This month marks the 10th anniversary of Justine’s accident, and she is sharing her thoughts in our newsletter. Justine and I have been friends for 20 years, and several years after her accident, we went out to dinner where she mentioned the idea of writing about her experiences. I suggested she contribute an article to our newsletter. Though hesitant at first, she eventually decided to write one, and in January 2017, she shared her story about the accident. You can read all of her articles on our blog by searching for "The View from Here." Now, as our newsletter editor, Justine not only shares her journey but also brings in guest authors to contribute their experiences. She’s also started a new Instagram page chronicling her journey. Thank you, Justine, and I am proud of the strong disability advocate you’ve become.

Featured Article

The View From Here

By: Justine Chichester

“There is no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling. It’s why you were born. And how you become most truly alive.” – Oprah Winfrey

Ten years. A decade. September 20, 2024 marks ten years that I have been living with a spinal cord injury and hydrocephalus. Every year leading up to this day, I think long and hard about how I want to commemorate the occasion. This year, though, my thoughts about how to acknowledge this anniversary started very early and I couldn’t seem to find anything that felt right.

Should I have a celebration dinner for how far I’ve come? Maybe a lunch with all of my friends and family who’ve been so supportive over these past ten years? None of that seemed to fit.

As I pondered all of this, I became reflective of what happened on that day. That day, in a moment, when my entire life changed. And I thought about how different this September 20^th would be, as opposed to THAT September 20^th.

Today I won’t be grabbing my cute, gold platform wedge shoes and running out to my hair and nail appointment at Mark’s salon, like I did that morning ten years ago. Instead, today, I will be grabbing my walker, carefully and very, very slowly walking to my blood test appointment at UM Lennar Medical Center to complete a bunch of tests my physicians are running because as I’ve discovered over the last ten years living with a spinal cord injury, the bladder and bowel issues tend to be more of a problem than the actual paralysis and not walking thing. So, there is much concern lately over my kidney counts. And, of course, lots and lots of doctors’ appointments and tests lately for that.

Read More Here

Benefits Information

Are you an SSDI beneficiary working or wanting to work over the Substantial Gainful Activity?

Are you receiving support from your employer? You can use Subsidies for SGA purposes

By: Lesly Quintanilla Lopez

A few things to consider first: During an SGA determination, SSA looks at gross wages when they were earned, not when they were paid to you. For example, if you get paid every week or every other week you will have some months when you get an extra paycheck. SSA won’t count that extra paycheck when it was received – they are only interested in when the work was done that you got paid for. In addition, they will deduct any wages you were paid for days you actually did not work such as sick leave pay or vacation pay. 

Read More Here

Do you have suggestions for future content or articles for our monthly newsletter?

If so, email your ideas and suggestions to our newsletter editor,

Justine Chichester.

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