boring days lead to......The Big Day!

Monday, August 1, 2016 -
        Wednesday, August 3, 2016


Monday and Tuesday
Monday was my Happy Homemaker Day - laundry and dishes.  My normal fun weekday...not!  I also did a "march in place" exercise for about seven minutes.  I was aiming for ten minutes, but the phone rang, so I had to quit, and by the time I was off the phone, I had forgotten I was doing it!
I did make some phone calls that needed made, including to my disability lawyer(s), asking my last-minute questions, which were evidently no big deal to them, because she just spouted out the answers without having to think about it at all!  I guess that's a good thing...
As well as all that, I had my chicken salad and walnuts for lunch.  During the afternoon, I walked out to check the mail and noticed more Mystery Lilies coming up out on the front hill, so I came in and got my camera and walked around the yard taking pictures of flowers.
I fell asleep in my recliner and Ron woke me up when he came in - which was rather late, because he stopped and got an alternator for his truck on his way home.  It's used, but from a truck just like his, so should be the right amps and all that.  The guy gave him an excellent price, too, and that was even better news!
I made Ron a cabbage dish for his supper and made myself an egg sandwich with three eggs and, yes, it was an egg sandwich.  I had it on bread, but that was all I had for supper.  Ron and I each had an ice cream for our dessert.

Tuesday was a lackadaisial day - I got up, moved out to my recliner, and that was about it for the day.  I didn't do a whole heck of a lot all day long.  I had gotten everything caught up the day before and just didn't feel like putting any effort toward any other household chores, so I just sat there and vegged.
I just had chicken salad for my lunch because I was hoping for a good showing at TOPS tonight.  When it came time, I got my shower and all, put on light clothes (do everything you can for less weight!), decided supper with Ron (even Tuesdays are his day...), and went to my meeting.  When I weighed in, I was pleased to find a 1.4 pound weight loss!  It wasn't as good as I was hoping (I had gained close to 5 pounds last week), it was a loss, and I will always take a loss!  We had a good meeting, talking about being "stalled" and how to get going again.  I got some good suggestions.  I've got to start making my brain think differently is how I'm starting to think about this.  I've totally changed in this three years, and my journey is totally different now, and my thinking needs to reflect that.
I came home to supper and promptly dumped it, and my drink, in my lap trying to scoot my TV tray in closer to me.  Actually, I spilled the drink into the plate and onto me, so I was just frozen, not burned, so I guess that was a good thing....it was still freaky!  Ron had made fish (the square ones), corn, and pork & beans.  It was a good supper, if a little strange-tasting because of the drink spilled into it.  Only me...
The lawyer who will meet me tomorrow also called me during the evening to go over things with me.  This having a different lawyer every time I turn around is very strange.  I think I've talked to ten or so different ones now.  Odd.


Wednesday -- The Big Day!

The day of my Social Security Disability Hearing - the day I've been waiting for - is finally here!
Chelle is here is drive me downtown, and Bert is going to go with me, too, as my cheerleader.  We stop to pick her up on the way and off we go.
We had left in plenty of time, and get downtown over an hour early.  Sure beats getting there late, right?
As things would have it, by the time my lawyer was free to talk to me (he had another case before mine), my back had me up from the chair and pacing the waiting room.  I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not, since the judge wouldn't know it, but there it was.
The lawyer (who looked like he just graduated high school!) and I, as well as Chelle and Bert, had a little conference going over everything and he told me how he was going to present everything, what he was going to present, blah blah blah and did we have any questions and we went over it all pretty well.
They finally called us in the hearing room - Chelle and Bert went back to the waiting room - and things got started.  The lawyer and the judge were talking their own language - everything had a number - and I had no idea what they were saying until one of them said a medical word! Then, finally, the questioning started.  The judge asked me questions about what I could do, what I thought I could do, and how long I could do any of these things, which, of course, I answered as honestly and as clearly as I could.  After a while, she and the lawyer talked their language some more, then she asked if he would like a small recess so he could confer with me.  He and I went to a conference room, gathered Chelle and Bert, and discussed things.  He said that the judge said that she would approve it IF we amended the date of the claim from the original date to the date of (my fall and) my broken back, since I could, and did, work after the stroke and there wasn't a chance to see if the heart attack really had disabled me, but quite obviously, the broken back did.  We all agreed that the broken back was definitely the most disabling injury/happening, and so I signed the paper to amend the date to the date of the fall/broken back.  Chelle and Bert went back to wait, we went back to the hearing room, turned in that paper, and five minutes later, it was done.  I am approved.
Of course, I will have to wait for the official letter.  I am hoping to receive that in 4-6 weeks, but who knows?  When I get it, I get it!  I am happy right now, just knowing that I am approved.  I will be able to do my share financially around here!  I will be able to be a helpmate to my husband again! I will be useful when needed!
Praise be!!  \o/