Walk in the shoes of the handicapped

I'm a 74-year-old handicapped woman. I never understood what a handicapped person had to endure until I was there myself. Many of us seniors on restricted incomes cannot afford computers or fancy cellphones. I can't - that's why this was sent handwritten.

I can't walk on bumpy ground or I may lose my balance (even with a cane or walker). Wheelchairs and strollers and shopping carts now have to rattle/shake their way over those red bumps if a handicapped ramp even exists or is located far from the entrance. Good luck if you have eggs in that cart.

Toilets are called handicapped if the low toilet has a grab bar behind it. How many women sit backward on a toilet? A handicapped toilet is chair heights at minimum, but never installed in a public restroom even though they cost the same as low ones.

Handicap parking spaces assume no handicapped person can drive, so the stripped area is on the passenger side only. Ice and snow cannot be removed from between two parked cars, and the sun is too low to melt it. I've had to leave my destination on occasion when I was unable to exit my car.

What will it take to get a handicapped person's input?

Melanie Hoeffner

Hoffman Estates