canasia.org

Yup, I'll just attach the letter I sent to a bunch of people, and let you all share in my frustration!!! Best, Shelley Dears Sirs (and/or Madams): I am writing to all of you today to express my frustration at having my handicapped placard request denied.  In a letter dated April 17, 2008, the checked reasons for denial are: A. Diagnosis does not warrant placard , and B. Ambulatory Range does not warrant placard . First, I currently have a valid Handicap Placard Certification, permit #22928, which would have renewed in July 2008.  I noted this at the top of my new application.  The mirror hanger was stolen over the holidays and I had been trying in vain for months to get someone to answer the phone at that department of the DMV (Disability Plates 462-5840) to request a replacement be sent out (and to let them know that one more idiot is illegally using handicapped parking in the state, with my placard, as well). The only reason I was filling out a new application is that I had given up hope of replacing my old one. Second, this paperwork was filled out by my new neurologist, who was both unfamiliar with the new application forms, and may not have realized that my ability to walk is reduced to nearly 0 yards when the temperature is over 70 degrees.  I barely make it from my air conditioned car to my air conditioned house or office without my legs and feet becoming numb and rubbery and then completely failing to support me when it reaches the upper 70s and 80s. This is common with people with Multiple Sclerosis; about 75-80% of people with MS have this problem.  Thus lack of a placard would be an extreme hardship, preventing me from going to the drugstore, doctor's appointments, the market, etc, for more than six months of the year. Third, if anyone with a medical background were reviewing these applications, the diagnosis of Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis would be enough to justify a placard.  You are not downgraded to SPMS from Relapsing and Remitting until you have had MS for a number of years (20+ in my case) and it becomes obvious that you are no longer having any periods of recovery, just getting slowly worse.  It is generally not diagnosed until your walking abilities are becoming more severely limited.  Even to a layman, the term PROGRESSIVE should be a clue.  This means I am always getting worse, never getting better.  Every day I will be losing the ability to walk a little bit more, not regaining it.  In fact, my condition is far worse now than when I received my original placard. Fourth, not specifically in reference to my case, but in reference to all of those who live with permanent and/or chronic disabilities, it is ridiculous that those of us with these type of conditions even need to go through the exercise of renewing these permits.  Since we are not charged for the renewal, it is just one more thing that the state is wasting money on that could easily be eliminated.  If someone has a permanent condition then they should have a permanent placard, period.  This is not brain surgery.  I have a friend who had Polio.  She has one leg significantly shorter than another (and it will never grow back, obviously).  She used to tell me horror stories many years ago of having to renew her plate at a building with NO ELEVATOR, climbing the stairs with her crutches.  I was horrified at the stupidity then, twenty years ago, of someone having to re-prove every three years that they have a permanent disability, and it doesn't make any more sense to me now that I am being asked to re-prove it myself. I respectfully request that this decision be reversed, and my placard be issued, or, more correctly, reissued, without my being forced to submit to a hearing.  Indeed, by the time a hearing would come around for me, it would be too warm for me to be able to attend, especially without my placard. Sincerely, Shelley J. Knight mailed: DMV Disability Parking Permit Appeals            100 Main Street Pawtucket RI 02860 e-mailed: Governor's Office on Constituent Affairs               RI Senator Joshua Miller               US Congressman James Langevin

You have got to be kidding me!!!!!  I will be anxious to hear the outcome of this...so keep us posted! I just got my first placard and I also am confused as to why it has to be renewed from time to time. It's not like MS is going to just disappear!! Good luck.  Leslie Leslie, from time to time, those with disability disappear, sad to say. Donn

what a joke!!! we use the permits only when we Need to use them,,, some of us have good/bad days ,weeks,months, years, and then get some limited mobility etc,, but the longer we have to go the less we last overall for the entire day. another one for the collection of items _title_d -   WTF!!!! LOL cheers bobbyD That's true for me, for sure. I rarely use my parking placard, because I usually don't honestly need it. It *really* pisses me off when able bodied people park in designated h/c spots because they feel they're just as en_title_d as a handicapped person. It's kind of like the a-holes I read about in New York, who apparently feel they shouldn't have to pull over to let emergency vehicles pass. They figure it's not their problem if someone else's house is burning down, or someone's having a heart attack, so why should they have to be delayed? There sure seems to be a lot of selfishness in the world these days. Scott