Obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be a time-consuming and stressful experience. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. Lisa Smith has been beset by a variety of serious illnesses for a long-time. For three years, Ms. Smith’s sole means of support was an older sister and her husband. Read how Allsup gave her an opportunity to pay them back.

 

 

 

Arlington, Texas—During her eight-year career as a cashier at a major discount retailer, Lisa Smith worked even though her body was wracked with pain. She suffered from memory loss, confusion and extreme difficulty walking and standing.

 

But mysterious blackouts that arrived without warning ended her working life.

 

“I had been sick a long time,” Ms. Smith, 51, remembered. “But what made me stop working were the pass-out spells. They happened very often and they were getting dangerous.” Once, she fell down a flight of stairs. During another blackout, she came perilously close to falling through a glass cooler case.

 

Ms. Smith is battling a long list of serious illnesses for someone so young. She’s been diagnosed with lupus, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, migraines, incontinence and transient ischemic attacks, commonly known as mini strokes. Neurologists have not pinned down exactly what causes her to black out and they can’t stop the attacks.

 

Ms. Smith’s mobility is impaired and she uses a walker or motorized wheelchair to get around. Her specialists don’t know which of her problems are causing the most pain ¾ lupus, fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis are all painful and it’s likely the combination that has been so debilitating.

 

Adding to her problems, she has severe daily headaches, believed to be a result of neck fractures from a car accident 15 years ago. “I have a headache every day of my life, 24/7,” she said.

 

She last worked in January 2007. At that time, she was terrified of more falls causing her further injury. “You can’t work in a public job when you could just pass out anytime,” Ms. Smith said.

 

In late 2008, Ms. Smith was hospitalized for a possible heart attack. She hadn’t worked in nearly two years and had no insurance. Because she was so sick, she needed Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for the medical insurance coverage more than for a monthly financial benefit. But she had already applied for Social Security disability on her own, and was rejected. “It just felt like climbing mountains,” she remembered.

 

Ms. Smith was desperate to find another route to SSDI. A hospital social worker gave her information about various options, but highly recommended Allsup. Ms. Smith had never heard of the company.

 

Later, she learned that since 1984, Allsup has helped more than 150,000 people get the SSDI benefits they deserve. Ms. Smith didn’t know it yet, but she had contacted the nation’s leading nationwide non-attorney SSDI representation company.

 

Ms. Smith certainly needed the help and didn’t know where else to turn. During the nearly three years she had no work or income, Ms. Smith’s older sister and her sister’s spouse were her sole means of support. They provided a mobile home for her to live in on property near their home. “If I ate and had food and clothing, it was because of them,” Ms. Smith said. Some of her medications were $500 per month and her family did the best they could to provide her with what she needed.

 

Within just nine months of contacting Allsup, the company helped guide her through the process and helped her receive benefits. Everything about it was so much better than Ms. Smith expected.

 

“It was like you’re drowning and going under water for the third time, and a hand reaches down and pulls you up,” she said about Allsup. “It’s like they save you and then they say: ‘We’ll do everything for you.’ It was just so amazing.”

 

Her representative supported her through a hearing before an administrative law judge, which was much less stressful than she imagined. “When we went to the hearing, you just got the feeling the judge was thinking: ‘Why on earth is she here? This is a very sick person.’ It was over in 15 minutes.” Within days Ms. Smith had a check.

 

Ms. Smith was overjoyed because she could finally pay her sister back for some of the support she had given.

 

“Allsup helps people to live the rest of their lives with dignity,” she said. Also, once she was officially disabled, it seemed many other agencies got in contact to help provide her services, including a motorized wheelchair. Ms. Smith can’t say enough good things about the company.