Hi all hope you are keeping well. Thought I would share my recent encounter. Just come back off a cruise which was lovely. Our room was on the 12th floor so the lifts were a godsend. The main dining room was on floor 6. Going down to dinner one evening the lift was pretty full the door opened on floor 8 a man in a wheelchair very abruptly said right who is getting out these lifts are for disabled people only. A few people got out he looked at me and said come on theres nothing wrong with your legs you can walk down. I calmly replied excuse me I have rheumatoid arthritis and cant manage the stairs. He replied is that all you've got you should still walk down the stairs. My husband was on the verge of knocking him out. Why are some people ignorant to how debilitating this disease is. Needless to say I stayed put in the lift cursing the ignorant pig under my breath
Rude man: Hi all hope you are keeping well. Thought I... - NRAS
Rude man
![Kazwilks profile image](https://images.hu-production.be/avatars/8bf883c880d31ad67a333eb974f7872b_small@2x_100x100.jpg)
![Kazwilks profile image](https://images.hu-production.be/avatars/8bf883c880d31ad67a333eb974f7872b_small@2x_100x100.jpg)
You did well to keep your composure, some very ignorant people about xxx
Thx for your reply rab believe me it took some doing keeping my composure. I just hate having to explain to people how this illness affects me. To the outsider I look ok until you see my hands and wrists which are badly damaged now. Perhaps we should have a sign on our foreheads asking people to show a bit compassion lol x
What a bloody rude man!!!!! I hate these kind of people who judge a book by its cover, I had the same done to me in a disabled lift on holiday by an old rude Spanish lady, she was shooing me out and stopping me from entering the lift! I told her I had as much right to use it as her and barged straight in😤😤 I don’t justify my illness to anyone and tell them politely where to go! 🤗 x
![Kazwilks profile image](https://images.hu-production.be/avatars/8bf883c880d31ad67a333eb974f7872b_small@2x_100x100.jpg)
Well done you Angel. Just replied to rab and said perhaps we should have a sign on our foreheads so people can show a bit of compassion x
These kind of people don't know the meaning of compassion! My motto is " what goes around comes around" they must work at being rude! How sad are they! 🤗 X
It's like some old people...& I'm old ....so I'm allowed to criticise!
They think the world owes them....just because......
I know being in a wheelchair sucks.....as does getting old.....but I find just asking politely if someone could just help out gets a far better response!
I'm afraid I'm guilty of telling people like that man, that asking nicely will get all the help they need...being rude just means you just get nowhere...disablement does not equal entitlement!
I wonder how long it took him to get into that lift?
The cruise sounds fab!
Thx for your reply agedcrone. No doubt about it under different circumstances I would of gladly got out of that lift and walked even if it crippled me. It was the sheer abruptness and menacing tone of his voice which to be truthfully honest I was in shock and disbelief that someone could actually behave like that. Anyway yes the cruise was lovely and a much needed holiday in the sun take care x
Same here AgedCrone, 64yrs young, wheelchair & mobility scooter user but always polite, and firm, if needed, no matter where I am. 🤗 X
I challenged 2 young men sitting in the cab of a large lorry today, parked in the disabled parking bay, the only one at my local shops. I got a it wisnae me, the driver is in the shop, from one of the men when I knocked on the window and said he shouldn't be parked there. So I went looking for the driver , but missed him the lorry was way before I found him. But I did get the firm's telephone number. I might phone tomorrow.
Stupid man. You catch more flies with sugar than vinegar
Glad you had a fab cruise despite the ignorant man. As the saying goes 'Until you walk in someone elses shoes'. I had a friend years ago who used to treat me as though I was competing with a friend for attention who had lower back disc erosion & now finally after years, I was diagnosed with a bulging disc yesterday...this only answers one part as I am riddled all over with pain with OA & signs of RA but no positive results & on 12th March found a 2" lump on my lower back next to the spine but all I get is 'that wouldn't happen due to the bulging disc, go back to your DR's. X-Ray showed nothing, MRI showed bulging disc & Ultrasound showed bone & fat. It is ongoing for us all & we do not need others opinions when others cannot see what is going on inside us making comments or treating us as though we are ok just because they cannot visually see any physical problems we may have....I have said for years 'I hope that I do not become as though the world owes me a living when I am old'. Good on you for standing your ground.x
Thx for your reply coco. I am sorry to hear you have all these medical problems going on. Yes it is very difficult when there are no visible signs of physical problems and yes I do still wear makeup and like to look nice with the high heels on (which kill me by the way) but that is my way of coping. I've just come to the conclusion there is some nasty minded people in this world if they could just live a day in the life of someone who has RA they would soon change their tune. Take care I hope you get sorted soon x
I have found that being polite almost always works. I always make sure I thank people for moving or letting me get in a lift etc. The one thing I had happen to me that really upset me was when someone I had as a Facebook friend, wrote on my Facebook page that she was tired of my “whinging” and that what I had was not a real illness. She went on to say that her neighbour had cancer and that was a real illlness. She also told her friends to unfriend me. She had only met me a few times because she lived opposite to my dad and he died over 6 years ago and I was able to walk then. I am now in either a wheelchair or a scooter and in severe pain all over. At least a lot of my friends stuck up for me and called her all sorts of names. Needless to say, she is a person who rushes about and is very fit. Obviously I unfriended her. I do wonder why people have to be like that though.
Thx for your reply Holly. I know it is very difficult. My husband is sometimes in denial as to how bad I can be from one day to the next. When I go out I still like to have my makeup on and hair done so looks can be very deceptive. It saddens me that there is not a lot of awareness of how peoples lives change through having this illness. Sometimes living with the day to day pain can be unbearable I would not wish it on my worst enemy. Take care and thanks x
you can't fix stupid...