Handicapped Permit Headache

Becca and her Handicap Permit

Yesterday Becca and I stopped at the Kwik Trip gas station for a soda and a break. Becca was exhausted from our adventures and I parked my big Sequioa in the handicapped parking place in front of the store. The only other space is parking on the hill and when I park there, Becca cannot get out as the huge door closes on her while she tries to get out, or once she is in she can't shut the door with her tiny arms. She fatigues late in the day and cannot walk far without exhaustion.

Back to the story, I got out of the car and was yelled at by some 80+ year old gentlemen saying I had no right to park in the handicap stall! I have handicap plates for a reason, I calmly said my daughter is handicapped (so much for medical privacy) and he still was arguing that I am going to get a ticket, creating quite a scene at the busiest part of the day. He told me that kids aren't allowed to have handicap places.

In the meantime, some other people were getting into it and staring. I shut Becca's door and moved my car to avoid anymore harassment. The doctors wife in our tiny town of 4000 doesn't want to make enemies, scenes and just decided the battle was not worth picking.

Becca was ANGRY and fuming. She stomped in to the store, she was aggitated and telling me loudly that I shouldn't have moved, that guy is discrimating. The last time this happened was when she was 9 and I refused to move from the handicap stall (Becca was in a wheelchair at the time, hooked up to a feeding pump) and an old couple had parked me in, and called the police to have me ARRESTED because kids can be carried by their parents and don't get to use handicap permits. It was such a scene that the Target Security, Police Department were all involved because I wouldn't move. That time Becca got an apology by the Police and Target manager after the near 45 minute stand-off. The old couple were going to appeal to their State Senator that I was abusing my parking privilege.

Maybe I should complain, that I cannot park close many times because the stalls are all full and have to put Becca in a shopping cart (lifting my 74+ 19-year-old into the basket) because someone is illegally parking with the car running in for a few minute run-in-and-out. But I be polite and it is just not worth the battle. Or the two times my window has been smashed to steal Becca's handicap placard (that is why we now have plates too) and use the placard when we are out in other people's cards.

I reminded Becca we are not going to let some uninformed person ruin our day. Flipping the negative that I love having her for my sidekick because I usually get the best parking places in the parking lot because I have her. So much for her forgetting, I have an assignment that I get to write a letter to the editor of the newspaper about handicap parking permits.