This weekend has been surreal. I didn't expect to have my application for disability approved so soon. It feels like a lot of the pieces are falling into place, which is a bit disconcerting. I was expecting a little more pushback from the universe (and maybe it will come; who knows?), but me going on disability feels... right? I never expected that to be part of "me". Disability felt like something for other folks, but now I can say that I'm part of this larger family of folks. I never expected cancer to be part of "me" either, and now I'm part of that family.

It's always strange to find yourself part of communities that you never dreamed you'd be a part of. It also gives you a responsibility to use your own talents in those communities. One of my talents is writing and communicating with others. So now I'm using those talents to tell people about what my own experiences with cancer and disability are. I know many folks don't feel they have the ability to do so because of fear. They fear their job will treat them differently or they fear society will look down on them because of their cancer or other disabilities. I'm hear to say that I'm still a functional human being underneath these labels, as are the rest of the folks going through similar and different experiences.

I know the laminate is still warm on my membership card, but I intend to use my voice whenever I see folks getting static for being themselves. Disease is a natural part of life, and we are all one incident away from being disabled. I didn't expect to have cancer or disability on my dance card but now that they're there I intend to dance my ass off until one of us relents.

I may not know where I'm going or where the journey will take me but I know I'll enjoy the view, even if those passages all look alike.

Approved

So, um,

As of April 14th my application for Social Security Disability Insurance has been approved.

I'm literally gobsmacked. I didn't expect to see any movement about this for months, let alone weeks.

I was fully expecting to have to fight tooth-and-nail for this. So many folks I've talked to …

Starting the process

I filed my application for disability yesterday. This morning I called the office to see if there was anything else that I needed to provide them. As of this morning I think I'm go-flight to begin the process of transitioning to disability.

I'm so grateful to my cousin for providing …

Craig Maloney More than you cared to know

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Approved

Starting the process

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