My wife suffers from multiple sclerosis. She is recognized as 66% disabled. She can only get around using a crutch and needs my assistance with certain movements such as squatting, picking up items from the store shelves, etc. She cannot move quickly. She can only stand for about 15 minutes before she that experiences pain in her spine and hipbone. She can also only sit in the same position without moving for a limited time before pain starts.
I suffer myself from an autoimmune disease that affects my breathing capacity and causes heart and space-time problems that cause me to lose my balance. Like my wife, prolonged standing, for example to wait in a line, quickly becomes uncomfortable.
This list is unfortunately not exhaustive and doing the simple task of making purchases for our daily needs was already not an exercise that we tackle heartily. Today this activity, however commonplace for everyone, sometimes takes on the aspect of an obstacle course.
The measure which allows only one member of the same household to be in a store condemns us to ubiquitous palaver when we want to enter together and we are forced to explain the effects of our respective diseases so that the officials finally deign to allow us access to the premises.
Having a serious illness is painful in itself. Having to repeatedly justify why we have to be together is humiliating, vexatious and discriminatory.
When there is a line in front of a store, we depend on the goodwill of the managers or security guards at the entrance to be able to benefit from priority access. We are often subjected to sarcasm or hurtful remarks. “Just because she has a crutch doesn’t mean she’s disabled! She may just have sprained herself. ” “You can line up while the lady stays in the car. “The other customers who are waiting will grumble if you are allowed to pass.” And better yet: “There is no difference between a disabled person and another person.”
The breathing difficulties I suffer from are made worse by wearing the mask which further prevents me from breathing properly. I am sharply called to order as soon as I have the misfortune to take it off for a few moments to catch my breath. Pushing a cart full to the brim of shopping quickly tires me out. Watch out if I take off the mask to sit down and catch my breath. Comments are flowing! “He doesn’t have a mask on this one? ”
Staying calm in the face of this lack of humanity is not easy!
The same situations sometimes arise at the checkout when we have finished shopping!
We must limit the time in the stores and at the same time limit the number of outings to the strict minimum. How can we respect these two measures in our state of health?
Fortunately this behavior of the prototype of the population is not a generality and we meet sometimes, but all too rarely, the understanding and even the assistance of the staff or the security guards stationed there.
The measures put in place by the government to control the pandemic must be reviewed so that they guarantee a normal way of life for the whole population and take into account the difficulties encountered by people who are suffering from chronic diseases or are in a weak state compared to the general population.
De facto discrimination has set in for these people already prejudiced by their illnesses.
It is iniquitous and revolting!