JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A young Jacksonville mother emailed me asking for help with the Social Security Administration.
Rachel Hall was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in August of last year. The cause of her heart failure, postpartum cardiomyopathy, meaning it was pregnancy related. She was diagnosed not long after the birth of her youngest child.
In Sept. 2021, unable to work, Hall applied for disability with the Social Security Administration. After waiting more than a year, she still had no answer and was running out of options. She reached out to Congressman John Rutherford's office for help and they started working on the issue.
While she's able to feed her family, her husband is a disabled veteran who works as an EMT and is in firefighting school. She wanted to be able to contribute financially to ease the strain on her husband.
"We're by no means rich. We really struggle. We go without a lot to be in the position we're in. What about the people who don't have the money to feed their children who don't have outside help? If they're doing this to me...who else are they doing this to?" Hall asked.
I emailed the Social Security Administration on Friday asking about her case and why it was taking so long. I told them I was airing this story on Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon, Rachel received a phone call.
"I was told that my case was approved effective this afternoon. They heard from you and I got my decision this afternoon. I don't think it's coincidental," Hall said.
A few hours later, I received an email from the Social Security Administration:
Good Afternoon Anthony,
Your inquiry was referred to my office. Due to privacy laws we cannot speak about individual cases. However, I did want to share that we have reached out to Ms. Hall and provided assistance and a status on her case. Thank You.
If you have a problem you can't solve, have coffee with Anthony Austin next Tuesday. He'll be at Urban Bean Coffeehouse Café on Park Ave in Orange Park from 9am -11am.
Remember, you can always email AskAnthony@firstcoastnews.com