My husband, Assaf Dory, served in the military, was a firefighter, a paramedic and finally a deputy sheriff spending his entire adulthood in the service of country and community.
In 2011 he lost his right leg in the line of duty after undergoing many surgeries, including two amputations that resulted in him having severe CRPS nerve pain disorder. Assaf is still very involved in this valley’s community by volunteering his time to several local nonprofit organizations; those who know him, know the kind person that he is.
When Assaf parks his truck (or his legs, as he calls it) in a disabled parking space, he often runs into serious animosity from bystanders. It can be an angry look, a misguided note (many), a local getting in his face (often) and lately, what caused me to finally write this, vandalism to his truck. He now has a collection of intentionally placed key marks all over his vehicle which he needs to trade in soon and will lower his truck’s value.
I am writing you this to hopefully create some awareness through knowledge for this well-meaning community and to hopefully impact this behavior.
People who are permanently disabled do not necessarily have a handicap placard hanging on their rearview mirror. They most likely have a permanent handicap licence plate since their situation is not going to change.
Thank you for your time in reading this.
Sigal Dory
Basalt