[Natalie8]

Her daughters have medical issues, including one whose problems are invisible.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/suzann...b_3806012.html

[Kitty]

"I am a kinder woman who lives in a world that is no longer black and white. Sometimes gray is good, a salvation, a retreat from something that could be much worse. My priorities were reshuffled for me, and now I would never think to judge another."

This is exactly how I feel now. Thanks so much for sharing that.

[Debbie D]

Quite powerful...and makes me chagrined to think I was once one of those too...no more!! You can't judge a book by it's cover, and these invisible diseases are proof...
thanks for sharing this!!

[SallyC]

My Mother always said, "be careful when opening mouth, that
you don't insert foot".

Thanks Nat..

[NurseNancy]

that was very powerful testimony for us all. it's so easy to judge each other when we really need to be gentle.

thanks for that link.

[Mariel]

That was such a good letter! So true. When I was younger and Irv was not in a wheelchair I had a few years when people would criticize me for parking in the disabled zone. I would only park there when there was no room near the entrance I was aiming for, because I could walk, although I would sometimes get too tired and stagger or meander. When my husband ended up in a wheelchair, of course, we had the permanent wheelchair lift on the back of the car, and no one barked at us any more. The disabled pass was mine, not Irv's, he didn't take the time and effort to get one since I already had one, and I did the driving by then.
The big problem for which I needed the parking space was not total inability to walk...it was that I sometimes got tired easily and began to walk "funny", although still walking.

I miss my husband whom I put in and out of the car and into his wheelchair. He was the light of my life.

[kicker]

Nobody likes being thought of as a liar and fake by others, but at least this woman and others are trying to keep those who should not from using handicapped parking out. My own non-MSer DH has become quite a champion of Handicapped parking rights and sometimes I must tell him he may not know all the facts about someone he is suspects is a fraud. I applaud the little old lady who stormed up to me when I walked and looked fine, telling me I couldn't park in Handicapped Parking, someone might need it. She's fighting the good fight.

[kicker]

Now that I'm in a wheelchair no one ever questions my right to use handicapped parking. Liked it better before I got so "lucky".

[Mariel]

Some of us spent years trying to look normal so that we could work. In some cases that was because we didn't have a dx and were conforming to doctors' expectations that we were just mental cases, so we soldiered on in spite of having to sometimes hide neurological manifestations. The world is full of silly people, isn't it? I guess I'm glad I had an interesting job in spite of the difficulties of pretending to be fine when I wasn't. In those days, when I worked, before dx, I didn't have a handicapped pass. When I got one I felt like I'd earned it. We apologize perhaps too much for not conforming in every case. No more!

[lefthanded]

I find myself asking nicely to see permits, and suggesting that they make sure to hang or display them every time they use a space, so people won't question them. If they say they don't have one, I ask if they have a disability, then explain how to get one. If they are not disabled and get nasty, I try to whip out my cell phone and get a shot of their license plate as I explain that they are violating a law that could cost them $250!

Just two days ago both spaces at the ATM at our bank were occupied by cars with no tags or placards. The one women I approached got huffy in a hurry, and I did not even have time to flip my phone. Uh, sorry, it may not be nice . . . but I flipped her something else as she cussed and drove away.