10th October 2003
Hello all,
I found this board, and thought you all seem pretty cool. To introduce myself, my name is Kelly, I am 22 years old and I am a severe asthmatic. I was diagnosed with asthma when I was 7 years old, I have been hospitilized several times, and I have at least twice yearly doctor visits...sometimes more....for PFT's which have recently been below 80% (80-100 is normal) I am currently taking up to 5 medications per day to manage my condition....albutrol inh. azmacort, singular, zyrtec and the svn nebulizer when needed. My conditions always worsens in the fall and winter....like a lot of asthmatics, and I have done the steriod thing many times. When I was 13, I nearly died do to bacterially contaminiated medication, which I believe has done long term damage to my lungs. I have come to the conclusion that this is the best it will ever be. The problem I have now, is that my health is affecting my finances. I am a certified respiratory therapist, but just after finishing school, and getting hired at a hospital, I lost my job because I had to miss more than the company's allotted 3 sick days/ year. It was a miricle that I finsihed school, because I had to miss so much time. I am sure a lot of you can relate. I ended up leaving the profession because I realized that despite the good I could do there, I would kill myself doing it. There is no way my health could take it anymore. Since then I have done job searches for over 2 years to try and find something that is more flexible, to no avail. I have even tried finding work from home, which would be great, and not been successful. Then I have heard about the option of social security disability. Right now, I live at home with my mom and she takes on a lot of my expenses...which I feel bad about, and I know she is not happy with. I have good insurance, so my medical care is not that expensive (thank god) but I feel like I am eeking by in life and I am scared from one bill to the next. I don't feel that I will ever be able to work a 9-5 job, and there are not many alternatives. I was wondering if anyone has been in similar situations? Does anyone know of any good places to find legitimate, real work at home jobs? Has anyone filed for ss disability and been successful...and if so, what is involved?
Thank you all.....
Kelly
I found this board, and thought you all seem pretty cool. To introduce myself, my name is Kelly, I am 22 years old and I am a severe asthmatic. I was diagnosed with asthma when I was 7 years old, I have been hospitilized several times, and I have at least twice yearly doctor visits...sometimes more....for PFT's which have recently been below 80% (80-100 is normal) I am currently taking up to 5 medications per day to manage my condition....albutrol inh. azmacort, singular, zyrtec and the svn nebulizer when needed. My conditions always worsens in the fall and winter....like a lot of asthmatics, and I have done the steriod thing many times. When I was 13, I nearly died do to bacterially contaminiated medication, which I believe has done long term damage to my lungs. I have come to the conclusion that this is the best it will ever be. The problem I have now, is that my health is affecting my finances. I am a certified respiratory therapist, but just after finishing school, and getting hired at a hospital, I lost my job because I had to miss more than the company's allotted 3 sick days/ year. It was a miricle that I finsihed school, because I had to miss so much time. I am sure a lot of you can relate. I ended up leaving the profession because I realized that despite the good I could do there, I would kill myself doing it. There is no way my health could take it anymore. Since then I have done job searches for over 2 years to try and find something that is more flexible, to no avail. I have even tried finding work from home, which would be great, and not been successful. Then I have heard about the option of social security disability. Right now, I live at home with my mom and she takes on a lot of my expenses...which I feel bad about, and I know she is not happy with. I have good insurance, so my medical care is not that expensive (thank god) but I feel like I am eeking by in life and I am scared from one bill to the next. I don't feel that I will ever be able to work a 9-5 job, and there are not many alternatives. I was wondering if anyone has been in similar situations? Does anyone know of any good places to find legitimate, real work at home jobs? Has anyone filed for ss disability and been successful...and if so, what is involved?
Thank you all.....
Kelly