It Started With A Spider Bite

From WSPA-TV in Greenville, SC:

David Voss said a bite from a brown recluse spider in 2001 led to a series of health problems so severe he eventually became an amputee.

"When they started amputating my toe, and then my next toe, and then my leg I'm done," Voss said.

Voss said he can't work.

"I can't do what I used to do," Voss said. "I couldn't drive my truck. I couldn't sell equipment like I was. I've been living in my truck for six months because I couldn't find a job."

Voss said in March he got a spot at a home for homeless veterans in Greenville but he can only stay for four months and then he's back out on the street. He said he's applied several times for assistance through the Supplemental Security Income program with the Social Security Administration. The program pays benefits to the disabled who have limited income. But Voss said SSA kept turning him down saying his condition is not expected to remain severe enough for 12 months in a row to keep him from working.

"How they figure it ain't gonna last more than 12 months," asked Voss. "I've been measuring my leg and it still ain't growed none and I ain't found two toes popped out either."

Two days after 7 On Your Side asked the SSA about Voss's case he was approved. When we asked SSA spokesperson Patti Patterson if there was something specific they received recently that helped SSA to change it's mind about his case Patterson replied, "No. He filed his application on March 1st. We were able to make that decision on April 30th based on all the medical records that we had."