Woman removes prosthetic leg to prove she deserves handicapped parking space, asks if she's wrong

It can be incredibly traumatic for a disabled person to prove their disability when asked to justify taking disabled parking spots. Disability can be from a host of things, and some of those may not be visible at first sight or visible at all but can still be valid. In the case of one 21-year-old, her disability wasn't too visible and she was accused of stealing a handicap parking spot without having any disability. She was hurt and responded by holding up her prosthetic leg up for the person to see. She turned to Reddit to ask of she did the wrong thing.  

The 21-year-old woman wrote, "I was in a very bad car accident about three years ago. A drunk drive ran a stop light, cut off a semi-truck, which then crashed into me, sending me crashing into two different cars and then ultimately into an embankment. My car was mangled and my leg was crushed, completely destroyed, and it had to be amputated. I also lost a couple fingers (the tip of one and all of another). I'm also left with some gnarly scars that used to bother me but I'm learning to deal with them." She explained that she got a couple different insurance payouts and purchased a custom-made leg to replace the one she lost. "When I have pants and shoes on you can hardly tell unless you're really looking. I still limp but some days I don't have as pronounced a limp," she wrote.

On the day in question she went to a store with her boyfriend, sister, her girlfriend, and their mother. "I drove. I had to learn to drive with my left foot but I'm really good at it now. I also bought a new car with my money and had to go through a ton of therapy to get past my PTSD but I'm doing well there now as well," she wrote. Driving and walking often takes a toll on her because of her injuries from the accident including chronic hip, neck, and back pain.

"I have a handicap placard for my car. I have trouble walking without getting tired so it really helps to park close to the door. Today, I did so and unknowingly took the space from someone who was circling back around for it. Apparently, the man had been looking for a close space and had missed the one I took and went down and around. He was still on the other aisle when I pulled in so I didn't cut him off or anything and had no way of knowing he wanted the spot," she wrote.

The man parked in a yellow stripe zone before heading her way to confront her about "stealing a space from people who actually need it." He accused her of being some "kid who has no respect for those who are truly sick and suffering." He escalated the argument further. "He then ordered me to move. My group was urging me to just walkway but this has happened before and once the police were even called. I'm sick of people thinking that just because I'm young that I don't have a legit need for a little extra consideration. I said "Okay", and went to the car and got in like I was going to drive off. I was wearing a skirt and leggings so it wasn't quite obvious at first but when I sat down I took my leg off and showed it to the man, including my stump. I then asked him if it was okay if I still parked there. He walked away calling me disgusting and rude and said I could have just told him and I made him look stupid," she recalled.

She said her group was left embarrassed and said she had made things awkward because there was a crowd. She asked Reddit if she did the wrong thing but an overwhelming majority supported her. "I can't believe her group was embarrassed. They should've been super proud of her for taking no bullshit from such a jerk, especially since she said it had happened before and it involved calling police. She stopped it from escalating it further this time and call out the other guy for the a$$hole that he is at the same time. A win, win in my book!" wrote one person. Another user agreed, "She handled the situation and should've had a cheering section in her friends and family."