A woman who was wrongly declared dead for over 15 years is having to fight to prove that she is still alive and kicking.
Madeline-Michelle Carthen is waging a relentless battle to prove her existence after being mistakenly declared dead more than 15 years ago.
Carthen's life took a surreal turn when her Social Security number inexplicably listed her as deceased, derailing her college dreams and entangling her into a bureaucratic nightmare that is still unfolding today.
As reported by People, the ordeal commenced in November 2006, unbeknownst to Carthen, but it was only four months later that Webster University alerted her to the issue, grinding her academic aspirations to a halt.
Recounting the experience, Carthen that she "didn't become aware" until the university brought it to her attention.
Carthen found an ally in CNN, which stepped in to shed light on her predicament back in 2007. Thanks to their assistance, she unearthed information from the Social Security Administration in Washington, D.C. that her records were in a place known as the "deceased warehouse."
Her name had been inadvertently added to the Death Master File (DMF), an internal database accumulating the records of deceased individuals who held Social Security numbers.
Once ensnared in the DMF, Cathern felt the repercussions as the IRS, banks, and Medicare effectively erased the existence of those wrongly classified as deceased, according to NBC affiliate KSDK-TV.
In response, the Social Security Administration (SSA) spokesperson, Darren Lutz, issued a statement, saying: "We are unable to discuss individual cases due to privacy laws," but reassured that they had reached out to Carthen "directly to assist with her case."
Lutz pointed out that they receive nearly 3 million death reports each year, and their records maintain a high level of accuracy, with less than one-third of 1 percent requiring correction.
As Carthen persists in her fight to prove her existence, she claims the error remains unresolved, and she has received an astonishing six incorrect death letters in 16 years.
Her journey has seen her reach out to four U.S. presidents, with former President Donald Trump being the only one to respond.
For Carthen, the repercussions have been debilitating. She has been unable to vote or maintain steady employment over an extended period, leading her to change her name in 2021 and obtain a new Social Security number.
"I'm in Missouri, but I'm back and forth [between here and Tennessee]," she told People. "I had to give up my home. I don't have a place to stay. I can't get a mortgage."
Despite the adversity she has faced, Carthen remains hopeful. She believes that when her case is finally "cleared up," she can secure "adequate employment."
She said: "I'm dealing with aortic valve regurgitation and atrial fibrillation. I'm in stage three kidney renal failure. How is it that I can go through these things, and they classify me as dead, and I'm not, but I'm on disability?"
She concluded: "Everything has been stripped from me. I'm blocked."