Oregon Reports In

From the Portland Tribune:

Kevin Kilmer is stuck in limbo.

Kilmer, 46, is a former machinist who suffers from a rare condition known as a Type II Chiari malformation. [I am familiar with this disorder. It is seriously bad news. If Michael Astrue wants to do something to help people with rare diseases who are not being treated fairly by Social Security, this would be a good place to start.] The bones of his skull press down on his spinal cord, causing devastating headaches and other neurological problems including blurred vision, tinnitus, and loss of sensation in his arms and legs. ...

In January 2005, unable to work any longer, Kilmer applied for Social Security disability benefits — and thus stepped into a bureaucratic netherworld that every year swallows hundreds of thousands of disabled Americans.

Three years later, his case still is unresolved, leaving Kilmer broke and frustrated.