Obtaining
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be a time-consuming and stressful experience. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. Sheila Klistoff wondered what more did she have to go through to prove that she was unable to work. Throughout the years, a variety of illnesses—gall bladder removal, Type 2 diabetes, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, back issues and a pulmonary embolism—all took a toll on her health. With her energy level depleted, she sought help through the Internet and found Allsup. Allsup relieved Mrs. Klistoff of financial pressures by securing her SSDI. Read her story.
* This is a true story as told to Allsup.
Determination, with the help of disability experts, convinces officials that a failing heart was not the product of a vivid imagination.
No One Else Believed She Was Really Sick
By Jim Katzaman
Norwalk, California—Sheila Klistoff is battling an assortment of ailments, but she is consoled because now people know she is not faking ill health. Her relief comes after years when even her own doctor said she was a hypochondriac. It would take her near-death experience to change his mind.
Now 56, Mrs. Klistoff worked in data processing starting in 1972. Until the turn of the century her health was good. Then she was struck down by one malady after another. After her gall bladder was removed in 2001, she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Next was congestive heart failure followed by cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart muscle often associated with inadequate heart pumping or other heart function problems.
She was treated for a pulmonary embolism in 2007, and she now has a bad back. Now, Mrs. Klistoff doesn’t work and receives Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, but her journey to disability acceptance was almost as challenging as her medical conditions.
As her illnesses compounded, they took a toll on her work. “I had gotten to the point where I was taking more days off to get treated,” she said. “Between 2001 and 2005, I was in the hospital three times. My level of energy was just terrible. I was going to the doctor constantly, but he thought I was a hypochondriac.”
That changed in 2007 when Mrs. Klistoff was rushed to the hospital. “The doctor there said I was five minutes from dying, and I was in critical care for a week,” she said. Even her own doctor had to agree she was really sick.
As all this transpired, Mrs. Klistoff’s job was outsourced in December 2005. If she wanted to continue work, she would have to look for another job. By then she also was seeing her doctor at least twice a week. Looking for work was virtually impossible.
“I filed for unemployment,” she said. “But I had no energy. I couldn’t make it to some of the job fairs. One of my doctors said I was getting worse rather than better and that I should apply for disability instead.”
Mrs. Klistoff agreed and turned to the Internet for help. “I heard it was better to have a company or representative who knows how to deal with applying for disability,” she said. During her search, she saw an advertisement for Allsup, which she called in early 2008.
Allsup is a nationwide provider of Social Security disability, Medicare and Medicare Secondary Payer compliance services for individuals, employers and insurance carriers. Founded in 1984, Allsup employs more than 700 professionals who deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. The company is based in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis.
“I’m glad I called Allsup because they held my hand all the way through the process,” Mrs. Klistoff said. Yet, even with Allsup’s expert help, her initial application and
disability appeal to the Social Security Administration were turned down. This is typical, and Allsup representatives told her to expect the initial refusals, but she still felt the sting.
“I know what I can and can’t do,” she said. “Then when you have someone who says you can find work no matter how bad you feel, it can be pretty depressing.”
With Allsup’s help, she pressed on. In early 2009, Mrs. Klistoff was scheduled to have her case heard by an administrative law judge. Allsup representative Deborah Breeden went to Norwalk, Calif., to represent her. Together they went to the judge’s office to state Mrs. Klistoff’s case in person with a doctor joining in on speakerphone.
In February 2009, the mailman delivered the judge’s favorable decision. “I felt relief that somebody finally realized I was not faking it and that I really can’t work,” Mrs. Klistoff said. “Who would want to stay at home all day?”
Her medical problems are still formidable with good days followed by days, when she can hardly get out of bed. She continues to see doctors several times each week, but at least she can meet her financial needs thanks to Allsup and those monthly disability checks.
“Allsup was wonderful,” Mrs. Klistoff said. “When you can’t work, it’s a relief to have someone there to help. I’m extremely happy with Allsup.”