My name is Glenda, (age 39) and my Dad's name is Glen (age 64). We are unique in that we are both disabled and care for each other. Dad has COPD and he is on the waiting list for a doulbe-lung transplant. I have a brain injury from carbon monoxide poisoning. We have been living together since Jan. of '98. I was going to school and Dad had just been diagnosed. We decided it would be cheaper and easier to live together. We (unknowingly) purchased a home that had an improperly installed furnace, and we were exposed to CO for five months. Since then life has be quite the challenge. I see a decline in my Dad's health daily. Yet he becomes stronger and more obstinate. He is truely an inspiration. I have lost a tremendous amount of cognitive skills and have problems with my memory. It took 3 years but I finally started receiving social security disability about one year ago. The fight was long and hard. We also had to fight for Dad. For one year SS provided him with oxygen and then changed the provisions. We had to figure out how to pay $400 a month for oxygen...more recently, my medication has cost up to $800 a month and I receive $870 a month from SSDI. My question is, "How the heck do the people of the United States, especially those who decide what others receive and don't receive in the way of benefits, expect disabled people to survive?";"Needs: 1) We desperately need someone to come in to our home and help to organize paperwork, pay bills, cleaning, and meal preperation. 2) We would both benefit by having an advocate who understands "THE SYSTEM" and how to navigate through it. 3) A few good jokes, humor is the best medicine without a doubt. My Wish: That no one else has to go through what we have gone through. Both the medical community and the general public need to be educated in how to manage people and families deali