Disabled Parking Only

August 13 2012

Disabled Parking Only

Since I was diagnosed with MS I've had a couple of MS attacks or flare ups as they are often called.  Because of these flare ups on occasion I need to walk with an assertive device such as a cane, walker or wheelchair.  More often than not my legs work with me and not against me, and I don't require an assertive device.  That does not mean I do not require disabled only parking spaces.  Due to a combination of my medication, naturally low blood pressure and MS occasionally when I sit for periods of time and stand up, my heart has a hard time equalising my blood pressure and not enough blood gets pumped to my brain.  This phenomena causes short periods of near fainting conditions.  In fact my doctor took my blood pressure during one of these spells and it was unfavourably close to shock levels.  Even this would not be so bad if there were not areas in my brain damaged by MS.  The end result is a temporary spasm that is highly embarrassing and quite possibly dangerous to me.  Many times I will take a few steps before the "spasms" kick (forgive the pun) in.  

How does parking in the Disabled parking space help?

Firstly, the spaces themselves are wider, so if I do perchance loose my footing I am more apt to fall to the ground rather than smashing into a car that may or may not be exiting or entering a parking spot.  Secondly, parking that close to a building make make it easier to stumble towards something firm to lean on, like a door or a cart for example.  It also means I may make it to a safe spot rather than collapsing into a twitching heap in the middle of the parking lot decreasing the risk that I may arbitrarily end up as road pizza.

So why blog about it?

Well because I can is the most obvious answer, but more importantly there are some of you folks in the general population that tend to give nasty looks to people who don't require an assertive walking device.  It's actually gotten to a point that when people with out a permit park in one of the spaces and see a healthy looking person exit the vehicle they give the nod.  Seriously this has happened.  Stupidity is not a disability.  So before you go judging people with a disabled parking sticker who isn't in a wheelchair folks please think twice.  If the doctors didn't believe that I required one I wouldn't have been issued a permanent one in the first place.  I know some of you may even think, that you have a trick knee or a bad back so why can't you park there too?  Tell you what, I'll take your trick knee and your sore back and trade you the MS.  When you wake up one day, throw your legs over the bed and land in the closet because you didn't realise that today was the special day that you would loose the ability to walk it may not have been worth the trade.  Besides, the extra car lengths will do you good, I wish I was able to join you.