A Battle Won

For those of you who haven't heard yet, we won our Social Security trial on Friday.  Now all that is left is to tackle the beaurocratic mess for V.A. benefits.

  The trial was set to begin at 9 a.m., and we were informed that we needed witnesses to be present.  The case doors opened at 9:30, and the actual proceedings didn't begin until 10:30.  There was no room for my wife or mother to attest to my claim.  Most of the delay was due to the judges computer monitor not working.
  Once the trial began I was sworn in, and questioned for thirty minutes by the judge.  The questions ran from, "what kind of disability do you have," to "What kind of guitar do you play?"  Then the judge opened the floor for their "medical expert" witness.  An overweight foreigner, with an unpronounceable name.  His degree in internal medicine, with a specialization in gastro-intestinal, really had no bearing on my case, and as he presented his facts he stared at me and wore this crooked, snobby, smile that wreaked of contempt.
  He began by stating that he was well versed with my case, and began to suggest that I didn't have CRPS. He claimed that there was no physical symptoms demonstrated or recorded in the medical evidence, and that he concurred with the findings of a quack neurologist we had to see at North Chicago.  The neurologist had recorded that I was non-compliant with my medications, and that I had a somatic conversion disorder.  Basically that it was all in my mind.  I couldn't keep my mouth shut...
  I started by listing all the physical findings that had be documented throughout my various trips to Milwaukee.  That my foot had lost a half inch of length and the hair growth on my right foot had thinned (findings by the orthopedic doctor), that my foot and leg were dark red and swollen (recorded by several doctors), and the end all for diagnosis of RSD, that there was a remarkable change in temperature variation after sympathetic blocks.
  He began by stating that he didn't have any of those records.  I replied that those were all records that should have been obtained by the administration for my appeal; that it was reprehensible that they had not pulled any new information for the appeal.  The judge agreed.
  The doctor then stated that the podiatrist notes should be disregarded because he's not a neurologist or pain specialist.  To which I kept my mouth shut, but wanted to point out that he was neither a neurologist or a pain specialist.
  His next attack was that people never get their RSD back once it goes into remission.  There are tons of documented cases of individuals that have had a remission period that ended with the re-emrgence of symptoms.  He claimed that he didn't have any studies there to demonstrate his point, and thus couldn't argue one way or another.
  He finally stated that it was not required of us to prove that I had RSD because he was going to find in our favor regardless.  This was a means of him stating that he didn't know anymore, and that he was giving up, without admitting that he gave up.  I still wanted to punch him in the face, and I still want to go lynch that neurologist from North Chicago.  That neurologist had even stated to my wife and I that he didn't believe in RSD, that it didn't exist.  And he's the one that everyone turns to in regards to my case...

  Regardless, the battle is over for SSDI.  We should be collecting in about a month or two.  The judge ruled with a bench decision, as opposed to mailing his decision in a week or two.  That helped speed the process.  He also stated that he did believe that I had RSD, completely overruling the statements of the pudgy, snide, idiotic, medical specialist.
  I will be creating a tabbed page with information on how to insure you get your SSDI for people with RSD/CRPS who are trying, but haven't succeeded yet.