June has been named the official ALS Awareness Month by the ALS Association. ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but is better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The more familiar term was coined after Major League Baseball player Lou Gehrig’s very public battle with the disease. Gehrig contracted the disease at the age of 36, which ended his career in the Major Leagues and ultimately took his life two years later.
It’s not every day someone is convicted of committing fraud against two major government programs at the same time. In Fort Smith, Arkansas, a woman named Carolyn Faye Summerhill pled guilty and was convicted of fraud against both the Social Security Administration and the Food and Drug Administration’s WIC program. She will be sentenced at a later date, but will face up to 10 years in prison in addition to being forced to pay back over $200,000 to the SSA, the WIC program, as well as several banks.
Back injuries can be anything from mild to severe in nature. Some individuals suffer a back injury with little to no effects, while others will suffer endlessly due to the symptoms they experience. Individuals who are diagnosed with syringomyelia are oftentimes unable to work as a result of the injury that led to the disorder.
Nephrotic syndrome can be a very frustrating condition to live with. While not all of the people who develop this condition will suffer severe symptoms, those who do are usually unable to work due to the affect that the condition has on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities. Because of this, these individuals are left with no income, no medical insurance and, in many cases, the daunting task of determining whether or not they should apply for Social Security Disability benefits.
Sometimes an individual may experience debilitating physical symptoms of which there is no known physical underlying cause. It is important to remember, however, that just because the cause of the symptoms is not known, the pain that the individual suffers and the limitations that pain places on their lives is no less real than any other medical condition. This is the case with patients who have been diagnosed with somatoform disorders.
Peripheral arterial disease is a serious illness that, if not taken care of properly, could lead to fatal consequences. It many cases, the symptoms of the condition can interfere with an individual's quality of life and their ability to perform daily activities. It is not surprising then, that those who suffer from peripheral arterial disease are oftentimes unable to maintain full-time work activity. This inability to work can lead to significant financial burdens. Fortunately, in many cases, Social Security Disability benefits can help.
Long waits are not uncommon to veterans waiting for their cases to be reviewed by Veterans Administration offices across the country. There is a typically heavy load of cases in every office, but in the state of Maine, some veterans are being told they may have to wait up to 2 years for their cases to be seen. The root cause for this is the recent ruling in favor of Agent Orange disability claims.
If you suffer from chronic venous insufficiency and it has made you unable to work, you may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers a program called Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), which pays monthly benefits to those who are unable to work as long as they have worked to earn enough credits and to pay in enough taxes to the SSA. If you are eligible for benefits, you may have certain dependents who are also eligible to receive benefits as well.
Illinois’s Republican Representative Judy Biggert is making an effort to keep veterans in her state informed about benefits and medical information that affect them. Last week she, along with a VA Hospital Director, Sharon Helman, and the VA Regional Director Duane Honeycutt, met with about 50 local veterans at the Bolingbrook Municipal Building for a forum on veterans’ concerns.
Most of us take the ability to breathe the air around us for granted. It is something our bodies do naturally, without effort or thought. For some, however, the process of breathing is not so simple. There are serious medical conditions that can complicate the body's ability to obtain the oxygen it needs. Chronic restrictive ventilatory disease, also known as chronic restrictive lung disease, is one of these conditions.
