OK, so you might be looking at the picture and thinking I’m about to berate anyone who parks in disabled parks with out a permit. I’m not, I promise, but I am going to tell you about how it affects me when people park in designated parks when they don’t need to.
Before I had arthritis, if we (my family and I) couldn’t get a park close to where ever we were going we could just park a few streets away or in a nearby parking building and walk the rest of the way. Now, if I can’t get a park close enough I simply can’t go.
When I was younger, and by younger I really mean pre-diagnosis days, if we went to the library and couldn’t get a park in the parking building underneath we would park somewhere in town and walk the rest of the way. The other day we went to the library and couldn’t get a park underneath, so we had to go home. It’s as simple as that.
Having said that, sometimes it’s not an option for me to just go home. When we went to the supermarket the other day all the disabled parks were full. Some with people who had permits and some with people who did not. We really needed groceries so we parked on the other side of the car park. It was a particularly bad day for me, so by the time I got to the supermarket doors I was so tired and in so much pain I had to sit down for a good fifteen minutes before I could even start my shopping. When I finally got into the supermarket I nearly passed out in the middle of an aisle. I couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing and by the time I got home felt too sick to do anything else that day.
This may not sound that bad to you. So I can’t go to the library, or find doing my shopping exhausting. It may not seem like a big deal but things aren’t that easy when you’re in pain, or in a wheelchair, or on crutches, or simply can’t walk that far. Please don’t make it any harder. Even if you’re only parking for five minutes, that could be the five minutes where someone who needs that park arrives, drives around, gives up and goes home.
I don’t want to be preaching to the converted so if you don’t park in disabled parks when you don’t need to: good for you! I hope you enjoyed reading this anyway.
Little Miss Autoimmune
Before I had arthritis, if we (my family and I) couldn’t get a park close to where ever we were going we could just park a few streets away or in a nearby parking building and walk the rest of the way. Now, if I can’t get a park close enough I simply can’t go.
When I was younger, and by younger I really mean pre-diagnosis days, if we went to the library and couldn’t get a park in the parking building underneath we would park somewhere in town and walk the rest of the way. The other day we went to the library and couldn’t get a park underneath, so we had to go home. It’s as simple as that.
Having said that, sometimes it’s not an option for me to just go home. When we went to the supermarket the other day all the disabled parks were full. Some with people who had permits and some with people who did not. We really needed groceries so we parked on the other side of the car park. It was a particularly bad day for me, so by the time I got to the supermarket doors I was so tired and in so much pain I had to sit down for a good fifteen minutes before I could even start my shopping. When I finally got into the supermarket I nearly passed out in the middle of an aisle. I couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing and by the time I got home felt too sick to do anything else that day.
This may not sound that bad to you. So I can’t go to the library, or find doing my shopping exhausting. It may not seem like a big deal but things aren’t that easy when you’re in pain, or in a wheelchair, or on crutches, or simply can’t walk that far. Please don’t make it any harder. Even if you’re only parking for five minutes, that could be the five minutes where someone who needs that park arrives, drives around, gives up and goes home.
I don’t want to be preaching to the converted so if you don’t park in disabled parks when you don’t need to: good for you! I hope you enjoyed reading this anyway.
Little Miss Autoimmune
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