My best friend has cystic fibrosis. She is a 33 year old single mother and was recently told by her doctor that she needs to go on disability if she wants to live two more years. She can’t just quit work, though, because she wouldn’t be able to support her daughter and afford her medications. Everyone we’ve talked to, even the uninterested social worker, says she must go without income for six months before receiving disability. Does anyone have any information about speeding up the process or know of any good lawyers and agencies to talk to about her situation? She can’t quit work and support her child, but she can’t continue to work or she could die in six months.
Hi,
My daughter is 2 yrs old & has cf…I have heard alot of good things about a lawyer in Texas…her name is Beth Sufian…I believe she has CF…her ph # is 713.224.1166…you can look her up online…she seems as though she would be very helpful…I have not personally spoke to her, but I did listen on a podcast on cff.org that she gave…i would also see if your friend can come up with something to do out of her home…that way she can work when she is able…also contact the local cff office…they may have a committee that volunteers their time…they can help out with fundraisers…I am on a local committee, but not all committees are the same…some small some big…but I hope this helps you…Good LucK!
Thanks for the advice. I’ll look into finding a local CF chapter. I don’t think there is one where we live–Sioux City, Iowa, but I know there’s one in Des Moines, so I’ll definitely be checking them out.
please call the cystic fibrosis support hotline at 1-866-714-2365 then i can
help you i have helped many people with this issue in the past
david
cystic fibrosis support group founder
************************************** See what’s free at http://www.aol.com.
I don’t know how the laws work in Iowa but I was told that I had to stop working when I was 24 and 3 months pregnant. I got disability through work because I thought that I was going to go back but in March of 2006 after I had the baby and my lungs just couldn’t take it anymore, I had to resign from my job. I started the disability process immediately and sent them all the info of every doctor I had ever seen, my PFT results, I had significant weight loss, and I also had special testing results from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio because I was being evaluated for bilateral lung and liver transplants. Is your friend looking into transplants if her lungs are that bad? I read up on disability at ssa.gov and I think I remember reading that if you have Cystic Fibrosis and your FEV1 from the PFT’s are 1.5 or lower, you qualify for disability. Now, I don’t know if this is just NY or if it applies to the whole country, but it’s something to look into. All of the information that I sent in got me approved within 1 month and am on it until at least 2009. I hope that this helps!