Kinda in the same place myself. I have a bad back, bad shoulders, and lost the use of my vocal chords over a year ago. But even when my back trouble had me in a wheelchair I still was turned down. I’m trying to get help from the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation right now, but I don’t hold out much hope for that.
One of my doctors told me the story of a patient of his who had been in a car accident and was paralyzed, he could pretty much only move his eyes and eyebrows. It took 2 years of appeals before he got approved for disability.
Which is why I get doubly steamed when I see people doing nothing but partying and getting high while drawing SSI.
At my last apartment complex in Biloxi, MS they were cheek-to-jowl and all younger than me. Of course, they belonged to a different ethnic group than I do.