handicapped?

[AJ1963]

So we feel awful after treatment, tired, sore, just wanna go home and go to bed. But we gotta stop by Wal-Mart for a loaf of bread. My wife sez I should apply for a handicapped parking permit so I ain't gotta walk a mile, I say I don't qualify. Anybody??

[Sara]

I say if YOU feel too tired to have to walk that far after a treatment, why not apply for a permit?  The spots are there for a reason.

[Rerun]

I have one.  By god if I'm on a damn machine to live I'm at least going to reap "some" benefit other than staying alive.

I have one and....I Know How To Use It.    During Christmas Shopping I'm really popular!  HA

[Epoman]

So we feel awful after treatment, tired, sore, just wanna go home and go to bed. But we gotta stop by Wal-Mart for a loaf of bread. My wife sez I should apply for a handicapped parking permit so I ain't gotta walk a mile, I say I don't qualify. Anybody??

Most definately, if you are a dialysis patient and have to live via hooked to a machine and have your blood taken out and washed and have the joy of feeling like shit afterwards, then yes ask your doctor for a placard, however be warned some doctors do like giving out the placard JUST because your a patient. When I was NOT in a wheelchair I always had a placard, I told my doctor I was going to college after dialysis (the TRUTH) and I didn't feel good enough to walk 5 miles to class from my car. He gave it to me no questions asked. But now I live the lovely truth of being stuck in the damned wheelchair for the rest of my life so now I really need the placard.  

But ask your doctor, if he says no he is an insensitive prick and you need to change doctors. If those big fat obese people deserve a placard and their only health problem is they do not know how to put down the "Big Macs" or "Double Whoppers with cheese". then surely you deserve a placard. But be warned there are going to be alot of old sons-a-bitches staring at you wondering why you have a placard, some will even have the audacity to come to your car when your getting out and demand to know why you have a placard if your not in a wheelchair. Do what I do tell them to "call the police", it was great one time some old prick did and when I came out the police had blocked my car from backing out and asked me if I was the owner. I said "Yes Sir, Officer" and proceeded to show him my arm and explain my history and showed him my permit and he apologized profusely and scolded the old prick right in front of me, it was bittersweet. The old man gave me dirty looks all the way back to his car, I'm not sure but I think I saw him give me and the cop, the finger.  

The problem with the design is people think you have to be in a wheelchair to deserve a placard, well that's WRONG! I always love it when I see a HUMMER parked in a handicapped spot. I can only imagine what those people are thinking when they see a young man get out. Any age can qualify for a placard. I do know there is alot of abuse of the system but I have learned you can't tell if a person is healthy by just looking at him/her.

I hope this info/story helps.  

- Epoman

P.S. It works great at Disneyland, you never have to wait in the long lines to get on the rides. 

[hyperlite]

hahahaha that's hilarious! I want a permit soooo bad now! I can just imagine the looks on the "old farts" faces when a 20 year old kid jumps out of his car and runs into the store! hahaha

[kitkatz]

No, No.  It is done with panache.  No running.  Just a very regal walk into the store from your car.  Head up, chest out and go for it!

[Panda_9]

My specialist wont give me one. He wants me to walk, which is fair enough I guess.

[Epoman]

My specialist wont give me one. He wants me to walk, which is fair enough I guess.

Ask another doctor? Can you?

- Epoman

[Panda_9]

I can probly get it from a GP, but I figure if I dont walk I dont lose weight and if I dont lose weight I dont get a transplant. We usually get parks close enough to the shops anyway. The only problem is there is NO parks at the hospital. You have to use the multistory carpark across the road which isnt cheap. Ive been getting the bus in lately, so havent really had a need for a parking permit. I might need one when I have the transplant though. Im not walking up the hospital hill with a massive wound.

[Mom3]

Hyperlite, you would not be the only twenty something with a handicapped parking permit. My 27 year old son has had one for three or four years now! He does use a cane sometimes due to dialysis related patella tendon surgeries, but not always...

Mom 3

[Sara]

Can you really take your handicap thing into Disney and skip the lines?  That alone could make it worth it!   

[Epoman]

Can you really take your handicap thing into Disney and skip the lines?  That alone could make it worth it!   

Well now-a-days they are a little more strict, you need to go to to Disney's "City Hall" and they will visually examine you but it only takes a few minutes. What I usually do is show them my DMV paper that the DMV gives you along with the placard. And I tell them that do to my low HCT I can not stand in lines for long periods of time. And YES, I used to do this way before I was in a wheelchair. But now a days the wheelchair makes the process much simpler.  We have gone to Disneyland at least 30+ times in the last 10 years and we have NEVER had to wait in line, we would just go to the END of the line, wait a couple of minutes and viola we are riding. But I'll tell you now you WILL get dirty looks from the poor saps waiting in line. 

I remember when The "Indiana Jones" ride opened the first day and the line was literally a 3 hours wait. But not for me and my 5 other guests. Oh that's another thing, the person with the pass can have only a 5 or 6 guests, maximum. At least that's what it used to be. But anyway we went straight to the end of the line and got right on! They do make you wait an hour before you can ride again. But we rode the ride at least 4 times that day. Again that's how it used to be, I have not been to disneyland for over a year. So I would call first if I were you.

[angieskidney]

Really? When I had a car people told me I should but I felt like I wasn't "sick enough" to qualify.

But now I don't have a car ever since some lady had totalled it anyway ...  and I can't afford a new one (it was 100% her fault too .. but she is the one still driving ..)

[Riki]

I've had one since I was 17... check your local regulations... the regulations for a parking permit where I live (Prince Edward Island, Canada) says that if the patient has difficulty walking 75 metres or more, they qualify.. I'm also legally blind. so that could be why it wasn't too hard for my mom to get one for the car.. *G*  as for jumping lines.. I used my permit to jump the line to see the Stanley Cup a few years ago... just showed them the permit, and they let me go..  that was cool.. got pics too... we have used it to get on the ferry coming home (I do live on an island, after all... *G*) if you have a permit, they'll get you on priority and sometimes put you next to the elevator... you should remember that if you're ever vacationing on Prince Edward Island.... Another thing I've discovered... when I go to the fair, I always take my white cane with me... me and my "guide" can get on the rides for free... If I ever go to Disney World, I must remember to take my cane... especially if I can jump the lines there.... wonder if it works at Canada's Wonderland??

[angieskidney]

My dad has a disabled parking permit thingy and he can walk quite far. He has a rare form of arthritis which had him stuck in bed for awhile but he has been fine for years as long as he stays away from paint fumes. He loves to take advantage of close parking however.

[goofynina]

If he can walk far, why doesnt he leave the "close parking" for those who cant? 

[angieskidney]

If he can walk far, why doesnt he leave the "close parking" for those who cant? 

Ya my thoughts exactly! I have never agreed with half the things my father does! Infact that has a LOT to do with why I did NOT get one for myself when I had a car.

[redheadedangel]

Best thing that ever happened to me was when the man walked past me in my clinic and asked if I needed a handi caped parking sticker..I said hell yea..Give me all the perks... Sassy

[thom]

i'm a holiday patient this week visiting my dad and mates back home, and i don't get transport to the unit so i gotta walk, witch is fine on the way but a nightmare on the way back, i know how you feel about walking around afterwards it completely nocks it out of you. i was thinking what if i was walking home and i didn't look properly when crossing the road because i was away with the fairies? it would hurt yeah, but the unit would be responisble i guess?

[JerseyGirl]

In my 20 years working in the dialysis field I have never seen a physician deny a handicapped permit, no matter what the age.  If yours does, find another.  After all, those physicians have dedicated parking spots at every hospital.  To deny a handicapped permit is just cruel.

[angieskidney]

In my 20 years working in the dialysis field I have never seen a physician deny a handicapped permit, no matter what the age.  If yours does, find another.  After all, those physicians have dedicated parking spots at every hospital.  To deny a handicapped permit is just cruel.

I agree 100%! That makes sense and maybe that is why some physicians don't realize how much we need it. I mean .. not like they have far to walk .. even on days they might not feel at tip top shape.

[Sluff]

Funny picture Angie.  As for Handicap parking I wish I had one, but I feel funny asking for one.  Maybe if I lose my leg I won't feel quite funny about it.

[kitkatz]

Now the hubby's doctor is real funny.  The doctor will not give the man a permanent handicapped parking sticker.  He will only give him six months at a time a temporary sticker for our cars.  Okay... now my hubby had a amputation done in May 2006 to his left leg below the knee; an industrial accident.  He is currently healing from surgery in June to debride the wound...  The doctor says that he sees people abuse the privilege of using handicapped stickers all of the time and he does not believe in giving a permanent placard to someone. okay...My question is....Does he expect the damn leg to grow back???If so when is this miracle going to happen? And is the damned prosthetic going to work like a regular leg and not ever give him any pain??? or problems??? 

[nettersinaz]

By all means, Go for it! I have one and boy does it come in handy. If I am not tired and I have energy (energy what is that? lol) I don't use it. I also use the wheelchairs a lot in Wal-Mart.

[Sluff]

Now the hubby's doctor is real funny.  The doctor will not give the man a permanent handicapped parking sticker.  He will only give him six months at a time a temporary sticker for our cars.  Okay... now my hubby had a amputation done in May 2006 to his left leg below the knee; an industrial accident.  He is currently healing from surgery in June to debride the wound...  The doctor says that he sees people abuse the privilege of using handicapped stickers all of the time and he does not believe in giving a permanent placard to someone. okay...My question is....Does he expect the damn leg to grow back???If so when is this miracle going to happen? And is the damned prosthetic going to work like a regular leg and not ever give him any pain??? or problems??? 

That is just retarded. How is he doing anyhow I haven't visited the thread about his accident in awhile but I was here when it happened or at least right after it happened.