Should I get a handicap license plate/mirror hangy thingy?

[trof]

Poll question: Should I get a handicap license plate/mirror hangy thingy?

My left calf muscle seems to have atrophied over the last few years. Got a bit of a limp now. Finally asked my doc about it. He referred me to a neurologist.

The neurologist ran some tests with electrodes and needles. Sounds like Abu Ghraibe, hunh? Wasn't that bad.
Did a spinal MRI. Turns out I have a disintegrated disc (age) which is pinching a couple of nerves.
But that's probably not the problem.

He said it looks like a very old trauma. The nerve is just not sending any info to the muscle. Hence, the muscle doesn't work. Probably won't get any worse. I couldn't remember any major trauma to that leg.

He asked me if I had ever had polio.
Me? Not that I know about. I was 14 when the Salk vaccine came out. I remember the public swimming pool closings during polio outbreaks when I was a kid. I mean hell, you'd KNOW if you had polio, wouldn't you?

Not necessarily. He told me I could have had a mild case. Or a good immune system that didn't let the virus fully take hold. Symptoms could have been like a bad cold. After reviewing the test data and examining me, my doctor friend concurs. Looks like classic polio damage.

So...I'm a polio victim. Should I go for the handicapped thing?

[boxster]

1. "...tests with electrodes and needles. Sounds like Abu Ghraib, hunh?"

Not unless those tests involved your testicles.

:evilgrin:

Re: the handicapped thing - if you truly think that your condition warrants it, I see no problem.

[proud patriot]

2. It'll come in handy at Amusement Parks

Your whole group won't have to wait in line :evilgrin:

[trof]

4. Maybe I could get a prescription for a hot tub?

Physical therapy, ya know.
Medical write off.
;-)

[CO Liberal]

8. Talk to Your Doctor

If there is a medical need, it may be covered by your insurance.

[CO Liberal]

7. The Placard Comes in Handy Other Times, Too

I work for a defense contractor, and occasionally have to attend meetings at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs. Parking spaces are hard to come by there, so when a meeting involves my entire group we go in one vehicle and I bring my placard along. That gets us a spot closer to the entrance portal.

[Deja Q]

3. If it impacts your ability to be freely mobile, then yes.

I'm the type that would wait until it was needed in order to get it. Other peoples' perceptions mean a lot to me (which means I must be very mentally ill or very concerned about people... naah, mentally ill. A human who gives a damn about what other people think, perish the thought!).

Of course, I also wait until it's too late to do something instead of battling it earlier. If I'd acted earlier, I might have been better off.

Yes. Get it. :thumbsup:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

5. You should do what you need to do

but more importantly you should make sure you have really good walking shoes with excellent arch support...walking and mild exercizes are the key to keeping your back and abdominal muscles strong so that you don't further irritate the nerve

Love, NSMA (who is NOT trying to convince you that Utah is the trampoline capital of the world :D)

[trof]

10. But Utah IS the trampoline capital of the world.

A lady told me that in a bar one night.
I walk 3 miles almost every morning and don't limp with my trusty trainers on. Use walking sticks, like ski poles.
Got the limp when I wear "street shoes".

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

11. Get some Rockports

NSMA who has had back surgery swears by them and they make very fashionable shoes that don't look orthopedic.

Oh...and that woman in the bar was MEAN! :evilgrin:

[NMDemDist2]

15. SAS shoes are good too eom

[Maddy McCall]

6. Get the hangtag

Use it on days that you don't feel so well or have trouble walking. On days that you feel more energetic, you don't have to use it.

There is NO SHAME in having a handicap tag. I had to have one when I broke my knee. It was a godsend.

Get the tag. You should have no moral qualms about this.

[greatauntoftriplets]

9. My father had a very mild case of polio, though he knew he had it.

Many years later, he was told that an EKG showed a healed-over heart attack that had occurred sometime in the last 20 or so years.. "Heart attack? HUH?" he asked the doctor. The doctor explained about silent heart attacks. To the day he died, my father never figured out exactly when the heart attack had occurred.

Weirder things have happened than a case of polio you didn't know you had.

[otohara]

12. I Had Polio

the other day I was in the grocery store and spoke to a guy who had legs that looked like mine. I assumed he had polio...not so - he said he received a vaccine for ________ (sorry I can't remember at the moment) - but it was for a certain type of flu. Anyway...he said his legs started to atrophy, first one, spreading into the other. Did you have any other vaccines you can think of, not just childhood stuff?

My advice to you - if you do have some polio going one and it's quite possible. People who had mild cases of polio are now showing up with chronic-fatigue, fybromyalgia, but what is really is, is - post-polio syndrome.

Post polio syndrome will only get worse if you continue to do to much, which would included exercise, and yes walking. Get your handicap placard and take care of your self, do not gain weight or lose some if you need through proper nutrition and mild exercise.

I like so many polio survivors (i'm no victim) were told to go, go, go...and now we paying the price w/ post-polio syndrome (it is awful)

[supernova]

13. Yes, it's a nice backup

for days when you don't feel like walking a a lot.

If you do better in athletic shoes as opposed to regular dress shoes, then I'd get something like a Hush Puppy or a Rockport Walker. They look decent and still give you support.

And you can always take down the placard if you don't feel you need it on a particular day.

On a lighter note, trof you have one hell of an immune system! :D

[trof]

14. I used to be bulletproof.

Honest.
;-)

[peacefreak]

18. It's OK, trof

we all were.

[brook]

16. Go for it.

As many have said - you don't need to use it on the good days or when a reasonably convenient parking space is available. I have to have foot surgery next month and am thinking of asking for a placard then. In the interim, there are days I can hardly walk - and wish I'd already gotten one.

[radwriter0555]

17. Do it, and use it with discretion. I had a temp while my knee was busted

up, and it sure came in handy.

But I didn't always use it, like if there was only one handicapped space left.