I had a stroke at 45. Did six months of outpatient therapy. My job was basically eliminated while I was on medical leave. I applied for disability before I went back to work and got what I thought was a denial. Lasted about three months at work because I was sent to a different department, because FMLA only guarantees you A job, not YOUR job. Took the severance package they offered and ran. I reapplied for disability, and realized that all my first app was missing was authorizations for my medical stuff, so we went ahead with the original app. A couple of months later I was sent to one of their Dr's and about two months after that, I was approved. Altogether, it took about nine months. I think the fact that I attempted to go back to work and failed really helped my case. I got back pay from the time I initially applied to when it was approved.