Diagnosed with an Untreatable Disease, This Woman Didn't Know Where to Turn

Until 1999, Deborah Blaes' life was steady and on course. Professionally, she was fulfilled and competent at her job with an area bank for more than 24 years. Personally, she and her husband, Larry, were happily married and raising three children on a quiet neighborhood lake near Waterloo, Ill.

She first noticed that something was going wrong in her life in the fall of that year. Getting up from her desk at the bank to walk to a file cabinet, Mrs. Blaes suddenly felt unsteady and had to grab a nearby desk to keep from falling down. She dismissed it as an isolated incident, but the episodes rapidly became more frequent and severe.

In 2000, Mrs. Blaes was diagnosed with hereditary ataxia, a rare and untreatable disorder that causes disturbances in the control of body posture, motor coordination, and speech and eye movement control.

In a halting, uneven speech, Mrs. Blaes, 43, explained that it wasn't until after her diagnosis that she learned that her father also suffers from the disease. "I had never heard of ataxia until I was diagnosed," she said. "My grandfather was in a wheelchair as long as I can remember, but I never really knew why. It wasn't until after I was diagnosed that I learned that he also had ataxia. My father also has ataxia and uses a wheelchair."

Mrs. Blaes continued working as long as she could.

"I've worked all my life, and the idea of having to stop because of this disease was very difficult," she said. "At first, it really didn't affect me all that much. Much of my day was walking from my desk to the filing cabinets, pulling some files and walking back to my desk to work with them. It wasn't physically demanding, but eventually I just couldn't do the work. I couldn't maintain my balance well enough to walk from my desk to the filing cabinets. My boss at the bank was really patient and treated me very well," Mrs. Blaes continued. "When the doctor told me I had to stop driving, my boss was really great and said that she'd work with me until I get over this problem."

Unfortunately, this problem won't go away. Mrs. Blaes continued working as long as she could, but her coordination and speech continued to deteriorate and she began drawing short-term disability benefits.

Mrs. Blaes lives just a few miles Belleville, Ill., the national headquarters of Allsup Inc. Founded in 1984, Allsup was the first private company to help people nationwide file for their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Since then, Allsup has helped tens of thousands of Americans receive their SSDI benefits.

"My friend, Margaret Strange, had worked at Allsup for years and she told me all about SSDI and how difficult the filing process was without professional help," Mrs. Blaes said. "I knew right away that I was going to need help, and Margaret helped me get started."

Although Mrs. Strange doesn't work directly with SSDI applicants, she has worked for Allsup for more than 11 years, and she understands how difficult and complex the application is. She also knew that Mrs. Blaes needed help.

"I've known Debbie for about 25 years," Mrs. Strange said. "I knew her before her disability and she was always very active with her family. Debbie was always laughing and joking and she was so much fun to be with. Then this ataxia reared its ugly head, and now she's a totally different person."

Mrs. Strange saw her friend at Christmas in 2005 and didn't see her again until the following June. "It was unbelievable to see the changes," Mrs. Strange continued. "Debbie was always so outgoing and lively. Now she was a bit standoffish. She didn't contribute much to the conversation, and I knew why. The disease had just taken over."

At this point, Mrs. Strange told her friend how Allsup Inc. could step in and help her file an SSDI claim. She explained how the SSDI process works and she talked how Allsup Inc. could put its experience and knowledge of the system to work and guide her through the maze of government paperwork. Mrs. Strange also pointed out that receiving SSDI meant more than just receiving a monthly disability payment. It also guaranteed Medicare eligibility after 24 months, tax breaks, higher retirement income and other benefits.

After talking to her husband, Mrs. Blaes called Allsup for a free SSDI eligibility screening. Because of the seriousness of her condition, Mrs. Blaes met all requirements and Allsup immediately accepted her as a client and assigned Tyler Phelps as her representative.

Mr. Phelps conducted a telephone interview, helped Mrs. Blaes gather critical medical evidence and filed her initial claim in May 2006. Barely two months later, the Social Security Administration awarded her claim for SSDI benefits.

It was an amazingly quick decision, even by Allsup standards. It's common for a disability claim to languish in the Social Security system for two years. Mr. Phelps said the seriousness of Mrs. Blaes' condition warranted the rapid decision.

"Mrs. Blaes had a very strong claim and there was no doubt she was severely disabled," he said, "But Deborah also helped her own case because she was so thorough in helping us gather the medical evidence. The SSDI program is intended to help people like Debbie Blaes, and it did."

Mrs. Blaes said that receiving the award so quickly was a tremendous relief. "Tyler certainly knows what he's doing," she said. "Every time I called with a question, he had an answer. SSA called me once to get birth certificates for my children because they're eligible for benefits until they're 18, but that was the only time I had to talk to them. Allsup did everything else. They treated me so wonderfully that if I had to do it all over again I certainly would know who to call."

Debbie Blaes is just one of the many thousands of people with disabilities that Allsup has helped. But every representative knows that a disability claim is much more than merely another Social Security number. They know that behind every case file is a real person with a severe disability in desperate need of help. Today, Mrs. Blaes needs a walker to get around the house and she knows it won't be long before she'll be using a wheelchair. Life is a struggle; even doing the family laundry is a daunting task.

Margaret Strange is happy that she was able to play a part in helping Mrs. Blaes receive her disability benefits.

"We were able to relieve a lot of stress from Debbie and Larry's lives," she said. This family desperately needed our help and it is so heartwarming to have been able to help."