Stargardt disease is a kind of macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss, usually leading to blindness. Typically it starts in childhood. While most people end up becoming blind, some people can end up retaining most, if not all, of their vision along with the ability to drive and daily functionality of a normal-sighted person.
I receive an email from the Arizona office. Seems a claimant has missed an exam we scheduled for him. We scheduled this exam for him because he alleges that he can't work because he's blind. He was allowed back in 2004 for decreased vision, and he's been receiving disability checks since that time. He is way past due for a review of his disability, which is why I'm looking at his case right now. He tells us about only one medical source he's seen in the past two years. We request records from them, and we receive their very, very minimal records showing that he has Stargardt disease, no changes have happened recently, and he is able to drive and is a confident driver without incident. If we had more information from the actual doctor office, we might be able to determine if he is able to function well enough to cease receiving benefits or if he continues to be unable to function well enough to secure a job. But the doctor office sends me very little (I've almost duplicated verbatim what they sent to us), so I schedule the man for an exam to test his vision so that our doctors can make a decision. Except he missed the exam we scheduled for him.
I call him. He doesn't answer. I leave a message. Immediately, he calls back. I tell him that he missed an exam. He tells me that he never received notification of the exam. I verified his address with him, and told him the date that we sent him a letter. He tells me that he never got the letter. I tell him that I am able to reschedule this exam for him once, but if he misses it for any reason, his continuing disability will be ceased. He understands. He asks why he is being scheduled for an exam in the first place. I tell him that we requested information from the one source he told us about and they didn't send us enough information for us to make an accurate decision regarding his ability to function. He states that he goes to see that one doctor every year for his vision issues, he continues to be blind and his condition of blindness hasn't changed since the first time he was allowed for benefits. I asked him if he had Stargardt disease. He said that he did. I asked if there had been changes in his visual acuity at all since being allowed for disability benefits. He told me there hadn't been changes. I asked if he was able to drive. He told me that he wasn't. I asked if he had driven at any time during the past two years, and he said that he had not driven because he is blind. I told him that I would request a reschedule for his exam. He was pleasant throughout the conversation.
I hung up the phone.
And immediately I hated my job. I hated the man. I hated his doctor. I became very cranky and upset.
What's up with that??
There was nothing particularly upsetting about the phone call. He wasn't mean or rude to me. He wasn't difficult to talk with. There were no dogs barking or babies crying in the background. He didn't sound like he was completely drunk or on drugs of any kind. These are the kinds of things that can make phone calls difficult. But none of those things happened. But I'm mad now. And I don't like that.
I don't like it that his doctor didn't put down the numbers indicating his visual acuity, didn't indicate if he is blind but able to drive (I'm not sure how that's even possible), or give any indication about his condition so that we could make a decision on his case. He was allowed once before, continuing his case is very easy if he was allowed once before. But given that he's got a disease that *could* get better, and his doctor said that he can drive which indicates a level of functionality which *could* mean he no longer qualifies for disability, I need to have some medical person tell me how he is able to function. And I hate it that this guy has gone to his doctor, expecting care, and has received none.
How many people go to their doctors believing they're being cared for, but aren't?
How many of us are being duped regularly by the very, very rich people who make a very, very good living by fooling us, the people who are in need of assistance?
My wife tells me that a person can't have ADHD and Asperger's simultaneously, yet countless doctors have diagnosed both those conditions in children whose medical records I've read over the last 5 years. Nobody told those doctors you can't have ADHD and Asperger's at the same time, or else somebody my wife trusted told her incorrect information. Either way, somebody isn't being treated correctly or with proper information.
Blindness generally is easy. You don't get better from blindness. In fact, until about 30 minutes ago, I would've said you NEVER get better from blindness. And then I read about a New-To-Me disease, Stargardt, where people can actually go blind and then get better. And the one person I know who has this disease has a doctor who gives about as much information about his patient as a third-grader giving a book report on a book she's never read before. "Old Yeller was... a dog who didn't change and... is able to bark without incident... the end."
Fucking people. Fucking doctors. Fucking system. Fucking lies and greed and making your living off the people who work while you scheme and deceive and maintain mediocrity, believing yourself to be something you're not. But you've got proof, don't you? You've got a pocket full of cash that says You're Doing Right. You're Living Right. You're Doing The Right Things And Everybody Will Agree Because Hard Work And Dedication Pay Off And Crime Doesn't Pay And blah blah blah that we all tell ourselves in order to make it through this dismality of a world that we've made where the Evil gets rewarded, the Good is squashed, and there's no Justice, no Karma, and no Heaven or Hell waiting to judge those who perpetuate difficulties for everybody.
"What are you bitching about," you say, "these people aren't affecting you."
They're not affecting me like all the kids in the shallow end of the pool leaving their huge wads of piss in the pool aren't affecting me. Yeah, I'm not swimming in kid piss now, but that's only because it hasn't wrapped itself around my waist just yet. In a second, we will all be consumed with kid piss. Except this is worse. This is adult piss, and you should know better.
Fucking people.
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