Handicapped parking stickers & UC?

My family and I were talking about handicapped parking stickers and we were wondering if I was eligible for those?

I went onto the drivers license center website in my state and it does not classify UC as a disability that would need a handicap. It just listed all these breathing conditions, blindness, and walking problems like missing limbs, wheelchairs, crutches.

It sucks because it would really come in handy for me sometimes.

notsosicklygirl, it always annoyed me when my friend's dad used his elderly mother's sign. he used it every day because she rarely drove and he was in perfect health.

and also, the pregnant lady spots. i ran into my one friend who parked there at a grocery store and said "you're pregnant??" and she said "no, but i pay enough for groceries here so i park where i want." i feel like sometimes i could fake pregnancy with my bloated gut.

I'd like to have a card permitting Immediate Access to Toilet facilities.

It would allow me to cut the line and take the next available stall. The card would be shown to everyone else still patiently waiting for the bathroom.

It would also direct all places of business to permit immediate use of their facilities.

Use the Universal Handicapped Symbol with a Toilet (vs wheelchair):
'Bowel-Bladder Disabled'
'Toilet Facility Priority Disability'

Denny Rae

Notsosickly, I read somewhere recently people gain empathy through experiences. I think until you experience pregnancy it's hard to empathize. I was pregnant with twin boys and let me tell you pregnancy is not easy. I had severely swollen legs/ankles, back problems and vertigo from fluid in my ears. I taught school on my feet almost until delivery. I think those pregnancy parking spots are a nice gesture.

Denny Rae said...
I'd like to have a card permitting Immediate Access to Toilet facilities.

It would allow me to cut the line and take the next available stall. The card would be shown to everyone else still patiently waiting for the bathroom.

It would also direct all places of business to permit immediate use of their facilities.

Use the Universal Handicapped Symbol with a Toilet (vs wheelchair):
'Bowel-Bladder Disabled'
'Toilet Facility Priority Disability'

Denny Rae

Jimbo NZ said...
Hi Denny,

They have such cards for IBD sufferers in NZ and also similar ones in the UK. I don't have one but this is what they look like.

caleld treh 'I can't wait' card

http://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.nz/__data/assets/image/0019/17704/I_Cant_Wait.jpg

I really want one of those. Is there any way to get one in the US?

In Germany I had a handicapped pass. Also handicapped toilets were locked because in the past people would go and destroy everything in there. I had a key for those as well. One time a janitor came by and seriously asked me if I was allowed to have the key In a long conversation I had to explain to her that I'm suffering from colitis...

I agree Hoshi~ , if I had a dollar for every-time I heard "you don't look sick"

My wife is wheelchair bound, and we have a ramp van to accommodate her power wheelchair. We cannot park the van in a regular parking place, because the ramp comes out the side and it needs six or eight feet of clearance. That is the reason for the “access aisles” next to the handicapped parking places. There have been times when someone parked in the access aisle next to her van, and she had to wait until the ^&$^% came back before she could get into the van.

If there are no handicapped stalls available (because some moke is using his grandpa’s placard) we have been known to park out in the east forty, and use two stalls. Most people believe that the reason for handicapped parking places is so people don’t have to walk so far, and that is part of the reason, especially for heart and COPD patients, but there is more reason for them than that; it’s so there is ANYWHERE to park.

And I agree fully with what others have said about the pregnant parking stalls; pregnancy is a choice, not a disability. For a while, the supermarket we use was using the access aisles for pregnant stalls, until it was pointed out that State Law provided for a $450 per day fine for blocking an access aisle.

Post Edited (wodin) : 5/7/2012 12:03:00 PM (GMT-6)

Interesting to get one for UC. Is it a temporary one, and if so, for how long? Certainly helpful for bad flares where seconds make the difference between making it to the bathroom or not...

wodin said...

And I agree fully with what others have said about the pregnant parking stalls; pregnancy is a choice, not a disability.

Thank you! That's how I feel as well. If you have a REALLY tough pregnancy, you should be able to get a handicapped pass from your doctor for the period of time you need it.



Good for you Andrina. I know you've been struggling with this flare for a while and you're weak. Hopefully it makes you feel more confident to get out until you're feeling better.

I am very sensitive to handicapped parking spaces too. I know often you can't tell if someone needs one by looking at them, but I am confident people abuse it, and it's not fair to people who need the space. I would never use a permit simply to avoid walking. If you need it, use it. If not, let people who need it use it. I used the pregnancy/family space because I needed it - now I don't and I prefer it this way

I park in the pregnancy spots if I need to go to the bathroom ASAP, if my joints ache, or if I am just super tired from the UC. They're not regulated and frankly note needed, as women who have mobility issues due to pregnancy are eligible for temporary passes, which I fully support. Pregnancy is not a disability until and unless it actually causes a functional limitation, and that is just not the case for most women.

I try not to go out on the days I am not feeling well, but I am single and my family lives 350 miles away, so I often have no choice. I would never use one of these spots or a disabled spot if I wasn't feeling sick.

iPoop said...
Interesting to get one for UC. Is it a temporary one, and if so, for how long? Certainly helpful for bad flares where seconds make the difference between making it to the bathroom or not...

It's acutally a permanent one which renews every two years.

TroubledTurds said...
as the parent of a child in a wheelchair, i'm pretty sensitive to handicapped parking permits - and the folks who choose how to use them -

my short response is, if you need the space, use it - if you don't, let others who often don't have other options have it -

Just because I don't have wheelchair (I often wish I had one) doesn't mean I don't need the permit sometimes. I started fainting since I was 11 years old. In combination with my flare right now and having constant tachychardia it really is a relief to have it. When I go to stores I have been using the carts to drive around on because this way I will not faint. I had many close calls before. I'm so glad they have them. I guess it's better than fainting and having the ambulance called for me.

notsosicklygirl said...

Is there a reason for fainting? Is it treatable?

My blood pressure doesn't regulate like normal people. Here is a link which explains some of it. The doctor who diagnosed this gave me a prescription for some steroids. I filled it but I didn't take it. I'm using compression stockings already but they don't help as much.