Well,here I am, an old mom who has been sucked into the cyberworld of livejournal. I am not sure if anyone will read this or not. I don't know how to use all of the icons and stuff yet, so this will probably be a very bland beginning. My daughter Lauren wrote a letter to Oprah. I decided I would,too. So here it is.

If it were possible, I would like Oprah to explore the question of why people who are really disabled do not qualify for disability. My daughter was born with a serious type of heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia. In plain terms, she actually had four (thus the term "tetra") defects- no pulmonary artery, no pulmonary valve, holes in the heart and thickened muscle. She would not be alive had it not been for some real pioneers in heart surgeries for which I am extremely grateful. To date, she has had 5 heart surgeries, the last of which nearly killed her. Remarkably and with thanks to God, she survived, but the surgery damaged the left phrenic nerve on her diaphragm, so she is unable to breath with the left lung. Her right lung is also damaged from the years of constant high pressure from the heart. So now, not only does she suffer from heart problems, but now she also has problems with her lungs. In short, she has difficulty with physical activity of any kind. She has tried working at many kinds of jobs, but her stamina is not able to allow her to pursue any work. She applied for disability last year and was turned down twice. The form letters sent from the Disability Office were a joke! It didn’t even reflect what my daughter’s problem really was. I wondered if anybody ever really read the medical evidence sent in by those who are truly disabled. I know that there are some people out there who have abused the system and are not truly disabled. It makes it really frustrating for those who truly are. Oprah, can you please find out what kind of scams are out there and find out about people who have been denied disability? I know people respect you and will listen to you if you stand up for a cause. My daughter has had to be put on oxygen at night now. She doesn’t get enough while she sleeps and it is only a matter of time before she has to be on it during the day. Please help those who are powerless to help themselves.

Who knows? Maybe we'll get some help. Anyway, I am thankful that God has allowed her to have lived and I cherish the times we all had together as a family.
Enough for the 1st time. I am currently sick...as a dog. And, I had to go to school because no subs were available. Real bummer.

Current Location: my desk at home
Current Mood: sick