INDIGNITIES OF BEING HANDICAPPED

[shyamwestwind]

Hello Everyone,
I have just come back after a visit to the local Government Hospital, to obtain a Certificate from a Medical Board of Doctors. to state that I am handicapped with polio of the left leg and that I am fit to drive an Automatic Transmission car as there is no clutch in such a vehicle and my left leg being affected, its the only car I can drive.
You will not believe the indignities I have had to face, through my entire life, to get these certificates, for different uses.
The Railways give me a concession for me and an escort and I had to get a separate certificate for this
At the age of 16, when it was compulsory to join the National Cadet Corps, the Major in charge asked me to produce a certificate that I was handicapped ! Anybody could see I was.
There were many such requirements for these certificates and it was rather embarrassing to have to take photographs showing my disability, which meant being photographed in my underwear.These photos had to be affixed with my application and I had to produce the original , whenever I travelled by train, or for whatever reason the certificate was required for.
I am a permanently disabled person with 65% disabilty (the doctors say so ) so why cant they issue ONE identity card to me, which I can carry with me like a driving licence( in this case a licence to limp)
Today, the doctor wanted me to take my calipers off for which I need to take my pants off and inspite of my asking him whether seeing wasnt believing, he insisted.
I wish God could have given me this Certificate at the time of being struck with polio.
I am not someone who feels bad because I'm handicapped - thats my strength, but I get upset when I have to go through such indignities. We hardly have any facilities for the disabled, in India and its a tough life having to climb steps, falling on non existent footpaths. To suffer further indignities is adding insult to injury and it saddens me immensely.
May I know the norms applicable in your part of the world ? What do handicapped people have to do to obtain their rights?
I plan to write a letter to the Goverment regarding all this and it will help if I can quote the practices in other countries.

[JohnG]

Please don't think I'm ignoring this thread Shyam, I'm trying to put together some words which I feel might be a fitting response to the indignities that many societies put their disabled through. The subject is close to my heart and I feel it deserves a considered and thoughtful reply. Not being disabled myself, except in the head (a rather feeble attempt at humour, see avatar!) it's difficult to respond to your question, but I do know that much new legislation has been put in place in Europe to improve accessibility for disabled people. I suspect the indignities of forms and certificates is much the same the world over. Bureaucracy!
Best regards,
JohnG.

[weegeo]

My dear old friend Shyam as John has said this thread requires a considered response and i hope i can do just that
As a fellow handicapped person as well i can of course relate to this thread very well i do understand the many great difficulties that you experience in your country,i thank God that i don`t have to go thru the same veting system that you do.
The system over here in the UK is a lot the same as your own but we are much more relaxed in how we obtain our disability benefits,in your case where you have been born with your disbility this would have been registered at birth and your parents would have received the benefits entitled on the word of the hospital. As you would have grown older you would have been subject to routine assessments to check and see if your level of care had changed if you had gotten worse then you would have received more benefit to help you out likewise if you had improved any you may have received a little less. In the case of your car because of the nature of your disability you would have been allowed a mobilty allowance this would allow you either to lease or purchase a car thru a government scheme at a very low interest rate if you leases a vehicle they would normally take your full mobilty benefit from you to pay for the vehicle included in the lease would be your vehicle insurance,servicing and tyres once you would have this benefit it would be revised every 3/4 years or so but in the case of your disability it would never be removed from you so your benefits would not be subject to change down but only up. The form filling to obtain this sort of benefit here is quite impersonal and most people would get citzens advice office to complete their forms for them. We to suffer the indignities of being disabled it sometimes feels that i am less than their equal and when they would talk to me they would `talk down` to me i very quickly put them in their place by asking their educational qualifications and i point out to them mine this is a real leveller lol lol I hope my take on this thread is of a little help to you but for me the most important thing to me is your total sense of understanding i think i can say this for all of us in this forum your not disabled to us my friend your just `an old muso still struttin your stuff`so i i hope you carry on and laugh at the world and keep us thinking with your posts

Weegeo ----------------George

[JohnG]

Nice one wee George.
I can't follow that with anything more to add.
Keep us thinking Shyam.
JohnG.

[shyamwestwind]

Thanks for your inputs, guys.
George, I'm sure you guys are more sensitive and organised in the U.K.
Can you let me know if the disabled have one ID card to carry around to access whatever benefits are due to them ?

[weegeo]

Sure can do old man lol over here when you are awarded the disabilty benefit your payments are paid directly to your bank account,we don`t have certificates as such we have only the letter`s of award. In the case of a car on the motabilty scheme you can apply for a `blue badge`which goes on your windscreen as a sticker you also recieve a `blue pass` which has your photo on it this entitles you to park almost anywhere as long as you show this pass Hope this sheds a little more light on this for you This is a great thread which is tackling sensitive issue`s well done Shyam once again

weegeo

[shyamwestwind]

Thanks for that info, George, that was useful.
There are a very few roads here where there is reserved parking for the handicapped and more often than not, you will always find some able bodied person parking his car there. I could not go on and on about the amenities that are totally missing here for us handicapped, and it really is so insensitive of the authorities. There are a few associations for the disabled, but I find them quite ineffecctive.
I have decided to post a letter to our Prime Minister detailing all the facilities offered abroad and I hope he will atleast effect a few changes and help us be a little comfortable.
I would be grateful to get any information on what is offered abroad.
Thanks for your patience, George.

[JohnG]

Shyam, you will find inconsiderate idiots all over the world including the UK and Ireland who will park in the spaces reserved for the disabled. Their excuse is always "well, there was no-one parking there!" Duh! Brain transplant needed.
JG.
PS You could say that actually they have a right to park there too but not for a physical disability.

[weegeo]

lol lol lol John s,times you can be so funny and this is 1 of them On the parking issue i have a friend who is severely disabled and when he see`s someone parking where they shouldn`t he parks in front or behind them and slowly goes about his business thus making sure that the other person is `blocked`in for some considerable time lol
weegeo

[Tubbs]

Personally, i think some people abuse the system regards being awarded a disability sticker, i've seen some of them park up and jump out of the car like athletes, people who are physically affected regards using wheelchair and others who cannot walk too far should be the only ones who have a right to these spaces, i know of a person awarded one due to him not being able to work after a bad accident left them not being able to move their arm properly.........!!!

[shyamwestwind]

How very true tubbs. It is these fakers that get us into all these problems. Over here bribing is the order of the day and even I with a well pronounced physical disabilty have to give that "something" to get certified that I am genuinely disabled.
I was shouted down by a constable for parking near the entrance of the Railway Station and inspite of many pleas, I was rudely shooed off to a parking lot across the road and eventually missed the friend I had gone to receive and take home. What got me livid was that there were atleast five cars parked where I was refused and all of them were VIP cars. I waited for the VIP and complained about the constable, who was admonished. I got an assurance that a parking space for he handicapped would be reserved, but its been five years since and its still VIP parking.

[Emerald Midi]

I'm sure I read somewhere that there's some website that publishes photos of cars parked in Disabled Parking Bays not displaying the required, approved stickers, or non at all.

Also, there was an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry David gave out to someone for using one of the bays who's only excuse was he had a speech impediment !!!

[weegeo]

We did a gig in scarborough 3 years ago it was a very big white collar union do, the main speaker at the conference was Tony Blair so as you can imagine the security was tight. We waited outside for the PM to arrive and when he did he promptly was parked along with 2 other cars in the disabled parking bay all day I have a photograph somewhere in the house of his british racing green jaguar sitting parked if i can find it i`ll get Shyam to post it for me. Now the point of this is if the then PM parks in a disabled bay what chance do we really have lol lol

weegeo---------------------

[shyamwestwind]

Cant blame him - I'm sure his chauffer parked it there after dropping him at the Entrance.Actually these VIP Chauffers are the ones who act arrogant and break rules , knowing they'll get away with murder.
George, did you send that picture to the Press ? That would have been interesting.

[Tubbs]

May 16, 2008 21:44:02 GMT weegeo said:

We did a gig in scarborough 3 years ago it was a very big white collar union do, the main speaker at the conference was Tony Blair so as you can imagine the security was tight. We waited outside for the PM to arrive and when he did he promptly was parked along with 2 other cars in the disabled parking bay all day I have a photograph somewhere in the house of his british racing green jaguar sitting parked if i can find it i`ll get Shyam to post it for me. Now the point of this is if the then PM parks in a disabled bay what chance do we really have lol lol

weegeo---------------------

I bet he never paid the fine either!! ;D Good old town is Scarborough, i spent many a weekend in it...........oh, what i'd give for some of them seafront fish and chips.....Mmmmm!!

[weegeo]

Actually i sent it to the local press when i got home i also emailed the pm`s office but never got a reply i guess he was to busy looking for his blue badge lol lol Scarborough was a super gig for us all exps paid plus a brilliant fee the craic was mighty and the beer was good the company was amazing as well lol We had our pictures taken with Mr Blair as well but we were instructed not to talk to him i thought what a blinking cheek he called himself the peoples pm and we couldn`t say a word to him

weegeo----------------

[oldsage]

Hi shyam like you i am also disabled but in a different way.i suffer from arthritis,which is crippling my hands,wrists,back and left knee .So i know what you are going through.It seems all governments are the same in any country,if they have to save money then trump up some stupid idea to take it off the disabled !!! There idea is that we dont answer back!! just suffer instead!!They give you a paltry pittance of an allowance,and put everything up so you cant afford to live,and when you complain they say well get a job!!! .Brainless morons !! I would n,t be on disability if i could work!! Because contrary to what everybody thinks,we are not well off ,just srubbishing by!! It makes me feel as if i,m some second class citizen!! who should n,t be allowed to live like others!!.Sorry for this little rant!! but it sure made me feel better!! Hope things in your country will eventually get better mate! cheers Steve