My Commonplace Book

Soooo tired. I'm still paying (physically) for the trip -- the odd hours (up at 5:00 am to tender in to port at 6:00 am Friday, followed by a port call till midnight on Saturday), the walking and climbing (downtown Seattle has hills as steep as some of San Francisco's), the trip home (we left the hotel at 8:30 am PDT and I got home after midnight EDT).

It was worth it, but it's going to take me some time to recover. I don't bounce back any more. Fibromyalgia sucks.

A study at the Mayo Clinic found that acupuncture relieves symptoms of fibromyalgia.

It's not a new study -- it was published a year ago -- but I had an acupuncture "tune-up" this afternoon, so it was an interesting coincidence that I ran across an article about it tonight.

It's not news to me -- acupuncture changed my life, and so far it's still keeping the most severe symptoms of both my fibromyalgia and my arthritis at bay. But I want to hang onto the article, so I'm posting it.


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In woofiegrrl's Quicklinks for 2006-02-22 there is a link to nothandicapped.com. Meredith added the comment, "I actually really disagree with this. It's good that they're not permanent stickers, but it's inappropriate for people to presume the person using the car is able-bodied."

it's inappropriate for people to presume the person using the car is able-bodied.

She is so right! Many people who need handicrap* parking have invisible disabilities.

I look fine to many people, and I've occasionally been yelled at for taking up a handicrap spot.  (On the other hand, when I'm having a good day and use a regular space so I can leave the handicrap spots for those who need them more than I do, I've been scolded for not using them and thereby taking up a good space that "regular people" could have used!)

What about those people who use their relative’s placard, when their relative is not even with them? This is definitely immoral, selfish and disrespectful as well as being illegal; there is NO excuse of this dishonest behavior. However, unless you know them and know without a doubt is not their placard, it is in the best interest of those of us who suffer from invisible disabilities to just smile and assume they have a right to be there.

Common but completely invisible reasons a person may need handicrap parking include arthritis, asthma, back injury, brain injury, bone disorders, chronic pain disorders, heart disease, muscular disorders, neurological disorders, oxygen impairment, pregnancy problems, seizure disorders, spinal disorders, recent surgery, and many others. The shortened distance from the parking lot allows people who need accommodations to walk into a building to use an electric cart or wheelchair; to reduce exposure to heat, cold and/or exhaust fumes; to save their energy for the purpose they drove there; to get back to their car when they have used up all of their energy inside; to get heavy items out to their car; or even to be able to find their car.

I would be livid if I found one of those "not handicapped" stickers on my car. If I could find the person who put it there, I can only hope I would have the presence of mind to remember a retort published by Ann Landers and quoted on a page devoted to this issue:

On one online message board, a member posted a letter to Ann Landers written by someone who'd had back and knee surgeries, but looked to be healthy. One day when she used her parking placard in a handicapped space, a man approached her and said, "You certainly don't look handicapped to me.  You should not be parking in that space."  She replied, "And you, sir, look intelligent, but I guess looks can be deceiving."

On rare occasions I've even resorted to carrying a mobility cane for the same reason this woman sometimes uses her white cane.

Or maybe I should just get one of these shirts to wear.


ADDED: Here's a great counterpart to those Not Handicapped stickers: a sticker chastising a car owner/driver for blocking a handicrap space or access point. I wish they weren't so expensive -- $3 each is pretty pricey just to stick on someone else's car. But I'm considering getting some print-it-yourself stickers and making some!

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*This coined word reflects the opinion that it's crappy to need a handicap parking permit, not a privilege as so many temporarily able-bodied people think when they angrily drive past empty close-in spaces on their way to the only open regular spots at the far reaches of the parking lot.

I feel horrible today. I have no idea why. My cold is easing up, and I felt perfectly normal most of yesterday. On the way home from the SGM meeting I stopped at the supermarket, and by the time I got home I was feeling exceptionally worn out. But I just put it down to all the fast walking I had been doing in my attempt to get back to the M's house before 2:00. I try to walk quickly for exercise, but I keep interrupting it to look at birds, so I'm not used to gong that fast continuously. But fueled by adrenaline I moved fast for a longer time than usual, so I didn't think anything of the unusual fatigue that evening.

When I woke up this morning and realized I had slept for 8 hours I was amazed, because I rarely get enough sleep due to the sleep disorder associated with fibromyalgia. But I sure didn't feel like I had slept for 8 hours -- I felt more like I had been hit by a Mack truck. I got up and had breakfast ... and felt so exhausted I went back to bed -- and didn't wake up again until after 2:00! Even then I still felt so weak that I couldn't get up, so I just lay there and listened to the BBC until 3:00.

I'm still feeling extremely weak and tired, which is very odd. Other than a residual stuffy nose I don't feel sick -- just worn out. I didn't walk that much yesterday -- it was enough to tire me out for the rest of the day, but shouldn't have been enough to knock me out like this today.