           I.

       Deborah Powers was born on February 15, 1953, and was forty-nine at the time of her

hearing before the ALJ. Powers completed high school and worked at a self-owned grocery store
No. 05-6466
Powers v. Social Security Administration


for twelve years before stopping work on March 28, 2001, as a result of significant pain in her neck,

arms, back, and legs. To alleviate her pain, doctors performed surgery on Powers’s neck in July of

2001, which improved her condition but nonetheless required her to continue taking pain

medication. Powers also suffers from diabetes, which she treats with two shots of insulin on a daily

basis. Her feet likewise experience a “stinging, burning, [or] hurting” if she stands forPowers proffered her testimony,

the ALJ heard testimony from Michael Galloway, a Vocational Expert (“VE”).

        Galloway opined that, given her current condition, Powers would be unable to perform her

past work at the grocery store because, in that position, she was required to lift bundles weighing

upwards of fifty pounds. The ALJ and Galloway then engaged in the following colloquy, which is

at the center of this dispute:

        Q:      Assume I were to find the Claimant was limited to a range of light work, and
                she would have limitations on the utilization of her neck and upper back