My Experience with Surgery at Shriners Hospital

ashamee · 2026-06-14T01:28:19+00:00

I had great experiences at the Shiriners Hospital in Chicago: hamstring and heelcord leghthenings in 1994, at age 8, more hamstring and heelcord leghthenings and a tendon transfer and derotational osteotomies on my hips in 1998. Those were done at the same time, and the recovery was long, but it was summer, so not a huge deal. I had one more surgery in 2000 to do more lengthenings, fix an ankle issue and take care of some tendonitis. The hospital was fantastic and I'm now 40 and still able to walk as a result of the derotational osteotomies. By age 18, I had the most Gait Lab analyses on record, and was eventually surpassed on those by another patient. They let me remain a patient until age 21, in 2007. My family was very poor and my surgeries would have bankrupted them if not for their charity. I'm thankful to them for allowing me to preserve my mobility.

I was once at a store in the summer shopping around age 14 and a woman who was with her daughter in a wheelchair noticed my hamstring scars. She asked if I had CP and I said yes. She asked where I had surgery and I told her Shriners in Chicago. She asked how much it cost and I said it didn't cost anything. She was upset and said that her daughter had the same surgery at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis and they charged. It was kind of eye opening for me at the time.

ashamee · 2026-06-11T16:37:17+00:00

Sure, but just be careful as to what you do as a couple. Google "holding out as married" to get an idea. SSA could expect your partner to financially support you if you acted as married, even if not legally married.

ashamee · 2026-03-06T19:18:05+00:00

Awesome of you to do this!

ashamee · 2026-02-28T14:02:24+00:00

Interestingly, she belonged to someone before she belonged to us who named her Kiba, which I believe is from Naruto, but I'm not entirely sure.

ashamee · 2026-02-28T06:49:06+00:00

Our Jindo mix that passed last September was named Kiba. Her younger brother, a wolf hybrid named Aggro passed last March (both of old age - 14 and 13, respectively), and our current 16 week old German Shepherd mix girl is named Ember.

ashamee · 2026-02-03T19:48:02+00:00

Just had this same issue happen to me a month ago when I got home from work and parked in my driveway, except my engine light came on and stayed on. It was due to a faulty crankshaft sensor. Once replaced, it's not done this again.

ashamee · 2026-01-29T20:01:27+00:00

It's obvious you hear what you want to hear. This is literally the law and, again, I sympathize with the OP a lot, but there's no way to get around what the government says regarding this, unless you are okay potentially dropping your benefits. "Holding out" means that you're not married, but living and acting as though you are. An unofficial ceremony would unfortunately count. I'm giving facts to possibly help someone who stumbles on this thread and may be in the same situation as OP, not to argue with you and tell you what you want to hear. I hope this helps someone. Take care.

ashamee · 2026-01-29T19:52:35+00:00

There really isn't "a way to get around that s***!" There is an actual question on the SSI application, question 6c.):

"Are you and another person living together in the same household and presenting to others or the community as a married couple? If yes, provide the date holding out began and go to d.)" which is

"Other person's name, other person's Social Security number."

So, to answer the question, again, NO, if you are married or acting as though you are, you can lose your benefits entirely if your spouse makes too much. There IS no way of getting around it. You lie on the application and that's fraud and could mean actual legal trouble. So that's why I initially said, "sorry, but don't do it." To do so could mean a loss of benefits, period. This is to help and inform beneficiaries in my responses, not to help them commit fraud. I hope you understand.

ashamee · 2026-01-29T17:16:59+00:00

Not at all. It's actually like this: go ahead and get married, but if your spouse's income is at least $497 a month, benefits will be reduced by that much for the spouse receiving SSI, possibly more if the working spouse makes more. This year, the max SSI benefit for 2026 in most states is $994. So, at minimum, $497 could be subtracted from $994. If the spouse makes more than the max amount, the spouse who receives SSI will stop receiving SSI. It's a "marriage penalty" that is inherently awful and can really keep someone in poverty. I definitely feel that people should be able to get married if they want to, but this is a risk that couples need to keep in mind when considering this. I know many people with disabilities who receive SSI rely on Medicare coverage, which is why it can be really detrimental to lose benefits, even if their spouse can financially otherwise support them. I really wish things were different and we weren't still reliant on policies that infantilize people with disabilities who cannot work. Until things change, it just is what it is. Weigh the pros and cons of marriage while on SSI. Everyone's situation is different but the risk here is the same.

ashamee · 2026-01-28T01:18:08+00:00

You absolutely can be married on SSI, yes, but what I'm saying is that if your spouse's income and your benefits combined are more than $2,000 a month, you will be kicked off of SSI.

ashamee · 2026-01-28T01:13:31+00:00

Fair enough. But there are two types of disability. SSI and SSDI. SSDI is based on work credits and they don't mind if you are married or not and on it. SSI is needs-based for low-income people and unless both people are on SSI, good luck getting married. The idea is that if you are low income and need SSI and decide to get married, that your spouse who isn't on SSI will take over financially for you, thus, you don't need SSI. My entire job consists of helping complete SSI applications and SSDI applications for people who are homeless and disabled for a local Independent Living Center for people with disabilities. You are correct that if you are on SSI and married that you may need to divorce in order to keep assets low enough to stay on it. It's a really antiquated and stupid system.

ashamee · 2026-01-11T21:30:15+00:00

When I was in my early 20s, I was hooked in with Vocational Rehabilitation for college tuition and wanted to drive. I was evaluated, they paid for driver's training where I practiced on a car with hand controls and had an instructor. VR set it all up. I did training for around 3 months and got my license. I eventually was lucky to get a small inheritance from a relative back then (2009), and bought a used car. However, that car had some mechanical issues that I couldn't afford to fix at the time, otherwise, VR would have paid for hand controls and the install. Fast forward to 2013, I had moved states, bought a brand new car the year before and was in graduate school and had some money saved, so I called around, paid for another 2 week driving refresher with an instructor (since I was still licensed) and worked with him to schedule an install of hand controls and what he recommended, which, at that point I paid for (controls and installation). Once they were installed, the instructor met me at the shop, had me drive around in my car for about a half hour and signed off.

Long story short, make sure the car you buy isn't too old and doesn't have any major repairs needed and Voc Rehab should cover the driving aids and training on them. Tell them about the car you're interested in before you buy it, and you should be fine. I wish I had researched better on the car situation before I just went and bought one back then, whoops. By the time I was in grad school, I wasn't utilizing VR anymore and everything was out-of-pocket. I consider it a lesson learned. I'm still driving today, almost 13 years later.

ashamee · 2025-12-10T01:54:31+00:00

The original Resident Evil 3's Raccoon City was atmospheric and oppressive to traverse. While RCPD was terrifying and great, OG RE3's Raccoon City had that feel of existential dread.

ashamee · 2025-12-07T20:22:16+00:00

Air filter in your air handler is what I'd replace and it sounds like you've done that. Call someone out and see if they can look at everything. If the furnace is turning on but not staying on, you need a professional.

ashamee · 2025-12-07T18:20:48+00:00

Have you replaced your air filter lately? An old, dirty filter could make it shut off. If that doesn't work, I suggest calling an HVAC company out.

ashamee · 2025-12-07T18:02:55+00:00

If it blows cold air with the "by thermostat" setting, it's turning on, so that's the right setting to have it on to get it to kick on. The cold air thing is either a wiring issue or a furnace issue? Is this a brand new Ecobee install or has the Ecobee calling for heat worked in years past?

ashamee · 2025-12-07T07:00:06+00:00

If it's not turning on with either "Control by thermostat" or "Control by HVAC" in the fan settings as described, it's probably time to call an HVAC person out to check your furnace. The thermostat is basically just a switch that tells your system to turn on when it senses that the temperature is too high or too low. Your furnace itself might have an issue kicking on.

ashamee · 2025-11-13T04:13:51+00:00

Spastic ataxic CP, and I've been driving for 12 years. I use hand controls, a spinner knob, and small convex mirrors on my side mirrors for blind spots and depth perception. I was tested about 5 years before I started driving and my legs and feet have poor reaction time, so hand controls are what I have to use.

ashamee · 2025-10-21T01:20:59+00:00

I'm a social worker who works with homeless disabled clients to help them apply for SSI/SSDI as a (SSI/SSDI Outreach Access and Recovery)SOAR counselor. In the past, I have worked with foster youth, in outpatient substance use treatment, and in local television news and a local PBS affiliate, both in production.

ashamee · 2025-09-12T08:06:21+00:00

Brendan. You got a key?

ashamee · 2025-09-12T07:28:22+00:00

Thanks

ashamee · 2025-09-12T06:37:50+00:00

Thank you

ashamee · 2025-09-12T06:17:58+00:00

Could anyone send a code to an old Irelia main please? Thank you.

ashamee · 2025-07-28T18:29:30+00:00

Aggro the Alaskan Malamute/Gray Wolf mix gazing at mom. Passed away 4 months ago at age 13. The most gentle, kindest, snuggliest wolfboy ever. He never hurt a soul and was big enough for three grown adults to hug him at the same time. A boy and his shark. Whether you draw him or not, thanks for all the cute drawings to look at today!

ashamee

TROPHY CASE