It sounds like you are under enormous pressure trying to service debt, some of it consumer and some of it due to student loans. There can come a point where there is no dishonor in saying, "I simply cannot afford to continue servicing this volume of debt." It's not like you will be put in some debtors' prison, if you decide to reduce/discontinue debt payments.

Struggling to avoid bankruptcy is understandable, but you do need to ask yourself, "What is the worst thing that will happen to me if I stop struggling so hard?" Maybe you are trying to hold on to a home that you really love and would not want to leave. Maybe you have other assets that you would hate to lose that could be confiscated.

You need to ask yourself what is it that you are trying to protect? By the way: bankruptcy may not be your only option. There is also the option of simple default, either temporarily or permanently . . . or somewhere in between. That can lead to a renegotiation of your debts . . . or the abandoning of them.

I can't imagine any asset that would be more important than your arm!

If you fall behind in debt payment, and, say, creditors were to sue you, they can only take so much. A judge would be more kind to you than you are being to yourself. No judge is going to expect you to go without medical treatment for a broken arm, in order to make payments on your VISA and MasterCard accounts.

Your income from SSDI can never be touched by credit card companies or any other form of consumer creditors. A percentage of it can be taken to make payments toward student loan debt, but only a percentage. If you have other income, say, from financial assets, then that income is vulnerable to court action.

You might want to get some counseling from a reputable agency that provides that to debtors, like yourself. I did and they told me that I would be foolish not to pursue bankruptcy. That's what I ended up doing, and I've never regretted it.