Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
It’s nice to see our government off the “Stupid Train” for once. Swedish officials continue to require Fredrik Jansson of Skelleftea to verify that he has trouble walking after his leg was surgically amputated ten years ago. Jansson who suffered the procedure as part of his bid to fight off bone cancer, finds the regulation ridiculous. He is mandated to see a physician to verify the loss every three years.
A prosthetic leg is not an option as Jonasson doesn’t think he would be able to manage without a disabled parking permit since he would have to carry shopping bags using crutches, and be forced to walk some distance to his car.
“It defies all common sense,” Jansson said. “I go down to Umea once every three years and have a doctor establish my leg is still gone.”
in florida we have a $15.00 fee for the first one and $1.00 for extra placards and they have to be renewed every four years but there is no charge for renewals. the fun i’ve had is with the motorcycle handicap tags. i’ve had people call the police several times on me about those. the handicapped motorcycle tags have to be renewed once a year, but they cost the same as a regular tag.
Jo, yep. We keep him around for the entertainment value he provides.
OS, hehehe
I have been reading this blog for quite a long time now but only recently started commenting. This is one of my favorite blogs and I have come to like so many of you. And tho I know its futile to argue with the Roco’s of the world, sometimes its just fun.
Jo, I understood. I was really responding to Roco’s comment above. Just using your price range as a jumping off place to respond to his comment about a thousand dollar chair being cheap. I thought your takeoff on that bank card commercial was……..priceless.
Otteray Scribe I’m sorry I didn’t make myself clear I was appalled at Roco’s obtuse attitude telling you that you had only to spend money for very expensive items that you had already said that you didn’t want. In your statement and in mine we had told about loved ones who could walk but with difficulty and instead of learning that people who can walk actually want to walk he keeps insisting that they SHOULD be in wheel chairs. Instead of understanding that we know that the government regulations require that people who’s disability may get better should be required on some schedule to show the continued need for the permit but that we also realize that someone who has lost a leg will always need the permit, he continues to play the game of naysaying any argument or comment that we offer. He is a buffoon. And Roco tho I was very careful to define the big words earlier it and you have become tedious. It would behoove you to look it up.
Roco-
Your comments to Jo Atkins and Otteray Scribe say nothing to them that is of any value. They do, however, speak volumes about your own character.
Jo, I am not about to pay more than a thousand for a damn wheelchair. We don’t need fancy bells and whistles, and it needs to be light enough to get in and out of a car trunk without me blowing a disc.
However, there have been times when I wished it were equipped with a machine gun or grenade launcher like one of James Bond’s cars.
Otteray Scribe, you only need to buy a van…………………………. Van:…………………………..$35,000 on sale-
Wheelchair…………………. $1500. to $3000
.Roco getting a clue …….Priceless
Otteray Scribe:
I dont think you are a simple soul. But $1,000 isnt much for a wheelchair.
If you think it is, you are not well informed.
Roco, I don’t own a van and never plan to buy one. My daughter does not even own a car and could not drive if she had one (thanks a lot, DePuy!).
As for that wheelchair, it cost right at a thousand dollars, and is hardly a POS.
Thanks for all the “advice.” I never would have thought of all that by myself, being the simple soul that I am.
Jo Atkins:
No problem. If I fell a lot when I was walking around, I would try something else. You can break bones with nasty falls. You dont need to use the wheelchair all the time, just when you may have a hard time managing with crutches or a cane.
Let me know when you get a clue.
Otteray Scribe:
people abuse those handicapped spots. I see people jump out of their cars and literally run to the store or wherever. People use grannies sticker or uncle Charlie’s.
You have to pay to renew your license, why should a person with a disability be treated any different? I am sure the extra money goes to the special plate and any extra administrative fees required.
I dont see the issue here. So the guy has to do that, so what? You have to get your eyes checked dont you?
Just because a person is handicapped should not make them “special”, they are individuals just like anyone else. Making them special sets them apart from the rest of society.
“2. Use a wheelchair. Do you have any idea how damn hard it is to wrestle one of those things out of the trunk of a car for your loved one? Or how heavy one is when you are pushing someone up a hill?”
you need a van with a lift, you are too old to be doing that. Your wife also needs an electric chair if she can use her hands. it will give her much more freedom and make it easier for you. You will be amazed at the change in your lifestyle.
A good chair will also allow her some range of motion if the seat tilts and the foot pads extend. Look at a Permobil [stay away from a Hoveround and other chairs of that ilk] and call Rollx about the van. You should do it for your wife and yourself. Quit fucking around with a pc of shit steel wheelchair, it will be better for your wife and make her more comfortable. It will also save your back, you need to stay healthy so you can take care of her.
Roco I apologize. I really didn’t realize how disabled you are. It is wrong to taunt and tease anyone who really has a mental disability
Roco, you did not read Jo’s comment closely enough. He was trying to park in a handicapped slot when a guy jack-rabbeted in ahead of him. Then the able-bodied guy jumped out of his Hummer and ran in the store. Leaving the genuinely handicapped guy to fend for a non-handicap slot that put him in danger.
The same thing has happened to me too many times to count. My wife can walk but is unsteady on her feet. She does not need a wheelchair to get about for short distances. In fact. she hates hers unless she has too far to walk without getting too badly out of breath. On top of that, she cannot get the wheelchair in and out of the trunk of the car by herself.
Stop and think before starting mouth and inserting foot.
Jo Atkins:
you can still walk at home or where you are safe. If he had a wheelchair, he would then be able to get a sticker or license plate and use the spots.
I personally see nothing wrong with checking in every 3 years or 5 years to renew your sticker.
Sometimes it is better to be safe.
To expand a bit further, the parking spaces are reserved for people who:
1. Cannot walk more than 100 feet without getting short of breath.
2. Use a wheelchair. Do you have any idea how damn hard it is to wrestle one of those things out of the trunk of a car for your loved one? Or how heavy one is when you are pushing someone up a hill?
3. Have to use a cane or crutches to walk.
When you have had a stroke, are crippled or have a leg missing, it does not grow back. In our state, even a “Permanent” tag has to be renewed every couple of years, with a fee of about $25. No exceptions for being poor. That just adds insult to the injury. Permanent does not mean permanent in our state. It is about the money, not the handicapped person. We have a city in our area that insists you have a special hang tag issued by the city in order to park n handicapped. Several years ago, my wife parked in a handicapped slot at her doctor’s office. A city policeman ticketed her car because she did not have a city-issued tag. We don’t even live in that city.
Rocco–I feel much more sorry for you than this man. He doesn’t have a leg. You, on the other hand do not have a heart or a brain. I am ashamed for you.
Roco,
Sorry my friend, but as the husband of a stoke victim and the father of a daughter with a failed hip replacement, you do not “get it.” A wheelchair is a royal pain where you sit if you can still get around with a cane or crutches.
Roco, Roco Roco, here it is in tiny little words then. When you lose a leg you still want to walk. But it is difficult, that means hard to do. Because it is so hard to do you are given a handicapped permit to park in those parking spaces with the little wheel chair symbols. But because your leg was amputated, that means cut off, it will never grow back. Because it will never grow back it will always be difficult oops I mean hard to do. Therefore oops another big word… and so because it will always be hard for most amputees, that means people who have had a leg cut off, those people will always need a parking permit. You see that was what the author, that is the person who wrote the article, that means the story we are talking about, that is what the person who wrote the story we are talking about was trying to tell us. That most people who have a leg cut off will always need a parking permit. And that to have to prove every three years that you need the permit is silly that means that means birdbrained, ditzy (or ditsy), dizzy, featherbrained, flighty, frivolous, frothy, futile, goofy, harebrained, light-headed, light-minded, puerile, scatterbrained, giddy. Synonyms provided by Mirriam-Webster.
Jo Atkins:
maybe he needs to use a wheelchair when he is out and about for safety then.