Obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a difficult and complex process. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. Doctors had diagnosed Mary Hutchison with multiple serious heart ailments, but her initial application was denied. She shares her story here.
* This is a true story as told to Allsup
A nurse’s long career came to a close when her heart faltered, forcing her to reluctantly seek disability.
There Would Be No Magic Pill
Brockport, New York—For almost 20 years, Mary Hutchison had been a nurse, eventually becoming nurse manager of a women’s unit at Baltimore area hospital. All had gone well both in her career and her health until 2000 when she started to get sick.
“I had shortness of breath and lightheadedness with little exertion,” she said. She continued to work for several months until she was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and myocarditis, an infection of the heart muscle. Still, she continued to work until her cardiologist urged her to take a year off to recover.
“That year lasted only three months,” Ms. Hutchison said. “I needed the money and went back to work.” She changed jobs to a hospital closer to home, thinking the nearby location would be less stressful. Her hopes were dashed in 18 months.
“I kept getting worse,” she said. “They told me I was going in and out of heart failure, depending on how much fluid my heart was trying to handle.”
By April 2002, she had to quit. “I just couldn’t work with my symptoms,” she said. She could have applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits shortly thereafter, but she held out hope for recovery.
“I hoped I could find a magic pill so I could go back to work,” she said. “I was a single mom who liked working. My whole lifestyle changed because of my illness, and I wanted to get my life back.”
She finally had to concede. There would be no magic pill. She had to face the reality of permanent disability.
Ms. Hutchison hesitated at first because she was receiving short-term disability benefits at her newest job and wanted to see if she could qualify for long-term disability. However, she was turned down because of her pre-existing condition. She reluctantly turned to SSDI.
“Filling in the papers to apply for SSDI was the hardest thing I had to do in my life,” she said. “It meant I couldn’t work any more.”
Acquaintances who had applied for SSDI warned her that her first application would be denied, as most initial claims are. Indeed, the Social Security Administration denied her claim. “I expected that,” she said, “but it was still very disappointing.”
Before she applied again, Ms. Hutchison—who by late 2006 had moved to New Jersey and later settled in Brockport—asked a friend and pastor for advice. He referred her to Allsup.
That was how Ms. Hutchison heard about the nation’s leading SSDI representation company. CEO and founder Jim Allsup started his company in 1984, after working for the Social Security Administration (SSA), to help people just like Mary Hutchison collect SSDI benefits that she had paid for with FICA taxes throughout her working life.
A nationwide company with headquarters in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis, Allsup’s success rate is a staggering 98 percent.
In January 2007, Allsup went to work on Ms. Hutchison’s case. “From the beginning they were kind,” she said. “Every time I called with a question they got right back to me. I never felt like I was alone in the process once I contacted Allsup.”
Allsup representatives helped Ms. Hutchison complete her information and gathered her medical records for her SSDI appeal. Taking care of the legwork is part of a typical day for Allsup people who strive to live up to the company’s core value of true helping.
Ms. Hutchison’s received personal attention and support from her Allsup representative.
“She encouraged me to keep a journal for several days and to be more realistic about what I could or couldn’t do,” Ms. Hutchison said.
A diary helps individuals keep an objective record of their physical activities. Allsup representatives have found that after keeping a diary, it’s much easier for clients to explain in a concise way how they spend their time and their limitations—valuable information for a judge’s decision.
Ms. Hutchison’s hearing lasted less than an hour. Then the waiting began. In early December, she received a letter from Social Security. “I couldn’t tell if I was or wasn’t approved,” she said. “I called Allsup and asked what it meant. ‘It means you’re approved,’ they said. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! Finally!’ ”
With Allsup’s help, Ms. Hutchison received a lump-sum payment dating from the onset of her disability along with monthly SSDI benefits. “It’s made a huge difference,” she said. “I’m the only one in the family with any income because my partner was between jobs. It came just in time. Everything just worked out perfectly.”
Physically, however, her struggles continue. “I’ve learned to make accommodations,” she said. “Some days I have to sit around. Some days I can do things.”
Despite the hardships, Ms. Hutchison is grateful. “My thanks go to Allsup.”