My letter of labor (or what i've been doing)

Some of the particulars have been deleted or altered for the purposes of posting this here.  If anyone would care to comment, I'd appreciate some feedback, as I have not yet mailed this (I just finished it earlier this evening~~and all ya'll thought i was dancing and napping.)   debra

Dear Representative (Person),

I’m writing to you as a constituent whose primary disability is due to a set of complex mental illnesses which affects my ability to function in meaningful ways.  The Social Security Administration agreed that my disabled state began Tuesday 8 April 2003, in accordance with my first (and only) application.  Prior to that date, I was pursuing my PhD in Sociology at Mississippi State University.

In accordance with the Department of Education’s Office of Conditional Disability Discharge’s stated policy, I applied for the forgiveness of my student loans under the criteria for total and permanent disability.  As of yet, my student loans have not been discharged by the Department of Education, although they have been from all other loaner levels in the process, and I am now being harassed with attempts to collect.  I’ve maintained records that illustrate the conflicting, confusing, and underhanded comments made to me by various representatives within the Office of Conditional Disability Discharge over this last year and would be happy to share them, if necessary.

This ongoing situation has contributed to the further worsening of my state of mental health, aggravating my mental disorders and causing me to seek treatment more often and with less than desirable results as I am now even more unstable, volatile, and dysfunctional than I had been.  It would seem to me that compromising andjeopardizing my health, by creating more anxiety and disabling panic attacks would be a counter-productive measure on the Department of Education’s Office of Conditional Disability Discharge’s part.  I’ve exceeded my allotted Medicaid/Medicare medical visits this year and have increased my counseling contact-hours exponentially, even maintaining my first suicide awareness contract this summer. 

In spite of my doctor’s, certified family nurse practitioner’s, and licensed professional counselor’s complete support of me and compliance with the Department of Education’s Office of Conditional Disability Discharge’s requests; representatives from that Office have told me that “my doctor is too vague”.  Being that the nature of my disability is due to mental illnesses and brain disorders, those conditions should be considered when deciding whether my student loans could be discharged due to disability.  I am not so sure that the Department of Education’s Office of Conditional Disability Discharge’s medical review board has done so, as the focus of their inquiry focuses on physical limitations.

(my counselor), MS, LPC, NCC; (my gp), RN, MSN, CFNP; (my other gp), MD, PharmD; and I are extremely frustrated and would like this situation to be resolved.  Would you please let me know what sort of action you think is advisable for me to take at this point?  I feel I have no options left, and with my mental state becoming more and more disorganized, I am not so sure that I can continue to effectively pursue this without even more advocates to help me navigate this process of having my student loans discharged by the Department of Education.  If you have any questions, suggestions, or requests for more information; please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thank you so very much.

Sincerely,

Debra