we're really careful would get us through summer and maybe fall, and next winter? No idea. Believe me, it's not a fun way to live. And, except for a few brief, temporary respites (usually after receiving a tax return), I've been living this way for 17 years.

We applied for Disability, but I didn't really expect to get it. I mean, financial stuff just doesn't seem to go my way, you know? I've been blessed in other ways...I have a wonderful daughter, a very supportive family, and although the accident has brought it's share of difficulties between Hubby & I, it also in many ways brought us closer (despite my whining about the closet). And it could have been much, much worse. The fact that he recovered as well as he did is nothing short of amazing, given the extent of his injuries. I'm not complaining; I have a good life. But money has never really been a part of it, except as something to worry about.

When we were granted Disability the first time, Hubby was still confined to a rehab facility, and was in the process of relearning things like how to brush his teeth. When the agent called me, her exact words (which I'll never forget), were, "We've reviewed your application (long, hesitant pause), and we've decided to allow it." Sounds like just barely, doesn't it? Of course, she went on to say there was a one in ten chance the application would be selected for a review, which might overturn the decision, and would also delay the first check by another six weeks or so. And guess what? We were the one in ten. They didn't overturn the decision, but it meant another six weeks of waiting and wondering. I wasn't kidding when I said this financial stuff doesn't go my way.

So now, even though technically Hubby more than meets Social Security's definition of "disabled" (his seizures are more frequent than their minimum requirement), I didn't have high hopes. The last time he was still hospitalized after breaking nearly every bone in his head, and it seemed we just barely got it. This time, I expected a long, drawn-out battle involving lawyers and appeals. And that's not what happened.

I've been in shock since Friday.

This isn't the windfall Powerball would have been. What it means, though, is that for the next three years (until his case comes up for a medical review) we will be able to cover our expenses, with a little left over. Enough to put in a savings account. Which is a very good thing, since college looms on the horizon. For the first time in my adult life, I will not have to worry about how we're going to "get by." And that's huge. HUGE. And I just couldn't write about anything else until I wrote about IT.

If you've actually read this far, thank you for letting me get this off my chest. I promise, I'll be back to writing amusing things tomorrow.

Because tomorrow looks good.

Posted by The Gradual Gardener :: 7:30 AM :: 13 Comments:

View Comments

---------------------------------------