Disabilities

I sent this to my University's newspaper. I thought I would share on my blog as well.

We usually associate handicap parking and the word “disability” with those who are blind, deaf or have a seeable physical handicap and use canes or wheelchairs. Rarely do we think about the physical disability involved with illnesses or injuries. Assuming these things we disregard a handful of debilitating injuries and issues. Because some disabilities are not visible, making quick judgements can be detrimental not only to society but an individual. I broke my back at age fifteen and it will never heal, I know how it feels to be debilitated. I am attending Brigham Young University I have a handicap parking pass, I parked in a designated handicap spot in a student parking lot as instructed by the university and doctor, upon exiting my car a man came up to me asking, “Do you feel good about yourself?” and “Why don’t you save the handicap parking spots for those who have real disabilities.” There are injuries and medical illnesses that cause pain that are not visible to the eye, I am an example of this. No one can see my injury, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have one. Debilitation can come from an injury, heart problems, respiratory malfunction, even diabetes; non-visible injuries affect people. Visible or not, they are still there.