Surviving the Disability Application Process

Hello, friends old and new,

The short version is: I'm Vin, and I'm currently applying for Social Security Disability. The process has been going on for months, and it looks like there's still months to go, so I'm reaching out for help to cover my bills until things (hopefully) get sorted.

The longer version: I have a diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome, which from what I gather is what doctors call it when you have a certain set of symptoms and they can’t actually figure out why.

Primarily this means that I suffer from constant exhaustion, with largely unpredictable peaks and valleys; intermittent weakness, lightheadedness, or palpitations; and difficulty concentrating or focussing (frequently referred to as “brain fog”). (Additionally, I have celiac, ADHD, and some combination of depression and anxiety--some of these may share a root cause, but so far it's been impossible to say which.)

Prior to covid, I had been doing warehouse work, but I knew my days of being able to work on my feet were numbered. I spent a lot of the pandemic downtime trying to focus on writing and technical skills (audio editing, document design, etc), but at this point it’s essentially impossible for me to sustain effort in any kind of reliable or consistent manner. It took me roughly a week just to get this thing set up.

A number of very kind friends and acquaintances have helped me stay afloat over the past couple months, but recently the Social Security Office told me that the current phase of my application would take up to four months (rather than the 30-60 days they had told me a month earlier).

The process is clearly going to drag out for at least another six months.

So I finally broke down and set up this GoFundMe. Thankfully, I qualify for SNAP, but I still need to cover rent, car payments (I'm not in an area with functional public transit), utilities, and minimum credit card payments until the bureaucracy can run its course.

Thank you for reading all this, or for just reading the first bit and then skipping to the end. Anything you can spare would be deeply appreciated.

Please enjoy these ridiculous animals, as a token of my thanks: