Introduction
Back when I was working as an accountant, you might think I’d have set things up better. After transitioning to meteorology and spending six years studying it, I had a good career. My salary was decent, and I had a solid retirement plan, with my employer matching up to 10% of my salary. But then, my struggles with depression—and maybe some other brain issues—forced me to retire two and a half years earlier than planned, right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. This led to a $35K drop in income, as I relied on Social Security and Medicare, along with starting to withdraw from my 401(k). Thankfully, my husband found a great job that helped to almost cover that loss, even while he was beginning dialysis at the same time. So, here we are now.
I’m a gay man, and I’ve been with my partner, Ken, for over 25 years. We married right after Maryland legalized same-sex marriage in 2013. Fast forward to 2025, and life is different now. While political matters are on our minds, we have deeper concerns, particularly surrounding Ken’s End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD). Recently, he developed hearing issues from extended use of antibiotics, but fortunately, this seems to be under control now.
However, he has started losing his vision. It began with his right eye a couple of weeks ago and has now affected his left eye too. Unlike the hearing loss, there’s no clear cause for this vision change. And getting timely appointments with specialists is, well, nearly impossible these days—even for what feels like an urgent issue! Until now, Ken has managed to work full-time, but he’s really struggling with the physical challenges he’s facing. It looks like he may need to apply for SSDI, which is not only tough to navigate but also offers a meager amount. We’re looking at a potential loss of about $65K in income, all while still having a mortgage. He does have some retirement savings, but that wasn’t meant to be touched for another seven years!
What Are We Looking For? ADVICE!
At this point, our main worries are:
- How do we go about applying for SSDI, especially with things as they are now?
- Are the companies that buy houses “as is” reliable? I hope we won’t need to consider this option, but I’m honestly not sure.
I’m left with a million questions, feeling overwhelmed as I try to support him and us. I do know that I must take care of myself in order to care for him, which isn’t easy given my ongoing struggle with depression.
That’s about it for now, and, as you can imagine, the state of things in the U.S. isn’t helping either.
