The period of adjustment to not working was a roller coaster. With time on my hands and a brain that wanted creative stimulation I began producing greeting cards. The cost of ink for an Epson printer is astronomical, but when using antique pictures for your basis you can't really make a marketable image without nice, crisp results. Other printers couldn't approach the quality.
I could create wonderful cards, I thought, and sell them and if Social Security collapses I'll have some way of making a living because there was little doubt I was not going back to nursing. And I was not very marketable as an unreliable employee who had several off days a week and needed a nap. I could do this from home, I thought, and find a little shop to carry them. They were loved--by very few people. I couldn't pay my booth rent with cards alone so the shop dealer suggested I try a few antiques to supplement the cards.
My love for art deco dishes was overflowing. I bought a bunch of art deco dishes. But they don't sell well in our area and I'm not going to last past the year. Rearranging and dusting the shelves once a week is a daunting task. I barely make rent. Negative income. So that's not going to suck any more of my time.
My Neurologist emphatically wants me to remain as active as possible, so the hunt for a bargain antique at Good Will seemed like a reasonable form of exercise. Once every week or two the stroll around the store pushing the shopping cart would be tiresome but doable. Then my right foot and ankle started to get stiff and we went through Physical Therapy which was not a disaster, just another layer of problems making problems of their own.
So I had to see a podiatrist who X-Rayed my foot and determined what my Neurologist had already confirmed: I had foot drop with rotation of my foot. So she (the Podiatrist) suggested a walking boot for the meantime and a brace for later after they cast an impression of my foot and shin. But after sending me home with a boot I could barely move in that was uneven with any pair of shoes I possessed, my insurance company sent a letter saying they weren't committing to paying for the orthotic device, and that among the reasons were that they didn't cover braces, I might have gone to the doctor too many times, and on and on.
So I have an 800 number to call to spend an entire morning on hold before talking to a human being. I'm psyching myself up for that. It would have been nice to know I had a limit on the number of Dr visits I could make in a year. News to me, but then I don't go constantly, it just feels like it!
Meanwhile I have found a Parkinson's Support Group where they teach both vocal exercises and physical exercises and I will be going several times a week to try to stay ahead and postpone more digression of capabilities. All they ask is a donation each time you visit and a nominal family annual membership fee.
With my first long-term disability letter came the warning that in 2 years they would revisit my case and if they thought I could maintain some kind of work after seeing their doctors, I would be terminated from their program. That is a frightening scenario for me. While my Neurologist says it is not reasonable to expect me to work, I look OK, am able to walk, although it hurts after any length of time, and I see people worse than me at the support group (and, amazingly, much older and doing much better, so I don't get it). After looking up the underwriter online I found they are noted by attorneys for their propensity to deny further coverage after two years. I will be glad to know which way it is going to go since it stresses me out so much. We were not planning on my retiring for at least 6 or 7 more years and we're feverishly trying to prepare for a huge cut in income. I don't know whether to get an attorney now or wait to see what happens.
