AzariaSage.org

I received Azaria's handicap placard in the mail today. This is the thing we put in the car window so that we can park in the handicap section of the parking lot. I had mixed feelings when I opened the package from the DMV and saw the big blue placard in the envelope. I took it out and stared at it. I wasn't happy to see it. Then I remembered the day I tried to get Azaria out of the car and into her wheelchair in a regular parking space. Frustrating. Even though this blue placard makes parking easier, I didn't like seeing the words DISABLED written across it, those words stung me.

I know my daughter is disabled, but I don't ever think about it, I mean really think about it, until something like this blue placard shows up in the mail. Every morning I wake up and pick up Azaria from her bed, and move her to the living room couch. I strategically place pillows around her so she can sit up and not fall over. Every day I pick her up and place her in her wheelchair where I comb her hair and brush her teeth. I massage, stretch and exercise her legs, then put braces on her feet. Everyday I wheel her around the house as we go about our day. I watch as TJ lifts her from her wheelchair and puts her in the bathtub and then we both work as a team to get her out. TJ and I love our Azaria so much that to us, she is not DISABLED, or HANDICAP, she is just AZARIA. So, if I had it my way, the placard would be white and it would say in pink “ANGEL”.