Things Are Getting Better

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 – 3:15 P.M. I finally have something good to say this week.  My social worker was able to contact someone at Access-A-Ride (AAR) regarding my loss of eligibility for using its transportation system.  I am now being given a 30-day extension in order for me to get, and fill out, all of the necessary recertification forms.  The 30-day extension is to become effective immediately.   By the time I received that news, I had already canceled the two remaining appointments I had during this week.  That is probably best, since it will give me some time to get a certain amount of rest and build up my energy again.   I have also contacted my social worker at the mental health clinic, and he has agreed to see me one day next week.  I was unable to make a firm commitment about this until finding out about my AAR eligibility.   Late yesterday afternoon, I received another e-mail from my brother in which he provided me with an itemized statement of all the income, and expenses associated with the sale of my house in Virginia eleven years ago.  In the e-mail, he said that he, his wife, and our sister, were very upset at the idea that I thought they would sell the house and steal the money from me.  He said that they always intended for me to have a portion of the money, but knew that I could not have it without the state of Colorado taking it away from me.   My brother sent that they were going to put some money into a trust fund for me, and that one of my sister's children, along with one of his children, would be the administrators of it. (That is not what he said last week.) He further said that they were prepared to provide me with one-third of the income from the sale of the house.   Rather than do this in one lump some (which the state government would then take away from me), my brother will give me a specified amount each year.  I can use it to purchase anything I need (other than drugs), or which I can put to use more immediately for the use of such things such as medicine, pool therapy, etc.   While all of this sounds good on the face of it, this is not what I wanted.  The only thing I wanted to know at our family conference was what happened with the money from the sale of the house.  I also let them know that it had been my understanding that a certain amount of that money would be put into a trust fund for me.   My brother seems to think that I want money immediately.  I have never asked for that, nor am I asking for that now.  I only wanted to know what had happened to it.  I do not want their money, and I am not going to accept it even if they try and force it on me.  I don't know whether I will be able to get it through their thick heads, but if not, then I intend to let Dale explain all of this to them in such a way that they will be able to understand what I have been trying to tell them.   I certainly do not understand how one small question from me could cause things to be blown all out of proportion!   Quotes for Self-Image: "If you don't like who you are and where you are, don't worry about it because you're not stuck either with who you are or where you are.  You can grow. You can change. You can be more than you are." --Zig Ziglar