The Powers That Soon Will Be

There are so many things I need to get done now that both Ronnie and Ashley are 18 years old.  Things like applying for Social Security Disability, and getting Powers of Attorney for medical and educational decisions.  But have I done any of it yet?  No...

I've been through the SSDI stuff for my oldest daughter, Jessica, and it is a monumental hassle.  I imagine it will be even more so now with the sequester cutbacks.  But, I really need to get started.  They both will qualify, and they both are missing out on money while I drag my feet.

I've also done the powers of attorney for Jessica, and because one of THE BEST ATTORNEYS IN THE WORLD helped me with it, things went quickly and smoothly.  I have no good reason why I haven't started the process for Ronnie and Ashley, but as of today, medical records kicked my butt and told me to get cracking.

In the ongoing saga to find out why Ashley's leg and foot are swollen, I scheduled an appointment with a vascular surgeon as recommended by the hematologist/oncologist we last saw.  When we saw the hematologist/oncologist, I got copies of Ashley's cat scan and ultrasound from the hospital that performed those tests and took them to the doctor's office.  All that happened in early March.  Then on March 29th, Ashley turned 18 years old.

The hematologist/oncologist can't find the disk of images that I delivered to her office, and of course, the vascular surgeon needs to see those films.  So I contacted the hospital today and asked for another copy of the films on disk.  The first indication that something was amiss was when the hospital records person asked me if Ashley would be picking up the new disk.  Jokingly, I said no because she was blind and not allowed to drive.  The records person didn't find that as amusing as I did, and promptly told me that if I didn't have a power of attorney, I could not pick up Ashley's records.

Cue momentary PANIC.  I quickly emailed THE BEST ATTORNEY IN THE WORLD and asked how quickly we could do the powers of attorney.  She said Friday, which will give me plenty of time to order and pick up Ashley's disk from the hospital before the appointment with the vascular surgeon.

Okay, Social Security Office, are you ready to start kicking me now???