Well thank you for the advise, but I must say that I applied about 3 weeks ago at the Glens Falls office and they were unbelievably nice. When I applied there was a fresh Total Laryngectomy patient in front of her. The paper work consisted of Birth certificate, DD-214 and the bills for my surgery and SS card etc. I also have had a big day today. It seems that I was approved for Medicade and the county paid for all of my bills from March untill now. I also got a car dealer to evaluate my truck and he said $5500 to $5800 on a trade in. I brought that in to my case worker and she said it was good. So I might get that $320 a month. Combine that with food stamps and I might make it untill SS comes through. It is a big if but I am hoping. My question was about SSD, isn't that supposed to be a safety net? I have not been contacted by anyone yet. Well anyway I feel very fortunate to be treated so well by my county. They are good people and I know there are guide lines and rules to follow but the people are so nice. With my military experience and handicap I want to get a job with the county so I can give back to the people who gave so much to me. Kind of corny but that's how I feel. I figure I can work in about a year, maybe sooner. By the way When I went to Radiation today I met my new RO, and he thought that in addition to agressive radiation that I should have agressive Chemo. He made an appointment for tommorrow with an Oncologist. I am scared to death! I have heard alot of stories about Chemo but I thought I was dodging a bullet. Radiation and Chemo at the same time really scares me.