When I first became sick with an undiagnosed illness, I thought it would be a short-term issue that I could handle. But, as time went on and I got sicker and sicker, I began to feel like my whole world had ended and that I would never be healthy again. It took a while before I actually accepted that I had become disabled. Disability is a hard word to own.

One of the hardest things I had to do was to accept that I was indeed disabled and that I could no longer work. To have to give up a job that I loved wasn't easy. Once I came to the conclusion that I needed financial help, it was up to my advocates, my parents, to help me through the bureaucratic process. I just did not have the energy and the mental ability to sift through all the paperwork and deal with the system.

It took the support of my advocates and of my entire immediate family for me to survive both emotionally and physically. Dealing with the medical community was in itself a nightmare that I could not effectively handle. There were countless misdiagnosis, dangerous side effects to medications, endless appointments to keep and reams of paperwork to compile.

At that point, we were all blind to the system. We did not know where to turn for help, how to file for Social Security Disability Benefits, how to effectively answer the questions on the application, or what information to send to the caseworker handling the case. We didn't even know that the final determination on my claim would be done, not by the caseworker we were dealing with, but that the application would be forwarded to another office!

We had no idea that we could ask questions of our caseworker at the Social Security offices and actually be able to contact that second office to find out the status of my claim. But, little by little, step-by-step, my parents persevered and were able to walk through the entire process and win disability on my behalf in less than 6 months after I applied.

So, I happen to know how difficult it can be to apply for disability benefits, especially if you don't have advocates who can help you do the work. I know that other people will need help and that by publishing this book, I would be able to help someone else win disability benefits even if their condition is not listed in the acceptable list of conditions provided by Social Security. My condition was not listed and yet I was able to win disability benefits in less than 6 months!

Why? Because we developed a system to document all aspects of my illness: proof of my disorder, support letters from doctors, friends, relatives and co-workers, answering the application questions in a consistent and clear way, communicating effectively with the caseworkers and presenting comprehensive supporting information to validate my claim.

We realized that we had come up with a system that we could share with others. With my Guide, you will cut through the bureaucracy, you won't have to worry about how to fill out your application, know how to deal with your caseworker, what information to include with your application, and which information to compile and forward to Social Security in advance to expedite the process.

I hope that my Guide will be helpful to you in your journey with Social Security, and that you will be awarded Social Security Disability Benefits on your first try as I did!

Sincerely,