Wellness

[Moonchilde]

@GingerPeach - no, I do not qualify - I looked it up once. And my doctor would never request this for me - he made it clear last year that he hoped I would not get one! It’s his belief that if I had one I’d suddely start using it as if I was a paraplegic. Sheesh. So he’s not going to know, for as long as I keep going to him...which may not be forever, with his attitude towards my A1C. How many doctors do you know who get pi**ed off because their diabetic patient has an A1C of 5.6, and want to stop their meds? Seriously. Sheesh, again.

When I had a bad fall about 4-5 years ago, I was on Disability for 6-7 weeks. I had a temporary placard, and I think I used it once or twice in all that time simply because all the Handicapped spots were always all taken, even mid day when most people were working. The govt mandates how many handicapped spaces there must be in a situation - often it’s only 2-3. No business or parking lot “has” to provide more than the minimum, though some do.

[GingerPeach]

Tell him to give me a call!  Sheesh.  Talk about misguided.

You are a competent, intelligent adult, not a scofflaw.  And you have difficulty getting from place to place due to a disease.  He doesn't deserve you as a patient.  

@Moonchilde

As you probably know, this is the wording under the Eligibility portion of the current form:

You may qualify for a PB parking placard or plates if you have impaired mobility due to having lost use of one or more lower extremities, both hands, have a diagnosed disease that substantially impairs or interferes with mobility, or if you are unable to move without the aid of an assistive device. You may also qualify if you have specific, documented visual problems, including lower vision or partial-sightedness, or specific cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses.  CVC Section 295.5, 5007, 22511.55.

[NickNack]

@GingerPeach wrote:

Tell him to give me a call!  Sheesh.  Talk about misguided.

You are a competent, intelligent adult, not a scofflaw.  And you have difficulty getting from place to place due to a disease.  He doesn't deserve you as a patient.  

@Moonchilde

As you probably know, this is the wording under the Eligibility portion of the current form:

You may qualify for a PB parking placard or plates if you have impaired mobility due to having lost use of one or more lower extremities, both hands, have a diagnosed disease that substantially impairs or interferes with mobility, or if you are unable to move without the aid of an assistive device. You may also qualify if you have specific, documented visual problems, including lower vision or partial-sightedness, or specific cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses.  CVC Section 295.5, 5007, 22511.55.

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@GingerPeach  That's interesting that it mentions vision.  I wouldn't think you should be driving if you had that type of vision problems.  Maybe it's so you can put it in the car of the person who's driving you?

[GingerPeach]

That's right, @NickNack

Here's a link to the whole form.  It goes into a lot of detail about whose car it can be used with, and so on.  So even if someone can't drive, it can be used for others who are caring for that person.  Or for group home drivers who drive disabled folks around, and so on.

This is just California, since both @Moonchilde and I live in different areas of the same state.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/aebb95cd-c20a-49bd-bc13-dd74120044fc/reg195.pdf?MOD=AJPERE...

[NickNack]

That's very interesting @GingerPeach.  My sister and I both have the ones that my father had for driving him around.  It never occurred to me not to do this.  I just looked up Tennessee's rules, and it sounds like we might not actually qualify for them.  I had thought we would just ask the doctor when these expire, and he would give us something to take and get them.  I guess I was wrong.

I drop my father off at the door most places and don't use the placard, but occasionally I will use it at a restaurant when he's with me.

[Moonchilde]

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wrote:

 As you probably know, this is the wording under the Eligibility portion of the current form:

You may qualify for a PB parking placard or plates if you have impaired mobility due to having lost use of one or more lower extremities, both hands, have a diagnosed disease that substantially impairs or interferes with mobility, or if you are unable to move without the aid of an assistive device. You may also qualify if you have specific, documented visual problems, including lower vision or partial-sightedness, or specific cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses.  CVC Section 295.5, 5007, 22511.55.

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None of those things is true of me, nor do I have emphysema, etc. I can walk just fine. I can move from one place to another.  Any hand issues I have are not applicable. Nor do I have any disease or condition that means I cannot walk, or take steps only with great difficulty. I can certainly move without any assistive device.

When I’m on my feet, standing and/or walking, I can only do it for so long (30-60 min) before I can’t continue because my back hurts - the muscles, and my arthritis as far as joints. If there is a fire I can get up and run - but not very far. It makes it unpleasant and depressing to try and go out. I can’t spend a day or several hours at the mall, take a nature hike, or even shop at more than one store for any length of time.

Sitting down for several minutes (a PITA for everyone, including me) only helps a little. Medications don’t help, even opioids. I used to eat NSAIDs like candy - doesn’t help a lot either. Yes at home I have my MMJ which works, but that’s not an option out on a shopping trip; I would never drive then.

So - yes, I have conditions and reasons that make standing and walking more than half an hour at a time painful and incapacitating, but none of anything I have is sufficient to warrant a paid-for scooter, or a placard.

In all my googling for various things to do with the scooter, I’ve discovered that many middle-aged or even younger people have bought scooters for similar reasons - arthritis (usually RA which is far more serious than osteo), CFS, fibromyalgia and other things - out of pocket. I’ve read multiple long, involved discussions of how nobody pays for nada - WE have to pay for it.

’It shouldn’t be that way,’ ‘that’s not right’, or ‘just make them pay somehow’ simply does not work.

[AussieLuvr]

I have muscular dystrophy and have a handicapped hanger for my rearview mirror. I try not to use it; there are always people who need those spots more than me. But my quadricep muscles from knees to hips are shot from the MD and I can't climb stairs; even walking up a slight incline pretty much wears me out and stops me in my tracks. Still, if the parking lot is flat or if my husband is with me for me to hold onto his arm while he pulls me, I don't use it. Driving is not an issue for me.

Everywhere I go also means taking an assortment of seat riser cushions; if my hips get below my knees I can't stand up out of a chair. Forget chairs without arms; not happening! Sometimes I have to stand during doctor appointments!  Yet, if you saw me walking around a store, you would not know I have a problem. I struggle with other manifestations of the MD but they aren't apparent to the casual onlooker.

What gets my goat is going into a public restroom and having to wait while the handicap stall is being used by able-bodied people. I absolutely cannot use a stall without handrail grabs, or an EMT team would have to come get me up! Its kind of funny, but then again not. I sure do wish people who don't need the handicap stalls would not use them.

I do understand that I just said that nobody would know there is anything wrong with me by looking at me and that the same can apply to anyone else. But when I hear two giggly young women in the handicap stall together, working on their makeup or situations like that, it kind of bugs me that I have to stand and wait. It's just another handicap consideration that some people aren't very vigilant about.

But on to the subject of scooters -- I was about to buy one but was kind of choking on the prices. On a whim, I called the Muscular Dystrophy Association to ask if they had any scooters in their loaner closet. (The loaner closet has donated canes, crutches, wheelchairs - you name it. Many disease associations have them, but not all do.) Well, being the unluckiest person in the world, lol, imagine my surprise when they said they'd just gotten two scooters donated and they would refurbish one, buy 2 new gel batteries for it (the kind you can travel with) and have it delivered to my house. Free. Forever. Until I am gone and my family donates it back to the loaner closet. 

I am that person that never wins a drawing, have never won more than $2 in the lottery, am the poster child for doctor errors, etc. -- but I won big time on this one! When they delivered it, I couldn't even believe it was used. I looked it up online and it sold new for $4,000. It's always worth checking resources if you have a condition or disease that is associated with disabilities! This can apply to the racks that people put on the back or roof of their cars to carry heavier items (wheelchair, scooter) around. My parents had a small lift installed in the trunk of their car for about $70. It wasn't fancy but it lifted the scooter in and out of the trunk. We donated it to the veteran's loaner closet in the state we lived in at the time. Always check, as you never know if what you need is out there for free!

Sorry for my random post.

[GingerPeach]

@Moonchilde

I hope you will soon find a doctor who understands what you are going through.   

[AussieLuvr]

Another way to load a scooter into your vehicle is to back down into an incline, right up against the rise behind you and you don't have to lift your scooter so high. Here is a picture of what I'm talking about. It's a little awkward and the right topography and the type of vehicle you have may or may not work with this strategy. My husband is a farmer and often has to load heavy loads in his different vehicles; he taught me this trick!

isn't always available, but when it works - it works great!

[Moonchilde]

WOW, @AussieLuvr, I’m so happy for you! That’s fabulous!  I’d really like to know where your parents found a lift for less than $100; the cheapest one I’ve seen has been $600-700 and they are huge. 

You go, girl!