Does OHS qualify you for a Handicap Parking placard?

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Valve Replacement Forums

Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Illinois Al

Illinois Al

Active member
Joined
Aug 16, 2008
Messages
38
Location
Wheeling, Illinois, USA
I have sort of an oddball question. I currently have a Handicap Parking placard that was issued over two years ago, well before my OHS surgery, because of the various other difficulties I was having.

Now that I have had the surgery, I am morally conflicted about whether or not to keep using the placard or not.
  • First of all I am supposed to be walking a lot and am going to cardiac rehab, so I am becoming more and more capable of walking longer and longer distances. Strike one!
  • Secondly, my AVR has done what it is supposed to do, and I don't get angina anymore. Stike two!
  • And I am sure there are individuals more deserving of using a space than I am. Strike three, I'm out! :(

On the other hand, I am still not that far down this side of the mountain, can get tired walking, and am not supposed to lift anything over five pounds.

My compromise so far is that I don't use the placard if it only going to allow me to park two or three rows closer to where ever I am going and don't use it if there is only one handicap parking place available. So I don't use it very often when going to stores, etc.

I have been using it since starting back to work. The office building I work in is a six story building with well over a thousand employees, the parking lots are not close to the building at all (green belt around the building) and there are ample handicap parking places, about 20% of which sit empty. I have never seen them all occupied. So by using the placard I am confident I am not depriving a more deserving individual of a space.

I would appreciate hearing from other forum members on both the legal (does OHS qualify one for a handicap plate or placard?) and the moral (even if it is legal, should you use it?) sides of my question.
 
It totally depends on your own physical limitations. My surgeon said that normally by the time his patients can drive, they not only can walk across a normal parking lot, but he WANTS them to walk more. However, here in Arizona, walking across a large parking lot when it's 115 can be too much for someone who is just starting to get out and about, so some patients need the option of closer parking.
 
It depends on your situation. I certainly don't need or want a handicap permit, as I feel that my surgery healed me. In fact, many years prior to my surgery, Texas Rehabilitation Commission paid my college tuition and fees due to my cardiac disability. At the time, they asked me if I needed a permit. I passed up the chance, even though it would have meant more convenient parking, because I really didn't want to get dirty looks or feel the need to explain that my disability was not visible. Also, I was 20 years old, and despite my disability, I was quite fit, so really didn't need it.

When you applied for your placard, you stated particular issues, and probably needed something from your doctor verifying those issues. If the issues no longer apply, then certainly morally, and probably legally, the permit isn't really valid, even though it may not have expired. So, if you want to make sure that you do the right thing, you should apply for a new permit or at least update your reasons for having one.

It just seems to me that the longer you cling to your previous disability, the longer it will take you to heal, both physically and emotionally.
 
It depends on the laws in your state and in Illinois, this is it:

Program Eligibility
A person with a disability or impairment is not
automatically eligible for disability plates or a parking
placard. When considering a patient's eligibility for
disability plates or a parking placard, a licensed
physician must certify that the patient's disability meets
at least one of the following requirements. A patient
must:
• be restricted by lung disease to such a degree that his
or her forced (respiratory) expiratory volume (FEV) in
one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than
one liter; or
• use portable oxygen; or
• have a Class III(Marked Limitation of activity) or Class IV (Activity severely limited) cardiac condition
according to the standards set by the American Heart
Association; or
• when walking, require the assistance of another
person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive
device; or
• have an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic
condition that severely limits the person's ability to
walk.
Note: “Cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest”
is not a qualifying disability unless it is related to one of
the above conditions.
 
Disability?

Disability?

It's a tough call indeed. One idea would be to hold onto the placard and only use it when you deem it necessary to do so (I'm assuming that it hangs on the rearview mirror and would be easily removable?)

Over here in Japan, just going through OHS qualifies you for disability benefits that you have to fight tooth and nail for in the States, so I take advantage of anything the government throws my way!
 
I would think a person would know if they needed one ... I have had OHS and I would not use/apply for one even if I could get one ... I don't need one and grateful that I don't ... there are so many that need them, OHS or not .... Ross thanks for the list ... at times I see people use them that do not appear to need them and I get really pissed ... I might need to reserve that judgment for the proper authorities.
 
keep it. use it as you are now doing. It's always there when you do have to use it. Nice of you to have consideration for those must use the spaces all the time. I often see those who don't appear to need it, but then we are not in their shoes, are we. we should not judge.
 
I'm kinda with you Cooker.
It used to bug me when I saw someone using that appeared not to be needing.
I often assumed someone else in the family had the need but not this one.

I would walk up and say something like, "OH, you seem to be getting so
much better. Soon you won't need that space anymore.
Good luck to you."

Once the reply was, "I'm afraid I will. This is just one of my better days."

I have learned to mind my own business!
 
My PCP signed paperwork so I could get one about 6 weeks pre-op. I qualified due to SOB and CHF.
This was a temporary hangtag, for only 6 months. I certainly did need it for that long, and definitely up to 9-10 months. But I did not get it renewed.
There were times up to 1 year that I wished I could still use it.
(I did use the electric carts at stores for several months post-op due to fatigue.)

I know that some people "borrow" another person's hangtag, which is definitely illegal. You invite a ticket doing so.
My sister (has lupus) and mom (1 knee replaced, needs other one done) have hangtags. On good days, you would suspect they didn't need them; on bad days, you wonder why they're out and about.
 
To answer your question "does OHS qualify you for a HANDICAP parking sticker" my answer is NO, unless you truly continue to need it. I had the surgery many years ago to make me healthy. It worked and I neither want or need to be one of the many who continualy misuse these "handicap" stickers :mad:.
 
I do not have one but it often makes me wonder about some who do. I know many people who need them do not appear ill so I usually stay out of their business. However, recently I pulled into a parking space at the post office the same time another person pulled into a handicapped space nearby. That person was walking regular speed until she saw another person coming along side and then she literally sprinted into the building to get in line ahead of that other person. Now, call me crazy but, if you can sprint, there can be no reason for a handicap placard.

Some folks think that, just because they managed to get a placard for whatever reason, that this entitles them to use it all the time whether they need it or not.

My cardio wants me to walk (probably even more than I do) so, even if I wanted to be lazy, he would never sign for a permit.
 
However, recently I pulled into a parking space at the post office the same time another person pulled into a handicapped space nearby. That person was walking regular speed until she saw another person coming along side and then she literally sprinted into the building to get in line ahead of that other person. Now, call me crazy but, if you can sprint, there can be no reason for a handicap placard.
Click to expand...

I completely agree Gina. When I see the same thing, I cannot help but think that more than likely, it could be a family member or friend of someone who really does have a handicap but is not on that particular trip. I think it is plain wrong to take advantage of such situations.

Karl
 
Cooker said:
I would think a person would know if they needed one ... I have had OHS and I would not use/apply for one even if I could get one ... I don't need one and grateful that I don't ... there are so many that need them, OHS or not .... Ross thanks for the list ... at times I see people use them that do not appear to need them and I get really pissed ... I might need to reserve that judgment for the proper authorities.
Click to expand...

I get bent out of shape when I see someone pull into the spots by the doors, hop out and physically run into the store. Especially when they pull in front of me to keep me from having the spot and I am on oxygen.

Here is Ohio's laws:
 
Many of us do fine as long as the weather is not severe but have considerable difficulty with extreme COLD or Hot and Humid conditions so I guess my answer is that "It depends".
 
Here is the Texas law:

State law §681.001(5) defines a mobility problem as one that substantially impairs a person?s ability to ambulate, and the person:
(a) cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest
(b) cannot walk without the use of or assistance from an assistance device, including a brace, cane, crutch, another person or a prosthetic
device
(c) cannot ambulate without a wheelchair or similar device
(d) is restricted by lung disease to the extent that the person's forced respiratory expiratory volume for one second, measured by
spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 millimeters of mercury on room air at rest
(e) uses portable oxygen
(f) has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according
to standards set by the American Heart Association
(g) is severely limited in the ability to walk because of an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition; or
(h) has a disorder of the foot that, in the opinion of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state or in a state adjacent to this state,
limits or impairs the person's ability to walk; or
(i) has another debilitating condition that, in the opinion of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state or a state adjacent to this
state, or authorized by applicable law to practice medicine in a hospital or other health facility of the Veterans Administration, limits or impairs
the person's ability to walk.

It must be certified by a doctor. So, if your condition has changed for the better, I still say that morally you should have your physician verify that you still qualify.
 
Hi Al ~

Speaking as a disabled person (i'm paralyzed from the upper chest down), i would say that i don't really mind at all if someone uses it who may not look disabled, but still has a hidden disability and needs it. If you still have trouble walking long distances, by all means use it.

What i have trouble with is when i see young people park in a handicapped space and then RUN into the Y.M.C.A. (where my apartment complex is). I have been known (in my younger days when i was braver) to write out a note and say "If you would like to qualify for this parking space, i will gladly break both your legs". Of course, i wouldn't really, hehe! What also makes me mad is when family members use the handicapped sticker when the disabled person isn't even with them. We had (she moved) a woman here who was only 32 and her disabled husband died and she continued to park her van all the time in handicapped parking spaces. They are the people who bother me.

So, i'd just say that if you need to, go ahead and park in a handicapped parking space, but when you feel you don't need to anymore, then walk, as walking will help you recover quicker.
 
I dont believe that OHS qualifies anyone for a permanent handicap placard, but a temporary is probably in order, I dont think that morally anyone who was quallified for one needs to requallify if they are doing better unless its due for requallification if they are using it respectfully, I applied for one, had my GP fill out the paperwork and recieved the placard because I was having to walk halfway around campus with a full bag of books and was having issues, I got the placard with the understanding that I would only use it when I was having a horrible day, now that I dont have to do such a walk with my books, I am hardly ever using it (I've probably used it 6 times in the last year, and not at all in the last 6 mos) but I will keep it just in case, because I never know when I will be having that kind of day

I dont look sick either, even on my worst days, you'll just see me stopping to catch my breath
 
You sound like you're finished with your need for it.

By the time you're nearly bad enough to have the surgery, a 6-month temporary tag makes sense. This takes you through the worst of the last months and the immediate post-op time.

I had one, but used it only at work, where there is an enormous parking lot. So the walk was long, and I was carrying a heavy computer bag. I have never seen half of the handicapped spots in use, so never felt I was depriving anyone, and I never took the closer spots, which I felt were for those who couldn't walk at all. But it was a great help before surgery.

Best wishes,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top