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Osteoarthritis Community

Be prepared for later down the road..................

This would be my biggest tip and if I had been smart, many years ago, I would have done...

Posted by girlsofspfd

This would be my biggest tip and if I had been smart, many years ago, I would have done it myself. Although I must say that for many years I had no idea that it was OA causing my problems. I feel the Arthritis Foundation is very NEGLIGENT in informing the public of the red flags when you have OA. In my case, I was involved in a serious work accident and the years of pain I had afterwards I just thought were due to the accident. Of course now I know better. But that is another story in and of itself.

My tip is that for the person that has any type of degenerating disease, such as OA or RA, and have the type of job ( such as I did ) that basically depends on your health and strength. Look into a supplemental kind of insurance, such as Aflac, and start paying into it early as compared to later. I'm sure it is costly but seriously think about what you are going to do when down the road, you are no longer able to do that job. And in this economy, don't fool yourself into thinking that there are other "easier" jobs that you could do. The last job I had, which I also had to quit, I had to lie like a dog about my knee problems. Just to get my foot in the door.
But back to the point, I am wishing I had something to fall back on during this period of waiting for my day in court for my disability claim.
I guess there are those who are fortunate enough to have a spouse to help them out financially during this period but I don't have that. I would think I had hit the jackpot if I were able to get unemployment but that doesn't happen either.
So, heed my words, take it upon yourself to plan for the future while your still working! We all know that arthritis doesn't disappear and go away - it only gets worse. And who is going to help you financially when you have lost all income? It's ironic to me how I got denied the SSI help because it was based on the spouses income and he doesn't give me a penny. I have been put in the position where I have to steal just to get dog food. Or anything else for that matter.
Do some reading on the effects of a disability claim. People lose their homes, go bankrupt, divorce rate is high, and suicide rate is high.
Be smarter than I was and be prepared!!View Thread

Posted bygirlsofspfd

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