I saw a video on TV the other day and they were having a good time taunting a very obese person for being "disabled" and then at the gym working out on a bike and a treadmill later that same day. I understand that some people do use handicap placards when they don't really need to, however there are a few of us who do need and use them, but yes we still go to the gym and use the exercise equipment also.
As one of those persons who does have a handicap placard and a gym membership let me shed a little light on this subject. I have the placard due to the fact that I have arthritis in my lower back (injury from basic military training), arthritis around my sternum (from a work injury), arthritis in both hips (from pregnancy) and arthritis in my tailbone (from carrying twins and things not going back into place). I have a good reason to need my placard especially when the weather changes or it is extremely cold as every movement is painful. This being said I have developed a tolerance for pain that would make a grown man crumble on the ground, but I do still carry on with my duties of a mother and wife.
Now for the gym membership part of this blog. I walk on the treadmill at the gym because it is a softer surface for me to exercise on and does not cause pain in my hips and knees. I can also stop at any point when the pain gets to much or even just slow down a bit and keep moving. I use the stationary bike to move my lower body when I can't stand the pain of putting all my weight on my lower joints. Recently I have been doing some of the weight machines with the lightest weight on them to help build some of the muscle that I have lost over the last few years of "babying" my hurting joints. This was not something that I just decided to do on my own. I talked to my doctor and then made an appointment with a trainer to see what I could do and how to do these things safely so that I did not cause any further injury to my joints.
I have found that if I move in a safe manor it does not hurt as much when I have to just keep moving to get groceries for my family. When I do move at the gym my joints are not as swollen at night and I sleep better, which makes me less cranky when the person next to me blocks the handicap space or parks so close that I can't get back into my car. I do these things now when it only hurts for a few days afterward, so that I won't have to stop walking, and then possibly have to quit working, due to the fact that my joints have become so damaged from the arthritis that I am stuck in a wheelchair.
Doesn't it hurt to go to the gym if your handicapped? YES it does. Then again doesn't it hurt to go to the gym if your not handicapped? Yes if you are working on gaining your strength, it is going to hurt. I have just decided that I want to be able to move and deal with the pain than be stuck in a wheelchair and still have the pain. I smile and try to not to let others see how much I hurt so that I can function and do my job. I did not ask for the joint problems that I have, so I deal with the pain and do what I can to have a normal life.
Just because you don't see me crying does not mean that I do not hurt. There have been times that my children have seen me cry as I try to climb into the truck after buying groceries since it took all my strength just to get through the store.
When you only see a person's life for a few minutes, you really have no idea what is going on the rest of the day.
