OROFINO, Idaho -- An 18-year-old Orofino teen with a rare disease that has left him partially blind and deaf has won his year-long fight to get Social Security benefits.
Jacob Walk has type-2 neurofibromatosis, a disease that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout his body. He says he's accepted his prognosis, and knows the disease will likely leave him completely blind and deaf in the coming years. He's had eight brain surgeries and has at least 14 tumors on his spine.
The Lewiston Tribune reports Walk first applied for Social Security benefits more than a year ago, but was denied -- twice.
He took his fight to the media and to lawmakers, and last week U.S.
Sen. Mike Crapo told him a Social Security administrative law judge had decided in Walk's favor.
