Commentaries by Cynthia

A friend asked me to write this on her behalf. I've removed the actual names, but the message is very important to us all.

Western Program Service Center
P.O. Box 2000
Richmond, CA 94802-1000

To Whom It May Concern: This is in response to claim number 00000000.

I am writing an appeal of the decision made to disallow child benefits for Johnny and Susan, following the death of their mother, Mary Smith, who was also my sister.

What I'd like you to know is that Mary worked for many years, paying into her Social Security fund. However, after giving birth to Johnny in January, 2000, she suffered from a severe case of post-partum depression. Still, she tried to work while taking care of her child. Then, in November, 2000, Mary discovered she was pregnant again. After giving birth to her second child, Mary lapsed further and further into a deep depression that resulted in the loss of her job and health insurance. As if this wasn't bad enough, she applied for disability benefits, but was denied. She continued looking for work and was allowed to return to her old job. But the depression was still there, and since employers and coworkers often don't understand that depression is a medical illness, she suffered another job loss, something she didn't want but had no control over.

With no job and no medical insurance, Mary could not afford treatment for her depression and the resulting high blood pressure that it caused. She continued the spiral downward. I advised her to apply for disability benefits again. She gave it another try, but was denied for a second time. The only job she could find was a part-time one in a fast food restaurant, which did not provide her with health insurance or enough money to purchase her medications. This job also required that she be on her feet most of the day, something that was not good for her hypertension.

As you know, Mary died in her sleep one night. Her autopsy report stated that her death was caused by hypertensive cardio vascular disease. This condition could have been treated, if only my sister could have remained on her medications. She reached out for help. If someone in "the system" had listened to her, my sister would be alive today. Her blood is on the hands of those who had denied her assistance. I often wonder how they'd feel if this had happened to someone in their own family. Would they still be as heartless and cut-and-dried as they'd been with Mary?

During my sister's battle with depression, she was unable to take care of her children. I brought them into our family and took care of them, allowing Mary to visit them and be a part of their lives. She visited them often and provided help for their care.

I believe that if Mary had received disability benefits when she applied for them, this story would have had a much happier ending for her, her children, and my family. With proper medical treatment, her life could have been spared and our hearts would not be broken now. She paid into "the system" for many years. But when she needed help from that same system, she was told to go away. Johnny and Susan will grow up without their mother, and no amount of money in the world will give her back to them. But these children are entitled to receive something from the loss of their mother. Don't let the system take something else from them. Isn't one life falling through the cracks enough?

Respectfully,

The Sister