What Do You Think?

Imagine this:

You see an overweight person who looks fairly normal park in handicapped and walk normally into a store. What do you think? Lazy.

You see a person parked in handicapped putting her own grocery items in the car. What do you think? I ought to call the police! A real handicapped person needs that space!

You see a person with droopy eyelids walking down the street with a slight drag of the foot. What do you think? That chic is high on something!

You see a person walking around with one eye closed and stumbling around. What do you think?
Drunk.

You see a person, dressed normally, in a restaurant at noon. Her speech is slurred quite badly. She has a child with her. What do you think? Oh my gosh! I can't believe that woman has been DRINKING! At noon, no less! And with a child!

You talk to a person at a social event who appears perfectly normal, except for a trach that you assume is from a car accident or previous cancer. You ask her what she does for a living, and she tells you she is on disability. What do you think? It's people like her that abuse the system and make it harder on all of us! I can't believe MY taxes are paying for her sloth!

Well, you would be wrong. Dead wrong. On all counts.

What if I told you that person has Myasthenia Gravis, a horrible, chronic, life long neuromuscular disease that robs a person of her independence. That person has spent countless hours in hospitals, doctors offices, clinics, with needles in her arms, not being able to talk because she has to hold still, and can't use ether hand to cover her trach. That person has been unconscious, on a ventilator, fighting for her life, at the age of 29.

What if I told you that person parks in handicapped because she normally walks out of the store so exhausted she might fall if she had to walk further?

What if I told you that person may have been able to go to the store that day, alone, and carried her paltry 3 small bags to the car (parked in handicapped), but that's the only thing she's been able or WILL be able to do that day?

What if I told you......that person is me.