Nearly everyday you live with a autoimmune disease is a day at some point you want to physically harm your body or at least think about how unfair it is that a once healthy, strong and attractive body can turn against you.
Such is the case with dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation that leaves you with scars that will never heal. One of the most hopeless feelings you experience in your new life as a survivor that is faced with these realities, is how to live within the means of something you were never prepared to live with.
After being forced to retire from my job at ESPN in April of 2008, I now had to fo face the harsh realities of living off disability. This restriction was made easier by the fact that I was recently married in July of 2007 and had my wife’s insurance and salary to fall back on. I did not have to have money taken out of my social security disability.
Well, that\s not totally true yet. When you go on disability you first receive it from your employer, which in my case was ESPN who I paid into during my years working. I received a check every two weeks from The Hartford, which would pay me until the year 2037. Required in that is a significant number of checkups that they require with your doctors to update them on your condition.
Now, the downside of being paid LTD from your employer is two-fold. First, you only get 60 percent of your salary at the time of your leaving work. The second thing is you are required by law to apply for social security disability.
For those of you who are not familiar with the process of applying for social security disability, the fun is just starting. In my next post, I will share what the experience was like for me.
NEXT BLOG DATE - June 24, 2019