Well, I feel if I get the SSDI okay, if I don't okay. I still have my house, car, can pay all the bills, and food. Plus some neighbors give hubby and I food. I cannot pay all my medical bills but can pay for my m eds.
If they deny me at the Federal level, I am still young enough to get a part time work from home job to make a little extra money, or write articles (I did that about 10 years ago or see if I can get the books I am writing published. Nevertheless, my life will continue.
I am just so thankful my meds have decreased the number of seizures I have and the other illness I have are not too bad.
I guess there i only so much SSDI money and perhaps other people worst than me need it.

@A MyEpilepsyTeam Member Great explanation (correct)! Likewise, if one is not married, even one's own savings (retirement from a previously held job if too high) can negate the person from being approved for SSI. This was the reason that my only chance was to be approved for SSDI. However, my sister, Celeste, whom our parents and I live with, asked the question of a financial advisor and how to legally use up the money so that I can apply for SSI. And that is what I am doing. I don't spend a lot of money on me and I am not old enough to use the retirement money as an income, but if I follow the laws of paying my expenses and by legal donation, then I can use it up legally over time (after paying the initial penalty for shifting it from a retirement account to a bank account). After I use up all of, then I can apply for SSI, and my sister, Cindy, arranged for her and I to meet with an attorney who will represent me in court if it is necessary to go to court to get my SSI. The SSI is important because there is no way of knowing if Celeste will outlive me and whether the legislature of Massachusetts will one day vote a bill in both houses into law that strips the right of every citizen of Massachusetts to medical insurance.

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A MyEpile...

I did some research and this is what I found out.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) awards to people with limited income and low assets. Because SSI benefits are need-based, your spouse's income could show that you have less need than another claimant with no extra income. However, the SSA will only deem certain portions of your spouse's income to you.

Having a good attorney is great, but it doesn't help if your doctors are not willing to fill out the paperwork describing the limitations that your epileptic seizures are putting on you and that epilepsy puts on you even if you were in a long-term seizure-free state. I don't know if your attorney told you this, but once you resort to using a lawyer to obtain SSDI, the clock is ticking at how long you can continue to try. I found this out from a lawyer that one of my sisters and I met with earlier this year. The lawyer that I had was provided by Steward group (which owns Hawthorn Medical (Dartmouth, MA) as one of its medical facilities. The lawyer explained to us that the lawyer hired by Steward was not working hard because he had already been paid by Steward. And the lawyer also didn't tell me that there was a limited time after going to court to obtain SSDI before SSDI is no longer an option to apply for unless you develop another medical condition. SSI is an easier case, but you need to meet the economic need criteria. I can't apply for SSI until I have properly used up the retirement money that was in place from my 14 years working at Massachusetts General Hospital. And my sister, Celeste, found out the legal way to use up this money (for someone who is not old enough yet to use the retirement money) so that I can qualify for the economic need requirement for SSI. Celeste indicated that my getting approved for SSI is very important in case I live longer than she does.

I have been trying to get SSI for a few years now but my doctors keep saying I can work. I have a new attorney now and am at the Federal level. It takes years to get SSDI in South Carolina.
Keep trying.