When I wanted to move my mailbox because the sand where it was would swallow a wheelchair and it's occupant without so much as a burp, the post office needed proof that there was a medical justification for doing so. When I told them I would put it where it could be accessed by vehicle, that made the decision easy.
Others have very little wiggle room and very little tolerance for any activity on my part. Am I getting my point across that there are all these different sets of requirements? There are different definitions of disabled. My most recent frustration is a set of definitions that says I am capable of sedentary work and gave me a list of appropriate jobs based on my education, job history and a statement from a doctor. If it were only so easy. That same set of definitions says that ANY ability to do ANY work is an automatic disqualifier.
Then there are the different guidelines for what a person can do once they qualify. For Social Security Disability, the income guidelines are very strict. I can make only a tiny amount without getting booted out of the system. If I get booted, then it is harder to get back on. Yet, the insurance company from my previous employer will allow me to make any amount of money in an attempt to get back to work. They will pay me whatever I don't make elsewhere up to what they pay me now.
Understandably, lines have to be drawn somewhere and I believe that most of the lines were drawn with good intentions. But, my disease causes me to exist much like I always colored...outside the lines. The latest frustration that I mentioned has very specific questions that a doctor must answer. Of course, I probably could lift and carry 10 lbs. but how would I use 2 canes? And when will my body decide to spasm? That's what will never come into play. Nobody making decisions can understand a relatively unpredictable situation. And that's a big part of the issue right now, I don't even understand it.
A few weeks ago, my reputation earned a phone call. "Do you want to do some freelance work? There's a guy that needs you." When I met with the machine builder, he said he was told, "There is only one guy in Northern Arizona that I would trust to do the job." My reputation held so much water that when I told them my daughter would do the job and I would teach her and make sure she did a good job for them, they accepted the proposal. This came right as I was in the midst of trying to figure out if there was a job that I could find and do. We were there on average three days a week. It was an hour drive each way and I slept at least one way. Then I was in a wheelchair and only focused on design and teaching. We were there less than six hours per day. Each day I fought to stay awake, and at home I've had a really hard time.Two weeks ago I had another dip in my condition, OR maybe it was just the increase in fatigue. I just don't know which. But, either way, I think and the wife agrees that we have learned that I can't expect to go back to a full time job.
Now we just have to get all the different definitions of disabled to agree.