A Day In A Life: Wanda's Journey With Fibromyalgia

When Wanda wakes up and starts her day, living with fibromyalgia, she can’t help but be thankful for how much her life has improved compared to the year before.

Wanda has always been a shoot-from-the-hip woman who was never afraid of hard work. A mother of three, her life revolved around her kids. She made her living working as a waitress for over 20 years. For the last ten years, she worked at a neighbourhood fixture in Etobicoke. Wanda was a favourite of the customers there because she was always friendly, had an exceptional memory, and was always fast and attentive in her service. She made a good living for herself and her children, and was excited to send her eldest son off to university.

Wanda Began To Realize She Was In Constant Pain

However, Wanda, who was used to the usual aches and pains that come with being on her feet all day, began to realize she was constantly in pain. This wasn’t the usual sore feet or tension in her shoulders, this was a whole body ache that despite her usual pain management routines like having a hot bath or yoga just weren’t working like they used to. She began having sleep issues, waking several times a night and barely being able to get back to bed for hours at a time. She was always tired, even if she stayed in bed for long periods of time.

In addition, she began to struggle at work. She was constantly fatigued and in pain, which made it difficult to move as quickly between tables. Her memory was also suffering, with simple orders and interactions proving much more challenging than they used to be. She always felt like her head was in a fog. Wanda’s customers began to notice there was a difference in her demeanor — she seemed either anxious or depressed when they came in and was definitely less chatty. She had no idea she had fibromyalgia.

Symptoms So Debilitating She Was Unable To Work

For a while, Wanda thought it was just because she was getting older, but she was only 45! She had always been in good health and stayed active in her life outside of work. Finally, her symptoms were so debilitating, she asked for her shifts to be cut in half, but then finally when she began to experience gastrointestinal issues, she was just not able to work any longer.

Because she was not offered insurance through her employer, Wanda had a personal insurance plan she had taken out 15 years prior for Long Term Disability Benefits, but there was a 3 month waiting period. In the meantime, she applied for Employment Insurance for Sickness (15 weeks) while she first began seeking more advanced medical attention. She spoke to several doctors who mentioned these were symptoms of fibromyalgia. She began to take painkillers, seek physiotherapy, and looked into possible counseling resources to help with her anxiety and depression. After six months, Wanda wasn’t feeling at all better and the prospect of returning to her job was impossible, she had applied to her long-term disability insurance citing what the doctors had told her, and was denied.

Wanda was devastated. She knew she couldn’t work, and was hardly able to function at home. The overwhelming stress of not having any financial security consumed her. How would she be able to support her son during school? What about her other two children?

Wanda Contact Share Lawyers For Help

Despite her feelings of hopelessness, Wanda wondered if there could be any more help for her. She had worked her entire life and the prospect of having to resign that she was a victim of her illness was unbearable. Her son mentioned to her he had seen Share Lawyers on TV, and he helped her find the website and they worked together to make an appointment.

Share Lawyers was able to help Wanda get the benefits she deserved. We were so happy to get Wanda a favourable settlement with her insurance company so she was able to focus on her health without the stress of living with no money.

It’s been 12 months since Wanda worked with Share Lawyers, with her disability acknowledged, she is able to focus on improving her long-term health.

*All names and identifying details have been changed to protect the confidentiality of all involved.

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A note from our long term disability lawyers

Taking a medical leave from work is not an easy decision to make. Concerns about providing for yourself and your family and keeping your job may cause you to want to push through your pain, but this won’t make your problems go away. Stopping work is often the smartest decision for your long term health and well-being, and your disability benefits are there to provide you with financial support until you can return to work.

If you have made the tough decision to stop working and apply for your short term disability or long term disability benefits, you may feel overwhelmed by the process and have questions that your employer and your insurance company are not able or willing to answer. Share is There to see you through and answer your questions.

Our Disability law firm knows what you have been going through

We understand that things have not been easy for you over the last little while. Your health has been suffering, you are unable to work, and now your insurance company, who was supposed to be there in your time of need, has decided they will not pay your disability benefits or respect your disability claim. These benefits exist to provide you with the financial support you need so that you can focus on your health and rebuilding your life. It is unfortunate that your insurance company has not lived up to its promise. If your disability claim has been denied, we will fight to get you the benefits you are entitled to. Our disability lawyers have helped thousands of Canadians get their long term disability benefits over the past 35 years, and we can help you too.

Our experienced disability lawyers can fight back on your behalf

Share Lawyers believes that every client who is dealing with a disability claim deserves superior personal service. To achieve that goal, we have developed our team of experienced, compassionate, and caring long term disability lawyers, law clerks, and administrative staff to meet all of your needs. Our team of experienced long term disability, life insurance, employment, and critical illness insurance lawyers have made successful claims against many insurance companies, third-party administrators and employers.

If you are unable to work, your disability benefits should be there to provide you with the financial support you need. While your insurance company may be focused on finding ways to avoid paying your claim, our focus is on what is in your best interest. When Share Lawyers gets involved, you have an entire team of lawyers that are there to support you and to fight for what is yours.

Our disability claim lawyers fight for your disability insurance claim by relying on our many years of experience to apply the best strategic planning and approach in each case, using the latest technology available. Experience matters, and with Share Lawyers, you are in the best hands with 35 years of success on your side.

In this video, we explain the role of a long term disability lawyer and how we can support you when you have been denied your long term disability benefits.